Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

This morning we met Julian from Brisbane and Pedro from Lisbon, who happened to set up camp next to us last night. So, two more for the clan.

We caught the bus back into town to get some groceries and a gas cannister, as ours has finally run out. It was a dogfight to get on the bus, but I’m glad we stuck it out. When we got out, Simon and I went bought out bus tickets for Lisbon on Monday, while the girls went to the supermarket.

Once the important things were done, we headed to the beach to brave the cold Atlantic Ocean, and how glad am I that we did, as it is another scorcher again today.

Another struggle onto the bus back to Sudoeste this afternoon at five pm.

Once again, we cooked dinner before heading into the grounds.

The first band tonight was Pinhead Society, a Portuguese indie guitar band. They were pretty good and obviously another local favorite.

Next up was New York’s Yo La Tengo. They play lo-fi rock and sound very similar to tonight’s headliners, Sonic Youth. They had a couple of good songs (none that I recognized though), but not really for me.

 

  

It must be New York Band night, as Fun-Lovin’ Criminals were next. They had some danceable tunes and put on an entertaining show. Everyone went wild for Scooby Snacks and like Godinho and The Cure before them, Fun Lovin’ Criminals got an Ole! chant, which Pedro told us was a sign of the highest appreciation from a Portuguese crowd.

Me, Simon, Andrea, Rohan, Katrina, Roberta, Kirsty, Jeff, Julian & Pedro, 

Festival Sudoeste, Zabujeira do Mar, Portugal

Lastly was Sonic Youth, who came to play their new album, A Thousand Leaves, which nobody knew. Not once did they acknowledge the crowd or introduce a song. I found their performance boring and left with streams of other people before their set was over. I have literally seen the best concert of my life and the worst ever, in consecutive nights. It’s a shame, cause I’ve seen Sonic Youth at the 1993 Big Day Out and they were great. Tonight was far from that.

The Crap Facts

This is my 150th concert.
This is my 2nd concert at Herdade de Casa Branca.
This is my 2nd concert in Zambujeira do Mar.
This is my 2nd concert in Alentejo.
This is my 2nd concert in Portugal.
Pinhead Society are the 196th band I've seen.

Pinhead Society were the 400th time I've seen a band.

Yo La Tengo are the 197th band I've seen.
Fun Lovin' Criminals is the 198th band I've seen.
This is my 2nd Sonic Youth concert.
Sonic Youth are the 1st band I've seen in 2 different countries.

Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

When we woke up this morning, we wandered around and found a canteen selling bread, milk and juice, so we had a fairly good breakfast.

We are in the shade until 11.30 am, when it started to really heat up. The camp site was filling up, but we managed to keep space for the other four. At one pm, Simon went for a walk and, amazingly, came across the others just getting off the bus.

Once they set up their tents, we all cooked an early dinner at five pm before heading over to the arena. It took an hour to get in and get our wristbands that will get us back in the next two days.

Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

The first band we saw was Hypnotica, a Portuguese hip-hop/rap band. We watched half the set before going to look around the markets and food stalls in the grounds. We also ran into our drivers who bought us out. They were working one of the many bars. The site has only two stages with the earlier bands playing on the small side stage, while the four main bands played on the larger main stage.

Next up we saw Sergio Godinho, who, from what we could tell, was a Portuguese legend, as everyone was getting into it. He seemed like a Portuguese cross between crooner Tony Bennett and rocker Jimmy Barnes. We found out later that Godinho has been around for 20 years and is quite politically active. Midway through his set, the crowd started a huge “Ole!” chant, like we were at a football match. The noise was incredible.

Sergio Godinho, Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

The next band was Ratos do Parao, who are a Brazilian death/thrash metal band. Their lead singer is a huge man and, while unlike Godinho musically, they have a similarly massive following in Portugal. All of their songs are in Portuguese, so obviously we had no idea what they were singing about, but the band was excellent and worth it for the singer’s wild antics alone.

