Splash!

OMG, guess what just happened?! I fell, full-body, backwards into a rock pool. Like the whole of me, Annie Field, WAS IN A ROCK-POOL. Fully clothed- jeans, new “hiking” shoes, t-shirt and hoodie. Bloody soaked through. There were no injuries, luckily and though my state was/is slightly tipsy I had the forethought to give Mick the camera as I scrambled over the rocks. Phew!

This afternoon we drove from Porto, north to the Galicia region in North West Spain. We are staying in a ridiculously cheap bungalow about 150 metres from the beach, hence my rock pool enthusiasm. As well as being famous for Pimientos de Padron this coastal region is famed for having the BEST seafood in the world. Here’s hoping.

Back to Porto for a moment. We attended our second football (soccer!) match while there. FC Porto V CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) at Estadio do Dragao. I actually never blogged about the first, which we attended in Spain. Valencia V Vila Real. Both were a heap of fun and confusion.

The Spanish match was held in Vila Real, about an hour north of Valencia (south east coast). We bought the cheapest tickets available, the “away” end, which landed us with a bunch of passionate Valencia supporters behind a cage at one end of the stadium. We weren’t sure who the cage was there to protect but I’m certain the eight or so police in riot gear were only there to cheer on Valencia.

We drank beer and munched on salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) like the locals and learnt a few swear words along the way. If somebody calls your mother a burro or a puta, feel free to sock em’ one.

The Portuguese match was in some ways more exciting. It was a Europa League match and I think the competition between two different countries added to the intensity and wild enthusiasm from the crowd.

There were drummers to lead the FC Porto fan club in their cheers, beating out a rhythm that reverberated around the stadium. At one stage the Bulgarians removed their shirts in a show of support (or something), which prompted a third of the police on hand to descend on them. There was even a pitch invader, who got a roaring applause from the audience.

Alas, no Portuguese swear words. The language is a tricky one, influenced by a billion different things. That sounds Russian or Eastern European. We’ve found it very confusing, it’s almost as though you read something on paper, think of the extreme opposite of how you would pronounce it in English, twist that around beyond recognition, spice it with a Russian huskiness and there! That’s Portuguese.


Live long and prosper,
Annie XO