Road trip in Northern Ireland - Part I

The Causeway Coastal route is one of the most famous roads in the world. Now that I did it I understand why. There's plenty of sights to visit but just the Irish countryside itself would have been enough. There was so much green and natural beauty that my eyes rushed from side to side trying to take it all in. We did a one-day road trip in which we saw a lot. It wouldn't have been bad to have done it in a couple of days instead, with more time to spend in each place. Still, it was fantastic! 

A rota costeira de Causeway é uma das estradas mais famosas no mundo. Agora que passei por lá consigo perceber porquê. Há imensas coisas para ver, mas mesmo que fosse só pela paisagem rural da Irlanda já valia a pena. Há tanto verde e tanta beleza natural, que os meus olhos percorriam tudo avidamente a tentar captar o máximo possível. Nós percorremos mais de metade da rota em apenas um dia e vimos muito. Não teria sido má ideia tê-la feito em dois dias e poder passar mais tempo em cada local. Ainda assim foi fantástico!

Map from ireland.com

There's several options, as you can see in the map above. The main coastal road (solid line) is small but broad enough to not be scary. After Cushendall the road is not coastal anymore, but a bit inland. We decided to take the Torr road (dashed line in the map) which keeps going along the coast. It was really narrow and challenging when we had to meet a car going the opposite direction. The view, however, made it totally and completely worth it! It was actually the best part of the road! The boyfriend was really nervous at first for not only having to drive on the left of the road, but also for having to drive a car with the wheel on the right hand side. After a few punches on the door looking for the gears, he got used to it and we all had a great time. You don't have to worry though. You can come with me on this road trip in whichever side of the sofa you prefer!

A rota oferece várias alternativas como podem ver no mapa em cima. A rota principal (linha sólida) é estreita mas larga o suficiente para não ser assustadora. Depois de Cushendall a estrada deixa de ser costeira e passa um pedaço mais por dentro. Assim, decidimos ir por Torr road (linha pontilhada) para continuarmos o passeio à beira mar. A estrada era mesmo muito estreita e era um desafio cada vez que tínhamos que cruzar um carro em sentido contrário. No entanto a vista fez com que valesse absolutamente a pena ter ido por este caminho! O namorado estava nervoso quando fomos buscar o carro, não só por ter de conduzir à esquerda, mas também por ter de conduzir um carro com o volante à direita. Depois de umas quantas pancadas na porta à procura das mudanças, lá se habituou e correu tudo bem. Vocês não têm que se preocupar. Podem vir comigo nesta viagem, sentados no lado do sofá que preferirem!

 Carrickfergus Castle - A Norman castle built by John de Courcy in 1177, situated on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. It's very well preserved and we had fun exploring its patios and rooms. 

Castelo de Carrickfergus - um castelo normando construído por John de Courcy em 1177, localizado na costa norte de Belfast Lough. Está muito bem conservado e foi divertido poder explorar os seus pátios e salas. 

 Carrickfergus town

 Drains Bay beach - Praia da Baía de Drains

The weather started out grey and wet, but quickly changed into an unbelievably shiny day with blue skies. The photo above and below were both taken from the same spot just one after the other. What a difference... Fortunately it was the blue sky that propagated!

O tempo começou por estar cinzento e húmido, mas depressa se transformou num dia brilhante de céu azul. A foto em cima e a foto em baixo foram ambas tiradas do mesmo sítio, uma depois da outra. Que diferença... felizmente foi o céu azul que se propagou!

 Torr road

This road was quite narrow and there were not that many spots where we could stop the car. The view was amazing though and I absolutely had to take pictures! So I did it the dog way, sticking my head out of the window (that in the backside didn't even open completely) and photographing as we went along. That resulted in slightly blurred pictures but you can still see how it looked. 

Esta estrada era bastante estreita e não havia muitos sítios onde encostar. No entanto a vista era fantástica e eu tinha que tirar fotos! Então decidi fazer como os cães, pus a cabeça fora da janela (que atrás nem sequer abria completamente) e tirei fotos em andamento. O resultado foram fotos ligeiramente desfocadas mas acho que dá para perceber como era. 