Up next were Therapy?, an Irish rock band who were also awesome (despite some awkwardly bad between song banter). A couple of their songs were familiar (Nowhere, Knives opening the set). Again, they were well received, and while I liked them, they had the unenviable task of playing before The Cure. I did find out later that they were a last-minute replacement for Ash, and a favorable substitute.

I had been annoying Roberta for two days repeating Robert Smith’s “Ullo! This is called Shake Dog Shake” quote from the The Cure’s Live in Orange video. And continued for the hour it took between Therapy? and The Cure. Now, at 1.30 am, as the fog started rolling in, covering the moon high above the stage, out came The Cure. I lost my shit. I was like a teenage girl seeing her idol for the first time. I have waited a long time to see The Cure, after missing the 1992 Australian tour. I could now stop kicking myself. This was the best concert I had ever seen. Better than Nirvana at the Big Day Out. From the opening chords of Shake Dog Shake (ha ha!) till two hours later at the end of Killing an Arab, it was great song after great song. There were only two songs that I didn’t know, but Just Like Heaven, Lullaby, Never Enough and Inbetween Days were highlights. Not to mention Boys Don’t Cry and A Forest in the five-song encore.

The Cure, Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

It was all over at 3.30 am, as the humbled band walked off stage. I went back to my tent and struggled to get to sleep because of the buzz I was having.

The Crap Facts
This is my 149th concert.
Herdade de Casa Branca is the 40th venue I've seen a concert in.
Zambujeira do Mar is the 31st city I've seen a concert in.
Alentejo is the 4th state I've seen a concert in.
Portugal is the 2nd country I've seen a concert in.
Hipnotica are the 191st band I've seen.
Sergio Godhino is the 192nd band I've seen.
Ratos de Parao are the 193rd band I've seen.
Therapy? are the 194th band I've seen.
The Cure are the 195th band I've seen.

Lagos, Portugal to Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

We got up slowly this morning. Making the most of the comfortable apartment to combat my hangover.

When we checked out, we walked around before stopping at a café for a greasy lunch.

We wanted to go to the beach, but after realizing we were walking on the wrong side of the river, we gave up, turned around and went to a park for a lay down in the shade.

After our strenuous day of doing nothing, we walked back to the bus station to catch the four pm bus to Zambujeira. The bus wound its way up the west coast for 2.5 hours, before dropping us off near the town’s beach. On the bus we met three others from Eurobus, Kirsty and Simon from Sydney, and Andrea from Victoria, who were also going to the festival. They had friends on the bus behind us, Rohan from Melbourne and Katrina and Jeff from Sydney, so we decided to try and stay together at the campsite – Australian safety in numbers.

We did some grocery shopping (and missed a taxi) before hitching a ride with a couple of locals out to the festival sight, ten kilometers out of town. Kirsty, Simon, Roberta and I piled our stuff into the back of their covered ute – with all their fishing gear and catches of the day – and got a ride out. The other 4 were going to stay in Zambujeira tonight, and hopefully meet us tomorrow. Our drivers were going to be actually working the festival, behind the bar. Thankfully it was this and not serial killers.

Our Ride, Me, Roberta, Simon & Kirsty, Festival Sudoeste, Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal

The venue looks like a cleared farm, and beside it is a forest area for camping. We found a good spot and set up our tents only about 100 meters from the entrance. Apparently, there are 30,000 people expected at the festival, so I’m not sure of the chances of us finding the others tomorrow will be. We found the showers nearby and freshened up (with cold water only) after a long hot day before making our meal by the tent. We stayed up until one am before crawling into bed absolutely exhausted.

Albufeira, Portugal to Lagos, Portugal

Up at 9.30 this morning and packed up the tent, as today we are going off Eurobus and heading to Lagos.

We checked out at 11 am and waited an hour for the local bus for the ten-minute ride into town. It was 615 escudos to get to Lagos, and within 20 minutes we were on our way. The bus follows the Algarve coast, stopping at six towns along the way, before arriving in Lagos two hours later.

