The Volta á Portugal, 2014

A couple of weeks after the Volta á Portugal do Futuro passes through Oiã and Carris, the big race, the Volta á Portugal, starts. Normally, the smaller race takes the same route as the main race, which means that we get two national races passing by within a couple of weeks, and few can say

Desfile de Caminhões 2014

Last year I waited for nearly two hours in the baking sun for the convoy of lorries from the show in Ilhavo to pass. Unfortunately, that year they had decided to take a different route, so I was left staring forlornly down the road, dreaming of what might have been. This year I was ready:

Volta á Portugal do Futuro 2014

Every year the Volta á Portugal, the Portuguese equivalent of the Tour de France, passes our house in the stage that starts or finishes at Oliveira do Bairro. A couple of weeks earlier, the Volta a´Portugal do Futuro, for new racing cyclists, passes on the same route. This afternoon, we were delighted to see the

Interlude: A visitor to the garden

Last year we had a cricket, I think it was a cricket, that was hurt and spent weeks in the rose bush in our garden. This morning I found another, who I followed around the garden, from the house wall to the same rosebush. For a brief time, s/he also found a little friend, before

On the Streets of Portugal

One of the oddities of Portugal is the mixture of buildings you find in most towns and cities. Alongside a modern villa you’ll find an old house, or alongside an apartment block will be a patch of unused land, and there are half-built structures all over the countryside. Partly a comment on the current state

Interlude: Not for the faint hearted

Just for a change, I’m going to add a couple of off-the-cuff images from this afternoon. I noticed the web earlier in the week, but it looked abandoned. Today, though was this magnificent spider, just sitting and waiting for his lunch. I managed to grab a couple of images before lunch, then after our lunch

Volta a Portugal – 5th Stage, Carris and Oiã

We were lucky enough this year that the Volta a Portugal passed right outside our office. Sadly, when it came to TV coverage, they missed us out, but fortunately we were there to cover the historic day that the Volta a Portugal passed through Carris…

Vagos Open Air 2013 – Secret Lie

Last weekend (09-10 August), Vagos hosted the annual Metal Festival, Vagos Open Air. With a strong line up, as ever, the festival opened with the Portuguese band Secret Lie. Including adaptations from Vivaldi, and a sneak listen of a song from their new album, Secret Lie got Vagos Open Air 2013 off to a buzzing

Vagos Open Air 2013

Yesterday was the first day of the Metal festival Vagos Open Air where we covered Secret Lie, Bizarra Locomotiva, Moonsorrow and Evergreen. Today is Web, Tarantula, Rotting Christ, Iced earth, Gamma Ray and Testament. It promises to be a rocking day, and a big thank you to the organisers for a fabulous event. The atmosphere

Helicopters exercising over Oiã

The Portuguese military is hosting an exercise in Ovar, near Porto, and each day the helicopters are flying over Oiã. There are only about 8 or 10, but it is fascinating to watch them go over. When you flick through these images, see if you can spot the airmen sitting on the edge of the

Sunday afternoon at the Feira Medieval, Troviscal

This last weekend we went to the Feira Medieval in Troviscal, It was a fabulous afternoon, and all of the participants put on a great show, from the sword fighters and the tournament, to the dancers and the snake charmer.

A wasp after the rain

We had a most ferocious rainstorm, and afterward I spotted this wasp taking a drink from the drops on a rosebush. Trying to get closer, I disturbed his libations, but then he turned around and looked like he was drying to dry himself off. It wasn’t until I prepared the images I realised quite how

Feira de Medieval, Oliveira do Bairro 07-09 June

In a couple of weeks there is a Feira de Medieval, presented by Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte, in Troviscal near Oliveira do Bairro. The Companhia de Teatro Viv’Arte present all over Portugal and a couple of years ago, when we first arrived in Portugal, they had a feira in Mamarrosa. I had never been to one of

Troféu de Karting Díario de Aveiro, Third Stage

Last weekend was the third stage of the Troféu de Karting Díario de Aveiro. Although it was windy, it was a lovely warm afternoon and a thoroughly competitive race, enjoyed by all …

Aveiro Elite Club at Kartódromo de Oiã

In a couple of weeks time, on the 08 and 09 June, the Kartódromo de Oiã will open its doors to the Aveiro Elite Club. this annual tuning event is always a fabulous weekend for anyone who likes cars. It’ll be our second chance to attend, and something that we are looking forward to immensely.

An experiment with a GIF (or ‘JIF’) file

The recent ‘controversy’ over whether a GIF file is pronounced as in ‘gimlet’ or ‘gin’ reminded me that yonks ago I had created a GIF file when learning how to use Photoshop  It was created from a tutorial and a stock image, as I recall, then I decided to animate it. The original had a background,

Let the festivities begin…

Starting in late April or early May the village festivals take place across Portugal. Associated with local saints, the festivals are an opportunity to eat, drink, and generally be merry. Nowadays, the evenings are given over to bands who tour the country, playing a mixture of traditional Portuguese music and covers of rock songs. This

A rose by any other name…

The sun came out. Just long enough for a quick photograph…

From Hero to Zero

We were watching the news at lunchtime where a new form of protest was seen to be emerging. The Finance Minister, Vitor Gaspar, was at a university in Lisbon publicising his new book. Each time he opened his mouth to speak the audience, mainly students, burst into laughter. This is a far cry from just

Trofeu de Karting at Kartódromo de Oiã

The local newspaper, the Diário de Aveiro, sponsors an annual Karting challenge at Kartódromo de Oiã. At the last meeting we were fortunate enough to be able to cover the event…