 Ballycastle town

By the time we reached Ballycastle we were quite hungry, maybe because of the adrenaline of driving through Torr road. We bought sandwiches, that we happily ate near the beach, and the recommended Maud's ice cream. Then, it was already a warm sunny day.

Quando chegamos a Ballycastle já estavamos com fome, talvez por causa da adrenalina de conduzir na estrada de Torr. Compramos sandes, que comemos à beira da praia, e o tão recomendado gelado da Maud's. Nesta altura estava já um dia quente e solarengo.

 The green on the other side is Rathlin island / O verde do outro lado pertence à ilha de Rathlin

Marconi memorial where it reads "to recall the historic occasion in 1898 when Marchese Marconi and his assistant, George Kemp, established wireless communication with Rathlin (an island), to report to Lloyds station at Torr head on ships passing along the north coast of the island".

Memorial Marconi onde se lê "para lembrar o momento histórico em 1898, quando Marchese Marconi e o seu assistente George Kemp estabeleceram comunicação sem fios com a ilha de Rathlin, para reportar à estação de Lloyds em Torr head, a passagem de navios pela costa norte da ilha. 

I end here the first part of this road trip to not overload you with pictures. I hope you have enjoyed it so far and don't miss out the second part. If Part I is all about the green, the views and the small towns, it is in Part II that I will show you some hot spots of the coastal trip, namely a fantastic UNESCO heritage site. 

Acabo aqui a primeira parte desta viagem para não vos carregar de fotos. Espero que tenham gostado e não percam a segunda parte. Se a Parte I está recheada de paisagens verdes e pequenas cidades perdidas na costa, é na Parte II que vou mostrar os locais mais populares da costa irlandesa, nomeadamente um local fantástico que é património mundial UNESCO.

A Day in my Expat Life

Have you ever wondered how your favourite bloggers spend their days? Not the big events of life but the little things. What do they eat? Where do they blog from? Are they relaxed or do they have a busy day? I unraveled (almost) everything in Clara's blog, The Expat Partner's Survival Guide, where now and then an expat daily routine is featured. I really enjoyed myself while making this contribution. You can find the post here (link), but don't stop there and keep reading because Clara's blogue is indeed very interesting.

Did you enjoy learning about my day? I'm curious about yours too, if you want to tell me (or Clara).

Algumas vez se questionaram sobre o dia a dia dos vossos bloguers preferidos? Não estou a falar dos grandes eventos mas sim das pequenas coisas. O que é que eles comem? De onde é que eles nos escrevem? Serão pessoas relaxadas ou têm dias cheios e ocupados? Eu revelei (quase) toda a minha vida no blogue da Clara, The Expat Partner's Survival Guide, onde de vez em quando ela mostra a rotina diária de um emigrante. Eu diverti-me imenso ao fazer a minha contribuição. Podem ver o post completo aqui (em inglês mas tem fotos). Se gostarem não parem por aí porque o blogue da Clara é deveras interessante. 

Gostaram de ler sobre o meu dia? Também estou curiosa sobre o vosso, se me quiserem contar (ou à Clara).

Stories of my world #8

He grew up in a small town, like me. He is about my age and also studied chemistry. He was my colleague for a few years but we couldn't be more different. I could hardly find a better example of cultural difference among my experiences. He had a girlfriend. She was beautiful and wore very sexy clothes. That's the one, he thought, but she was not easy. She gave him an ultimatum: he would either finish his PhD and get a good job, so he could support her, or she would leave him and find another man. He was planning to go to England or Germany for a few years, so he could return to his homeland and become a big scientist. He hoped that would be enough for her. I asked him if he thought she liked him for who he was. His answer surprised me, as he assured me obviously no, not yet. He would have to become a big professor first. But shouldn't she like him for who he was then, not who he would become? He tried to explain to me that that's not how it worked in his country. There, the rich men get the beautiful women. That's also why they are beautiful, he said, because they don't work and they have money to buy all the beauty related services. Men accept that because they want to hang around with a beautiful woman by their side. I became fascinated and horrified at the same time. We were in the 21st century! Our home countries were separated by 3000 Km, but our views were lightyears away! Another time I saw him holding a red rose and I commented how cute I thought he was trying to conquer her heart. He laughed at me. He said that the red rose was solely to guarantee that she would allow him to sleep with her that night. 

