BANKSY
Position: 38° 41′ 51” N 9° 11′ 27” W Banksy, the reclusive street artist and practical joker, has dominated the very public art form s/he created for over 30 years. It is unclear if the anonymous Banksy is a man …
A Credo from a Door in Lisbon
Position: 38° 42′ 7” N 09° 10′ 41” W Lisbon’s Lx Factory is a little confusing. It’s billed as an artsy center for creatives and while there’s a bit of that, it seems like it’s mostly tourist shops with cutesy …
Photos: Porto
Position: 41° 8′ 23” N 8° 36′ 35” W From my walking notes of Porto I remember the following: Incongruous banjo player outside the cathedral. He wasn’t Béla Fleck, but this gentleman playing classical music on an anachronistic five string …
Mrs. Malaprop Abroad
Position: 38° 43′ 20” N 9° 8′ 21” W ‘Arrigato!’, called Carol as she waved cheerfully to the chap who had just delivered our morning bread. Berthed as we were in Porto, I’m sure she meant to say, obrigado. In …
Limericks
Position: 41° 47′ 37”N, 87° 34′ 51”W Back in June I mentioned my late father Kenneth’s love of humour and especially his love of limericks. At his memorial service in Chicago a couple of weeks ago I told one of …
Video: Nazaré, Portugal
Position: 39°36’17.0 N 09°05′ 07 W Portugal’s west coast isn’t the most welcoming geographically. Much like the west coast of the United States, Portugal has few natural havens for sailors. However, roughly half way between Porto and Lisbon lies Nazaré …
Photos: Galicia 2: Finisterre, Santiago, and Cathedral Beach
Cabo Fisterra – POSITION: 42° 52.95’N, 09° 16.31’W Finisterre is the end of the earth. Literally. One of the most foreboding points of land in Europe, sailors for centuries have sung shanties and recounted tall tales of its fearsome weather …
Birds in the Night
Leaning into port tack our starboard (green) navigation light lights up the water. Suddenly it shines more brightly. A blotch moves in the viridescent limelight. Then vanishes. Then reappears, flapping. A seagull, brilliant white in daylight, now reflected with the …
Shorts: The Jump
Position: 41° 8′ 23” N 8° 36′ 35” W This is how local kids entertain the tourists in Porto, Portugal. In the UK it’s called ‘tombstoning’ and jumping straight down from bridges is frowned upon there. There are signs that …