How excited I was to get out of the car after 5 hours driving and finally see the beautiful Portuguese beach. That is something that Spain cannot compare with, no matter how much I love 'my' beach in Rota. The ocean in the Algarves is cristalclear, even when you are standing waist-deep. So blue, so quiet and soo cold! A good wake-up shower, especially with a hangover!
Friday was our day of arrival, Saturday would be the party. Fridaynight meant a get-together with our friends from Sevilla. As we waited on Nacho, Saber and Antonio, who would supply us the BBQ (we had the meat) it was just sitting in the cool sand, sipping on our Cruzcampo Beers. Good thing we came prepared with a whole loaf of bread and some coldcuts, otherwise we wouldn't have survived the wait. Our dear friends finally showed up at around midnight, totally wasted. They managed to spend 100 euros each on the way from Seville to Portugal - barhopping!
Nevertheless, the BBQ was on. As we sat in a circle, around two little fires, Nacho passing out our grilled meat sandwiches, Cesar playing his Spanish guitar, I felt happy. It takes a few things to feel total happiness, and I usually find them in small things. When I looked up at the nightsky, I could see the milky-way. So far away from everything, yet cosy surrounded by this small circle of friends, I forgot all the worries I had in this world for a moment.
For the next day, the big party was planned. I was less excited about that for some reason...maybe I'm psychic or supersensitive to feeling bad vibes in the air. Everything was fine during the morning and early afternoon. Miguel, Nacho, Saber and me spend all day together, going into the neighbouring village of Figueira, enjoying the scenes, beautiful streets and the Portuguese Sagres beer. That was all we need, just the four of us.
Although I hung out with 3 boys that were talking amongst them most of the time, I never felt leftout and frankly, I enjoyed having my thoughts to myself. After a phonecall, Nacho tells us we should lunch at this amazing restaurant, where we'll be meeting up with other friends and party-goers. I think he was the only one really up for it as the rest of us couldn't care less about meeting up. Saber did want to taste some local cuisine, as he said it's normally impossible doing such thing with Nacho, usually ending up having a BBQ. So we decided to go ahead with it.
Arriving at the scene, the restaurant is situated on a clif at the most beautiful beach that Carrapateira has. I'm a big fan of this beach, and it's surfnirvana. Candy for the eye, I'd say! We go to the back and find all of our friends already seated at a table that takes up the full length of the patio. They insist making another row of tables, but we prefer to stay seated at a table for the four of us. We can decide about our own dishes, without having to share it with 20 other people.
Then, out of nowhere, we see the DJ and host of the party getting upset about something. We look back and to eachother, slightly bewildered at what is going on. Somebody is trying to calm him down. Then the DJ rises up from the table and flies over to the end of the row, shouting at a girl. Our bewilderment grows and the whole crowd silences. Nobody dares to say anything. The DJ goes to sit down, the girl quietly leaves from the table walking alone down the road to the beach. Nobody follows her.
The food arrives but the silence is unbearing. Slowly people start to chatter and laugh again, but the awkwardness of it all doesn't leave the air. Right now, I couldn't care less about the party and rather get up and leave... But I don't, and we quietly whisper about what the hell was going on? I think it's rude and disrespectfull to everyone to let yourself go this way, especially with so many people witnessing the incident. Later, we find out that the DJ was shouting to his sister, and that she wasn't welcome at the party because of a current breakup with her and the DJ's best friend that was very painfull. She was told not to come but did anyway and the friend was shaken up with this. I don't get it, choosing your friend over family, but whatever, we don't know what more really is going on. It doesn't hide the fact that we are all 30-something and things could be handled in a more mature way.
We finish our delicious food, a fish-stew with a tomato sauce, and we head back to Figueira village to our now favorite bar. After all this, we don't feel like the party and rather stay there as long as possible. But after time, we start forgetting about the ordeal and we continue meeting up with another 2 friends that will be arriving from Seville; Jaime and Rafa. We do this in Carrapateira town, were we sit at yet another bar, while Nacho and Saber head on looking for somewhere to shower. I know already I won't last long for the party and don't care for having a shower myself.
And that's the second time this day that my 'psychic' ability comes forward. When we arrive at the beach where we left our tents, we are told to pack up and leave by the local police. After a lot of hesitating, talking and negociations, we go. With a police escort. They block off the road from the beach to the highway so our 'caravan' of cars can safely pass and we are guided to an open field full of windmills. We are to have our party here. The police joins for a bit, then leaving honking the carhorns after singing happy birthday in Spanish over the intercom. No joke. They probably had the day of their lives. I however, am fed up with it all, as the location sucks and I'm annoyed with the younger kids who think they are alone in this party. I hold on for maybe another hour and another rum/coke before turning into bed.
I had a good time, but next year I'm planning to do it different. But hey, who's complaining?
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