It was not only him surprising me, but the opposite as well. He couldn't believe when I told him I was moving to another country because I had found a new job there. It was hard to believe for him, that I would keep working when I had a boyfriend that could support me. Another time, after I commented that I would get a lower salary when I would move, he shrugged his shoulders and said But you are a woman, you will get more money and things from your boyfriend. 

I tried to explain him my views, over and over again, but he just couldn't believe it. He thought I was strange. I thought he was strange. He had probably never met any really independent woman before. I had never met anyone like him before either.

How about now? Has he changed? Has he been abroad and confronted with a different reality? Or is he paying for that or another girl's fancy lifestyle? I have no idea. I have never seen or contacted him again. I probably never will.

No matter what, I hope he is happy and enjoying whatever life choices he has made. 

Learning Swedish #9

One can learn a language in many different ways and at different rhythms. For me, having classes has proved to be the most effective. I do not have a great memory, and I have to repeat and exercise a lot at home as well, but I feel it is in the classroom that I solidify my knowledge (if that's the right word for what I know of Swedish so far...). I have now had classes with 7 different Swedish teachers and I can say from my experience, that the classes can vary a lot depending on the teachers and on the students. 

The system of Swedish for immigrants, SFI, works in a way that one can learn as fast or as slow as one wants. When the pupils are all at the same level, usually in the beginning, the teacher can give what I call a normal class, following the book, explaining grammar and showing how to pronounce the most difficult sounds. Later on, as each student develops in a different rhythm, we should study the book on our own, while we get random exercises during classes. 

I started in a class with "normal" lessons, but since I went to the summer school and I try to use Swedish now and then at home with the boy, that class became too easy for me as I had already learned most things. I moved to a more advanced class last week, in which we do work more on our own. I do miss the fun classes we had before but I also know this is far better for me as the other students are at a similar level than me. In this new system we can call for a test every time we feel we have learned 3 chapters. In my first class in the new group (last Tuesday), I asked the teacher if I could have the test today. She replied that she would be on vacation and we would have a replacement teacher and if it was ok to have it the following week instead. I agreed and I thought that maybe by then I could have done 3 more chapters and do 2 tests in one (they are not very long). I spent the weekend trying to learn as much as I could in the next chapters. 

When I went to class today, I heard a colleague saying she would do a test today, the one with the same three chapters I wanted. An idea started formulating in my head... could I do it today as well? No, I hadn't study for that. "What was exactly in those chapters?", I asked the girl. Plural, prepositions, past tenses and such. I don't remember that being so difficult... Should I do it? Yeah, why not? I did it! It felt crazy at first. Crazy as in "am I really doing this?", but when I saw the test I realised it was a good idea. I saved myself some stress (not much though, as I don't usually stress that much) and it was quite easy, so I got rid of this one really nicely. Since I use all the grammar when I (try to) speak and write it felt just like another exercise. I don't know my grade yet, but I know I didn't fail much. 

Nice!

I'm starting to feel that I can do this!

Stories of my world #7

He was a grown up when I met him. He was nice. The first words I ever heard from him were "go in and we will see what you can do". I couldn't do much then. I could do a lot more one year later. He taught me a lot. He pushed me. He showed me how to achieve goals through persistence. He proved me how I could do so much better than I thought. I was no champion, but I almost got on the podium for the first time in my life, because of him. Almost, because when they called my name I didn't believe it was me, and I didn't go. Silly little girl. He handed me the prize later that day. He was my coach for two years. Two years of "keep your head down", "point the elbows to the ceiling", and "make each stroke count". Nowadays, back in the pool, when I am completely alone with my thoughts, I recall those times. I can still hear his words. I can still clearly hear his voice. I always try to correct my technique, as if he was there, on the side of the pool looking at me and my class. I also remember when he decided to test how fast I could do 100m. I did it as fast as I could. In the end he told me the time. I asked him how was that. He smiled and replied "an eternity". I admire his honesty, then and now. I appreciate the fact that he didn't try to be nice and that he told me the truth. He was one of my favourite teachers/coaches. He was my swimming coach. He is still a swimming coach in my hometown. He is still there, teaching young people not only how to swim, but also life lessons. He is still great, I bet. He is Carlos.

