A note concerning tangents (redux) II

Current Location: Lagos, Portugal (~pop. 19,000)

(37°06′N 8°40′W)

Day 2

Expedition Outlook: 66%

The main promenade in Lagos.

Bom Dia, as they say in the local parlance. It’s taken some doing, but here is our broadcast for Day 2! (I know, I know, it’s actually Day 4 now, but managing one’s time in the future is proving to be quite the chore.) The concept of remaining in one place for more than two days is utterly confusing to veteran Expedition members. Judgment of this situation is being reserved until more data can be collected.

There are three feral, calico cats that apparently reside at the hotel where we are staying. I have decided that they are sisters and have named them Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They have not, at least within my sight, done anything more significant than hunt for scraps from patrons, but it would not surprise me in the least to know that they held the fates of everyone within the town within their tiny, crazy paws.

Pops was laid low by stowaway domestic bacteria and elected to lay low for the day. Having some experience leaving weaker expedition members behind in the lodging and continuing to adventure without them, I didn’t even need to think twice about leaving him behind. I’m beginning to think that all successful expeditions bring along one member to serve as a deific lightning rod. We’ll see if Pops can fill the role as adeptly as Edison. I am doubtful of this, but with the addition of Brother Dearest I think they’ll be able to come close to matching his effectiveness. You know, if there is ever a need to quantify god aggro into measurable unites, I propose we name them Edisons.

One of the many gorgeous cliffside views

At any rate, the Lady and I elected to assay the cliffs of the coast and burn off some of the egregious calories we had been accruing. The hiking was only mildly difficult, I only had to climb once or twice. The scenery was beautiful, and unlike some other hostile rocky hikes I’ve been on, the proximity to the ocean provided a wonderful breeze. Also, civilization and re-supply was never more than ten minutes away.

Ladies, you can feel free to roll your eyes right out of your head at this point, because I am honor bound by a legacy of Y chromosomes to mention all of the delightful, topless ladies located on the local beaches. Gentleman of the audience, it is a wonderful thing. I know there are a few such beaches in the states, but these (the Portuguese ones) are a long cry from those terrifying chthonic shores. I have yet to see a pale, shambling, pelagic beast beached and languishing on the shore. It’s as if there is a monitoring commission revoking topless privileges from those whose countenance would frighten children and pets.

Speaking of pets, (Oh, and gentlemen, you can collect your ladies’ eyes from the floor at this point and pop them back in so they can get back to reading) there are well behaved dogs everywhere. Hanging out in cafes, making friends on the streets, sleeping on their backs and twitching their paws adorably, voting on municipal policy, and owning property. As you can see they’re actually much better than the hippies and hobos we have rolling around back in MA. Cleaner too.

Cliffs and caves everywhere! Good for bats, I guess.

Didn’t see very many canines on the cliff trails, which, as mentioned previously, were absolutely a treat. The most peculiar event was my discovery of a secret beach full of naked people. That was totally a secret achievement, by the way. I was pretty high up, so I can’t really speak one way or another as to their, ah, suitability for nudity. I also have no idea how they got there, because as near as I could tell the beach was surrounded on three sides by sheer cliff face and on the fourth by the sea. Swimming occurred to me, but they had umbrellas and chairs and a barbecue, so that seemed a bit unlikely. Perhaps a boat.

All in all it was a good day. Pops was feeling up to heading out into public to get some chow and we wrapped up the evening sans any keystone cops vs. hookers shenanigans. Your mileage may very on whether or not that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

And now I’m off to chip away at the backlog! Thank you, for your patience, gentle readers, and goodnight. This is the Nickness, signing off.

Somewhere, beyond the sea....