As we stepped of the bus there was a local lady offering accommodation in a shared apartment. We went and had a look, just behind the bus station, and because it was clean, had a kitchen and living room, we decided to take it. We are sharing the apartment with Jeff & Steve from England.

Once we got settled in, we went for a walk-through town, with our first stop being a record store. Twice in the last couple of days I have seen signs for a festival, but have had no idea where it was or how to get tickets. The nice staff, who spoke English, told us we could get tickets to Festival Sudoeste in store. The festival runs for 3 days in Zambujeira do Mar on Portugal’s west coast, and features The Cure, Sonic Youth, Portishead and PJ Harvey. Once we found out we could get to Zambujeira, and subsequently on to Lisbon buy bus, we bought the 2700 escudo ticket and went back to the record store for festival tickets. The three days of music and four nights of camping cost AU$65 for the whole thing. This is going to be great.

We head to an internet café for some emailing, then onto a supermarket, before heading back to the apartment.

After our steak, pasta and salad home-cooked meal (delicious) we walked to the other side of town to Joe’s Garage, a pub a few people had recommended. We got there at ten pm and the place was fairly quiet, but it seemed like a good place, a lot of backpackers, very casual bar staff, good music, though not a lot happening. Then, for no known reason, at 11.15 pm the place became packed. There were people everywhere, dancing on the tables and on the bar. The place was going bananas. Then at midnight, the music stops and the bar staff turn on hoses to get everyone out. Wet people just pour out onto the street, trying to decide what to do next.

We went to a Latino bar just down the road for a night cap, before getting back to the apartment at 2.30 am.

Albufeira, Portugal

I think you’ll find today is the same as yesterday. When you camp at a ground that has all the facilities, you can find no reason to leave. Breakfast again courtesy of the supermarket, and then to the pool.

The only difference today was that we found a different tree to hide under, on the other side of the pool.

Lunch from the supermarket as well, and the only reason we left the pool was because happy hour was on again. We were joined by our friends from last night and stayed until closing time, well after the band finished.

Albufeira, Portugal

We woke up to some intense heat at ten am. Very lazy. We opted for a day around the pool. We got some Coco-Pops from the supermarket on the campground and had breakfast by the tent.

With books, newspapers and towels in hand, we went and found a shady spot near the pool and didn’t move until after lunch.

After a quick dip, Roberta went back to the supermarket and bought some bread rolls and cheese for a cheap lunch. Then, low and behold, I spot Luvo walking along the path to the pool. He was soon followed by Kern, Beck, Karla and Johnny Joiner, who had been in Lagos for the past few days. This was as exciting as running into Les Murray. They had come back to catch the bus onto Lisbon today. We may, however, catch up with them again in Porto.

Once they left, we settled back into our holiday lifestyle – sun/shade/pool until 5.30 pm.

After a shower, we headed back up to the bar for happy hour and pizza for dinner. We stayed until closing time with fellow Eurobussers, Jo from Gloucester, Jerome from New Zealand, and Richard from Melbourne. No need to leave, as the drinks were cheap, company was good and the live cover band was pretty good as well.

Albufeira, Portugal

This morning we made the 20-minute trek into town to find the beach. Here, we lazed the morning away in the sun, making only one trip into the water because it was numbingly freezing.

When it started to get too hot, we headed back home.

We did stop in town for lunch though, which was neither spectacular, nor cheap.

When we got back to camp, we found a grassy spot under a tree, where we laid out until the late afternoon.

We showered and headed to the bar for happy hour again and stayed for two pints.

Dinner was a cooked pasta at the tent. We planned to go back to the bar after dinner, but opted to make the most of an early night instead.

Seville, Spain to Albufeira, Portugal

We got up in time to check out of the hostel and hang around in the courtyard until Eurobus turned up at 11.45 am. In the meantime, we ate breakfast and wrote in diaries.

The trip to Faro was an uneventful one, but at least the bus had air conditioning (a first for Eurobus on this trip).

We made a couple of sandwiches for lunch before getting on the second leg to Albufeira.