Dreams outside the cookie jar

I often dream and, even better, I often remember what I dream. Usually my dreams are so insane that I give a good laugh when I wake up. It seems that I pick the smallest details of my day, mix them well and make great plots of insanity. Today however, I had a very deep and beautiful dream. I don't know if dreams mean something or not. My scientific-oriented brain tells me they are not more than a mix of images captured or created in the brain, but who knows. 

There’s a bear fighting with my friend Telma. The bear is aggressive but it’s not hurting Telma. It is standing on the back paws, roaring and fighting with its arms and claws. As my dream progresses the bear takes the shape of a human being. First still big and aggressive but later on smaller. I observe the scene, at first unable to react, but then as its size decreases I get closer. Now, a lot of people bumps into the bear/human and he ends up in the floor being stepped on. I start shouting at people, telling them how rude they are for not even noticing they are stepping on a being. I help the bear/human up, all dirty, scared and insecure. He thanks me for defending him. Now, it has become a little boy. I stick with him, as I understand that he is fighting some inner fights within himself and he needs help. We go together on a train ride. Now and then, someone goes by and shouts at him. I defend him all the time, until slowly it stops happening. Slowly, he becomes bigger, more like a man, but not a giant. Definitely not aggressive either. When I’m sure he can take care of himself I say goodbye and we part ways. You are ready now, the world is yours, I tell him.

Interpretations accepted!

Sara Jump - Belfast

Titanic's slipways, Titanic Belfast, August 2016

On top of the crag overlooking Belfast, Belfast Castle, August 2016

Belfast Castle

Belfast is a nice city and it has a few interesting sights to visit, within or not too far from the city center (I wrote about it here). A few kilometres from the city there's also Belfast Castle (any bus n.1 from the centre goes by). The castle is isolated and sits on the slopes of Cavehill Country Park. Its higher location allows you to have a really nice view over the city. Around the castle one can hike to the top of some crags and enjoy a nice walk with spectacular views. That is if the weather allows, of course! Here is my experience. 

Belfast é uma cidade engraçada e tem vários pontos de interesse a serem visitados, tanto dentro como perto do centro (escrevi sobre isso aqui). A alguns quilómetros do centro fica o Castelo de Belfast (qualquer autocarro n.1 apanhado no centro passa perto). O castelo está isolado e fica nas encostas do parque Cavehill Country. A sua localização alta permite-nos ter uma vista muito bonita sobre a cidade. Em volta do castelo podemos fazer caminhadas até ao topo de uns penhascos e aproveitar o contacto com a natureza e as vistas espectaculares lá de cima. Tudo isso se o tempo o permitir claro! Aqui fica a minha experiência. 

Belfast Castle and its gorgeous garden / O Castelo de Belfast e o seu lindo jardim

According to legend, Belfast Castle is safe as long as there is a cat living there. This myth led to the creation of the "Cat Garden", where you can find cats in different shapes and materials. There's supposed to be nine cats, all visible, but not all easy to discover. Sadly, it was raining and I couldn't get pictures of all of them. There was a statue of one in a fountain (below) and there's a mosaic cat in the picture above. There was also a bush shaped cat (photo above on the left hand side) and a stone cat hiding somewhere. We missed the others, but it would have been fun to play find-the-nine-cats properly.

Reza a lenda que o Castelo de Belfast só está seguro se houver um gato a morar lá. Este mito levou à criação de do "jardim dos gatos", onde se encontram gatos de diversas formas e materiais. Há, supostamente, nove gatos. Todos visíveis mas nem todos fáceis de descobrir. Infelizmente estava a chover e não pude tirar fotos a todos os gatos. Havia uma estátua de um na fonte (em baixo) e um mosaico na foto acima. Vimos também um arbusto na forma de gato e um gato de pedra escondido no meio dos canteiros. Não encontramos os outros, mas teria sido divertido poder brincar ao encontra-o-gato como deve ser. 

