you know that i was born there, right?
Discussion
lol yes. You mentioned it other day
We've never met though, so I'm now under the assumption you are like this.
i was mostly like this but over the last decade or so conditions in europe have worn me down a lot, especially the food, everything grain fed feedlot and contaminated with soy. plus smoking and drinking hasn't helped much either.
but i'm recovering. the terrain on this island is intense, just going to the shop is about equal to ascending 15 storeys, i never feel like i'm getting ahead much even when i'm exercising regularly, or sometimes too much.
one of the things that i miss about bulgaria is how everyone there lights up when you tell them you are from australia. ACDC and Crocodile Dundee and INXS and a bunch of other australian icons are hugely popular there. the portuguese and dutch are tolally meh.
I've witnessed the AC/DC fandom in other parts of Europe. Never personally was a fan, but not mad at them when they play it.
Didn't know about other two, but haven't been to that many places, never Bulgaria.
15 stories for groceries is a lot! I watched this Netflix version of Talented Mr Ripley, quite good miniseries imo, where he's in some remote italian (I think) cliff town, and bemoans the frequent climbs up these crazy stone steps. Picturing that now.
yeah, madeira is crazy steps everywhere. there are some flat parts here and there, they call them "achada" and it's a common name for an area where people live on this island.
the south of the island is not as rugged as the north. more sunshine and less rain has meant a lot more dirt from decomposing rocks, but it's really almost desert conditions on the first couple miles inland, and most of the population depends on water that runs through elaborate channels built around the mountainsides from springs near the top and around the southern parts where all the rain falls. they are cool those things, they call them "levadas" and you can usually walk along them, in most cases there is a pathway beside it but sometimes it gets a bit scary with steep drops right beside it, and sometimes it goes through small tunnels that are dug out of a steep bit of ground. over 600 years people have lived here, the amount of labor digging up rocks and building retaining walls and terraces, is incredible, and nowadays most of it is falling into ruin.
as you can imagine, everyone drives cars around here, and a lot of scooters and motorcycles too. i prefer it on the north side because of less people and more steep terrain and more greenery means it's a lot less noisy. anywhere on the south side there is much in the way of people is a zoo.
The levadas sound awesome. That you can travel along them is cool. My childhood self is giddy at the idea of carving tons of elaborate channels. Some of the funnest times I think we all had as kids involved such activities on the beach or with a hose in a yard. Sigh, sounds like a simpler life there
yeah, it is a nice place overall. not really any sandy beaches though, a few artificial bays have been made in a few places but mostly it's all nasty rocks everywhere. my favourite parts are the high altitude areas near the centre of the island. i stayed for a bit over a week in Camacha, at 3000ft altitude. some cool stuff with clouds happens up that high, fairly often.