We arrived at three pm, check in and then set about putting up the tent. This was a huge mission, as there was nothing but rock in the campsite, and having no hammer made putting the pegs in extremely difficult.

After this we headed up to the bar for happy hour (two pints for P$350, or AU$3.50). It seemed as though the whole of Eurobus was in this campsite, which was great, as we met heaps of people. We left the bar early, ten pm, with pizza in hand for dinner. I think the last two late nights have caught up with us.

Seville, Spain

One of the things I said I would do on this trip is very cliched, but today was the day. A haircut from the Barber of Seville.

After my 1100 peseta haircut, we got some food from the supermarket and headed into town.

We stopped at Parque de Maria Luisa, which is like Seville’s Botanic Gardens, where we ate our breakfast, before continuing on behind Plaza de Espana. This is where many government offices of Spain are, and the outside of the buildings contain mosaics representing the different regions of Spain.

Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain

We had lunch at an Irish pub just behind the cathedral.

After lunch we went to the Royal Palace. Yet another superb building, with its great architecture, interior design (being Moorish, it was very similar to the Alhambra) and spectacular gardens dating back as far as the 10th century.

Royal Palace, Seville, Spain

After a couple of hours in the palace, we went back to the hostel, cranking up some much-loved air conditioning to combat the 40ºC heat.

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant near the hostel. We arrived at eight pm with nobody around and had finished our meal before another customer had arrived. The meal was delicious and extremely cheap. For 750 pesetas we each got a large spring roll, fried rice, main meal, drink and desert/coffee.

We caught a bus into town after dinner to meet Matt & Jen for a drink. We had a couple at a Tex/Mex bar that they had dinner at, and then moved to a bar down by the river. It was three am before we called it a night, and closer to 4am by the time we got home in a cab. By this stage we were genuinely freezing, even though the temperature had only dropped to 23ºC.

La Linea, Spain to Seville, Spain

This morning started in the dark. A 7.30 am take-off.  Another good opportunity to take a photo of the Rock, except the fog was twice as bad as the night before.

Our trip to Seville took in one service stop, where we came across our first celebrity. Of all people, Les Murray, who seemed to be known by only a few of the Aussies, had finished his World Cup duties and was heading to Lisbon via the Spanish south coast. Poor bloke was never expecting to be recognized in the middle of nowhere in Spain. It was bizarre someone famous, especially considering he could have been every other Spanish person.

We arrived in Seville at 11.30am and immediately went for a walk into town via the tourist office.

We had lunch at a sandwich bar before going to Seville’s cathedral. This cathedral is said to be the largest in the world, and definitely the most spectacular we have seen thus far, just pipping Toledo’s. The most famous monument in the church is the tomb of Christopher Columbus. The 12th century cathedral, originally a synagogue, also has a tower, La Giralda, which gives you a great view of the city from 35 floors up.

Cathedral, Seville, Spain

Christopher Columbus Tomb, Cathedral, Seville, Spain

La Giralda, Cathedral, Seville, Spain 

We caught the bus back to the hostel to check in and do some washing and have our siesta.

Tonight is going to be our Spanish culture night, seeing the ultimate, a bullfight. 9 pm on the dot was kick off time at Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza. Three matadors were on tonight’s card, and each had a go at two bulls. What happens is the bull is released and it chases a few extras around, getting all fired up. The, when the two trumpeters do their introduction, two people, including the matador for that fight, get two little spears and charge at the bulls (one at a time) and lodge the spears along the spine, just below the neck. When the bull has 5 or 6 of these spears in his back, the matador gets his, or in tonight’s case, her (Spain has only 2 or 3 female matadors and tonight we were lucky enough to see one of them) red capes and the real battle begins. Sometimes these matadors begin by throwing their hat in the air, if it lands the right way up, it’s good like and if it lands upside down, the crowd gasps, as it is considered bad luck for the matador. After the matador has performed their tricks and the bull is worn down, the matador drives a sword into the area where all the spears are, which almost kills it. Within a minute or two, the bull collapses and is killed. The bull is dragged around the arena behind three horses and the crowd goes nuts for the matador (waving white handkerchiefs, throwing roses, etc.). This happens six times in the night. This blood thirsty sport is pretty intense, and while I’m glad we went, I don’t think I’d go back for more.

