Summertime, and the living is easy: Cascais beaches and Tamera

Part #1: Cascais Beaches

The tourist season is well and truly upon us!!

The three of us headed out for a walk today along the beachfront and were confronted with every possible body type and bathing suit that could be seen on a beach!

Bathers (both the clothing and the people) were one thing, but the activities were another... apart from the obvious swimming and sunbaking, there are pedal-powered contraptions that a slide attached, which people then take out a safe distance before using as their own personal water slide. Genius.

There's also a lot of paddle-boarding going on, which has managed to escape my lens. I've taken a couple of lessons myself... something different to do, and quite relaxing when the water is still.

We're so looking forward to when Margaux is confident enough in the water that we can take her down to the sheltered pool, which you can see in the bottom left picture.


Part #2: Tamera

Tamera is an intentional community situated a couple of hours south of Lisbon. It defines itself as 'a school and research station for a realistic Utopia'. To learn more, go to their website here.

We were given a whistle-stop tour of the grounds and its facilities, as well as an overview of what is strived for within the community - ecologically, spiritually, academically, sustainably, and the relationships and interactions between everyone who lives there. It is a fascinating place, ecologically based around the principles of Permaculture, which we find very interesting and relevant.

In the above photo on the left you can see a lake that, in 2007 was a dustbowl. Through application of Permculture principles and design, they have managed to use the valley as a catchment area for the rainfall and have made it a year-round water supply.

On the left side photo I am standing next to an enormous sunflower plant. Incredible.

It was a very hot day and Margaux was a trooper - as we have come to expect and take for granted!