Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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Portugal — 11, Chapel of Bones

2019-04-02

Returning to the pier, we stomped back to the center of Faro. On the way, we got caught in a crowd of gawkers who were staring at an incomprehensible phenomenon: two young dudes with a bottle were poking at some black wavy thing. As happens with humans, we copied the gawking and also froze, studying the incomprehensible. Explanations didn't take long: the dudes' tracksuit-wearing buddies standing nearby didn't fail to tell us that it was a kind of fish called "Old woman's vagina". They apologized for the name, but you can't erase words from a song. However, considering the guys repeated this fact several times, they clearly got a kick out of mildly shocking the tourists. But Ira is no pushover, she herself can tell anyone a thing or two about vaginas, and this time it all ended with just jokes and banter in response.

Half of the pics are by Vika

Two people bent over the edge of a body of water, looking at a glass bottle with a label and a dark object lying on underwater stone steps in clear water.

I searched for the fish in English, didn't find it, but discovered this beauty instead. If I knew how to reply to people with pictures, I'd definitely show it to the dudes.

Sheela na gig By The original uploader was Pryderi at English Wikipedia. - Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 3.0

Sheela na gig — a bas-relief for scaring away evil spirits (or the devil knows what for), can be found in many countries of Western Europe, but especially in Great Britain and Ireland. It hails from the Middle Ages, which is kinda weird — how did Christianity ever allow such liberties?

Trippy!

The Portuguese love all sorts of house and street decorations

Facades of old city buildings under a clear blue sky, shot at an upward angle. The central house is covered in glossy brown tiles, has a dark green front door and an elegant wrought-iron balcony on the second floor.

In a niche of an old light-colored building is a cracked statue of a man in robes, on whose left arm a pigeon has built a nest. Below the niche is a stone plaque with a bas-relief of an anchor, a laurel wreath, and a partially readable inscription, including "COMISSO MARITIMO DE FARO".

Especially for Juris — Ganesha is right here

Globalization has washed away and blurred all borders, now there's a mix of everything possible and impossible all around. In the background are meditators based on the see-no-evil monkeys principle, which are generally a mix of Shintoism and Buddhism, and below — fat Chinese gods of folk beliefs, in the same formation. A whirlwind and a hustle.

We came here to relax — gotta lounge around We came here to relax — gotta lounge around

Things are fine with desserts here. I think it's always like that in the south. Things are fine with desserts here. I think it's always like that in the south.

With storks too With storks too

A white stork with red beak and legs stands on top of a white, carved architectural element against a bright blue sky.

Gatling organ Gatling organ

The plan for today is a macabre little place known as the Chapel of Bones. (Capela dos Ossos). Google, spying on me by the way, hints that this was Friday, February 22nd, which will play its role further down the page.

Called: Where's Wally Called: Where's Wally

The chapel is called that because it's made from the bone remains of local monks who were pulled out of an overcrowded cemetery. It seems it's not even the original, but a copy-paste from another Portuguese city — Evora. In that one, there's an inscription at the entrance: "We, the bones that are here, await yours", so that no one relaxes, and remembers the eternal.

To each their own, but bones don't stress me out at all. I can't wait to be with them, here me and the five thousand monks are on the same wavelength.

A close-up selfie of a bearded man with blue eyes, slightly smiling and sticking his tongue out. In the background — a wall densely lined with human bones and skulls.

The walls and vaulted ceiling of the ossuary are completely lined with human skulls and bones, arranged in geometric patterns using red dividing lines.

A wall or ceiling of the ossuary, divided into square sections by decorative lines with patterns. In the center of each cell is a human skull, surrounded by densely packed small bones.

The vaulted ceiling and upper parts of the walls of the room, completely strewn with human skulls and bones, forming geometric and curved patterns with dark red dividers. A dark metal chain hangs from the center at the top.

The walls and altar of the room, completely faced with human skulls and bones, separated by horizontal red stripes. In the center of the wall is a rectangular window in a wooden frame.

This is how Andrey relaxes in Portugal, and generally everywhere This is how Andrey relaxes in Portugal, and generally everywhere.

A corner building with blue and light walls completely covered in bright surreal graffiti depicting human figures, a large heart, musical instruments, and a complex tower. A street sign "TRAVESSA JOSÉ COELHO" is also visible on the light wall.

The facade of a building decorated with bright street art. On a blue background, a powerful winged figure swinging a ladle is depicted, as well as windows with closed shutters covered by part of the drawing and red inscriptions.

Graffiti on the wall of a building: in the center, a stylized woman in blue clothes with a fan against a blue sky with clouds, below her — a scattering of red roses. On the sides of the composition are windows with closed shutters covered with additional graffiti.

Cool coloring Cool coloring

A seagull, probably A seagull, probably

A tall plant with numerous red bell-shaped flowers in a white tub stands on a cobblestone street. In the background, a white delivery truck with open doors, loaded with red crates of beer, and a row of old white buildings are visible.

3D license plate! 3D license plate! Such a love for relief, just to the absolute limit!

Well, the time has come to move on, to leave Faro. Andrey really wanted to visit Gibraltar once more, a place, according to his words, very interesting and peculiar. I was moving again at the whim of the wind of other people's desires. It often turns out this way for me, from one extreme to another: either I plan the route from scratch, and we go exactly as I planned, or I vaguely imagine even the name of the place where I am, let alone where I'll end up next.

However, before leaving the hospitable south, we headed to another curious place, and simultaneously — an event. We had to drive there for over an hour, and we set off, plunging into the twilight.

So as not to get bored on the road, we dropped by the Norwegians' craft beer bar. By the way, our dear native academics even came up with a word by which this beverage should be called in Latvian — arodalus. The root arod means craft, alus — beer. Well there you go, and I promised in the last post not to torture you with linguistic trivia. Couldn't help myself!

Anyway, back to the Norwegians. The bar is called NanoBrew. Apparently because it brews only 60-300 liters of beer a week, as the blond owner told us. Sixty is in winter, when in a tiny village, which Fuseta is, there are no tourists at all. The bar is open in winter only on the weekend, and even then closer to the evening. As much as I'm not a beer fan (it just doesn't go down), even I appreciated how different the aromas and tastes of all these APAs, IPAs, and stouts are. They pour a whole 12 varieties on tap, and even let you try them. I got so buzzed from the samples that I didn't need anything else, it's even somehow awkward to do free tastings. Although, we later bought a couple of bottles for Andrey and Anita. If memory serves, Andrey never got the chance to drink his.

Having stocked up and loaded into the black jeep, the four of us, without Vika and the kid, we moved out into the night, towards adventures and Friday Happiness Pizza Party, whatever that might mean.

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