Bullfight, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville, Spain

Bullfight, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville, Spain

Matador Carmen Torres, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville, Spain

Roberta, Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, Seville, Spain

After the bullfight we met up with Matt & Jen, from Brisbane, and fellow Eurobus travelers, and went for drinks, getting back to the hostel at 2am.

La Linea, Spain

We started the morning in the supermarket on the hunt for a cheap breakfast. We then walked to where the map said there was a park to eat. As it turned out, this park was a desolate concrete plaza.

Nearby there was a bullfighting museum, which we wanted to visit, only to find it closed.

We walked back to Plaza de Constitution, where we finally found a shady spot to eat. The temperature here is the mildest it’s been since Bordeaux, but the humidity is an absolute killer.

After our late breakfast, we walked along the beach on the port-side of town and kept going to get a look at the coastal area of La Linea. On the way, we passed through some markets where Roberta bought a sarong skirt.

The beaches, when we finally found them, were duds. Grey and black sand, dirty looking water, rubbish everywhere and because of the fog, you could hardly see five meters in front of you.

We then made the long walk back into town, where we stopped for lunch at an outdoor café, catching up on some reading and writing.

We went back for our siesta before going over to Gibraltar for dinner. We ate at an English pub, The Cannon, and had fish and chips. Gibraltar was dead, no one around at all, so we just went home after dinner. We wanted to take a photo of the Rock at night, but when we walked over the tarmac at the airport, the fog had come across the ocean and the Rock could not be seen.

La Linea, Spain

We got up this morning with a day in Gibraltar in mind. First thing was to find the tourist information for a map of the town. Our first attempt at accommodation was met with a “Completo!”, but the owner recommended us to another place, Hostel Paris, which was nice and cheap, with rooms for 3000 pesetas a day.

After we got everything in the new room, we made the walk two kilometers to the border. We walked through passport control and then across the airport, before getting into town.

Me @ Gibraltar

Rock of Gibraltar

Basically, it’s like a tourist mall with heaps of duty-free stores and eateries.

We stopped at the Horseshoe for lunch. With Gibraltar being controlled by the British, almost everyone spoke English, and there was some traditional English food to be found, which is kind of a mid-trip relief.

After lunch we continued our walk-through town to the bottom of the Rock.

We caught a cable car to the top for a superb view of Gibraltar, La Linea and the harbor. On the east, overlooking the beach, however, was nothing but fog, which when it reached the top of the Rock (only 20 feet from us) it turned into a swirling cloud. We followed a track to halfway down the hill, which saw us see some of the Rock’s natural inhabitants – monkeys – and St. Michael’s Cave. St. Michael’s Cave is a natural limestone cave within the Rock. It is generally in its original condition, except for tourist paths and a huge area which has been modified to hold concerts, weddings and the like. When we got to the halfway point, the cable car took us the rest of the way down the Rock’s steep cliff face.

Gibraltar

St. Michael's Cave, Rock of Gibraltar

After this, we made the hour walk back across the border to the hostel.

We had a quick siesta before going a couple of blocks to Don Giovanni’s Pizzeria for dinner. We then came back to the room, wishing everything would cool down.

Granada, Spain to La Linea, Spain

Earlier in the trip I said I’d never complain about the Pacific Highway again. Well now, I will never whine about Australia Post. This morning we posted some stuff back to Australia in order to lighted our backpacks. Granada’s post office does not have post packs, sticky tape and, of course, and English-speaking staff (to be expected), but they do have a dozen forms to fill in, and they will tell you each, every time you go to the window, but not all at once. So, after two and a half hours, our package was, hopefully, on its way.

The afternoon consisted of a walk through a mall, some lunch, and the purchase of a book to read on the bus, before going back to the hostel, buying an Alhambra t-shirt, picking up our bags, and catching the bus back to the hostel where Eurobus takes us to La Linea at 5.30pm.