 View over the city from the castle / Vista do castelo sobre a cidade

The interior of the castle has been refurbished and events can be held there.

O interior do castelo foi restaurado e serve para fazer eventos.

As we are in Ireland, the weather can be very unstable. In the afternoon we spent in the castle the weather was super bipolar. After a permanent drizzle of an hour or so, it felt that it was about to stop and we attempted a hike. During our hike we pretty much got 5 minutes of intense rain and then 1-2 minutes breaks of sunshine, and repeat. We avoided photographing when it was raining, but still our camera lens got wet and you might be able to spot some drops in some photos. Let's just say that it was on purpose to make the photos more irish.

Como estamos na Irlanda o tempo pode ser muito instável. Na tarde que passamos no castelo o tempo estava super bipolar. Depois de uma chuvinha constante de 1h, parecia que ia melhorar e decidimos fazer uma caminhada pelo parque. Durante a caminhada houve 5 minutos de chuva intensa e depois 1-2 minutos de sol, isto em modo repeat.  Evitamos tirar fotos quando estava a chover mas ainda assim a nossa lente molhou-se e há algumas fotos com gotas. Vamos dizer que foi de propósito para tornar as fotos mais puramente irlandesas. 

 The crags / Os precipícios

A cave and probably the reason why the park is called Cavehill country.

Uma gruta e provavelmente a razão do parque se chamar "Monte da cave" (Cavehill).

There were 3 different trails and only one, the longer one, went up to the top. As it was raining, we didn't want to go all the way around, so we invented a shortcut and went straight up. We were not the first ones to do that, as there were some small trails we could follow. It worked for our purpose and we had a bit more of adventure.

Havia 3 trilhas diferentes e só uma, a mais longa, passava pelo topo. Como estava a chover não nos apetecia ir à volta da montanha, por isso inventamos um atalho e fomos a direito e a pique montanha acima. Não fomos os primeiros porque havia havia trilhos pequenos marcados. Serviu para o que queríamos e assim tivemos um pouco de aventura.

We heard a shout and froze. Is it someone shouting for help? No... it was just a farmer calling his cows. Oh lovely countryside life!

Ouvimos um grito e paramos. Será alguém a pedir ajuda? Não... era alguém a chamar as suas vacas. Tão boa a vida no campo!

 Both this pictures were taken within 2 minutes. You see what I mean? Bipolar weather!

Estas fotos foram tiradas com uns 2 minutos de diferença. Percebem agora? Tempo bipolar!

Although wet, we had a lovely time. The castle and surroundings was probably our favourite place in Belfast.

Ainda que molhados divertimo-nos imenso. O castelo e arredores foi provavelmente a nossa parte preferida em Belfast.

Seasons in Sweden

I grew up learning and knowing that seasons change with the equinox and solstice. 

Spring starts March 20th or 21st.

Summer starts June 20th or 21st.

Autumn starts September 22nd or 23rd.

Winter starts December 21st or 22nd.

Later on, I learned that seasons can be classified in different ways, such as astronomical (the one we use in Portugal and in other countries), calendrical (assigning 3 months to each season, e.g. spring is March, April and May) or climatological.

In Sweden the climatological classification is used. According to wikipedia, spring occurs when the daily average temperature is rising and is between 0 and 10 ºC. Summer is when the temperature is permanently above 10 °C. Autumn is when the average daily temperature is falling and is between 0 and 10 ºC. Winter is when the daily average temperature stays permanently below 0 °C. 

Two conclusions can be taken from this:

1. If the climatological classification was used in Portugal, there wouldn't be winter there, except for a few days in high altitude places around Serra da Estrela.

2. Sweden can have more than one season simultaneously, depending on whether we are talking about the north or the south. This was what caught my attention when I saw the weather report yesterday on TV.

The picture referes to the year 2014, but I couldn't find for this year. The idea is there anyway. In September 20th it was still summer in central and southern Sweden, but Autumn in North of Sweden. In October 10th, it was winter in the north, autumn in the center and summer in the south.

I find it funny. Swedes find it normal and modern. What do you think?