When the bus hadn’t arrived by 6.30pm, someone had the sense to call Eurobus and they found out the problems meant it wouldn’t be arriving until 9pm, so its off to the pub we go. Roberta and I found a bar with Sharon and some new people – Adrian & Debs, from New Zealand, and Kirsten from Victoria.

We got back to the hostel at 8.50pm to find the bus waiting for us.

Four hours later, after one stop along the way, we arrived at La Linea. We pulled over near the hostel to see the Rock of Gibraltar all lit up. We stayed in a room with two others – Sharon and Rochelle, from Sydney, for the sake of saving money.

Granada, Spain

The local Granada people take their rest days very seriously. We emerged out of the room at 11 am to find no one around. Roberta rang Paul for his 21st birthday before we went in search of brunch.

We then went for a walk around, though nothing was open. We walked past the cathedral and then up the hill to try and find the Walls of the Albaycin, but couldn’t find a way in.

We just ended up wandering the back streets, taking in the city itself. In the end we went looking through the souvenir stores in our street, before going indoors to escape the heat.

We did come out for afternoon tea, sitting outside at a café, writing letters and completing diaries.

We went back to our room for an afternoon of cards and emerged at nine pm, slightly cooler and ready for dinner. We walked up to the area where we had a couple of drinks last night, and had a pasta dinner – lasagna and spaghetti.

After dinner we had drinks and coffee at a café in Plaza Nueva. We got home at midnight, for want of an early night, only to have the heat, noise and then cards keep us awake until 3 am.

Granada, Spain

Guess what? It’s hot again! We checked out of the hostel early this morning and caught a bus to our new hostel at 9.45 am.

A quick bite to eat, and then we caught the bus up the hill to the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a 9th century Islamic fortress built on 132 hectares on Cerro de Sol (Hill of the Sun). This is the north east of the city’s center. This is the phenomenal fortress that I have been waiting to see this whole trip. Mainly because it is the name of a Tea Party album.

We went to four different sections of the fortress. The Alcazabar was where the Alhambra’s military services were kept. Here were military quarters, along with numerous watchtowers. This part of the building dates back to the 14th century.

Next was the Palace of the Nazaris. This is basically the old royal palace. To think that the art in this building, i.e., alfresco, intricate Islamic writings in limestone and marble, ceramic tiles, etc., could last so long, is not really the amazing part. What blows me away is the immaculate detail and sheer volume of it, and when you think what has been destroyed over time due to wear and tear, you can only come to the conclusion that this place must have been the most admired it its time.

Salon de Embajadores, Palacio Nazaries, Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Just outside of the palace is the palace of King Carlos V. This is a simple, square, two-storey building with a round courtyard. The building houses the Museo de la Alhambra, which contains many artifacts from the 12th – 15th centuries, including a 600-year-old Koran, furniture, vases, coins, parts of fountains, to name a few.

Palacio de Carlos V, Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Court of the Myrtles, Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Alhambra, Granada, Spain

From here we walked up to the Generalife, the Summer Palace. Here the palace is not so much spectacular, but the gardens and grounds have been well kept. It is also a great, cool place to be in the heat.

Generalife, Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Alhambra, Granada, Spain

Granada, Spain

After our visit, on the way back down the hill, I picked up a souvenir book and had lunch at a café right near our place. Roberta then went for a rest, while I headed off to an internet café, so as to not fall asleep. Upon my return I had a small nap (damn it!) before we went out for the evening.

We went to one of the bars from Thursday night for a drink and some tapas.

From here we watched the Alhambra come alight as night fell. We walked up the hill for a couple of photos of the fortress before going to another bar for a drink.

We walked back to Plaza Nueva, where a group of guys were playing some songs to anyone who would listen. They had a fairly good crowd, on top of all the people eating in nearby restaurants. That was until midnight, when the police came and put a stop to it all, to the sound of many boos and catcalls from the crowd. We went across the road, bought ice cream, and then headed home.