ETHEREAL ROAD

     In a wide open space without physical references, the references are within the mind and soul. That’s what happens when one crosses the skies of the world. The sky is not much different everywhere but the air and light are. There are many places that I can recognize with eyes closed, just breathing or by the touch of the air in the skin. The density or lightness of the air, the temperature, the smell, a whole atmosphere that gives identity to the places. 

     Up there the great barrier is the plane itself, a kind of flying cage, not the coziest place for a bird. But once one forgets the plane and abstracts from all the risks that it implies, the eyes merge in the immense beauty and the soul flies freely. I’m out there and I can really touch the sky.

     The photos in the two albums Across the Sky (I & II) portrait 24 hours flying. The first one contains pictures from a short trip in Portugal (Lisbon-Porto / Porto-Lisbon) and the second one a longer journey to USA (Lisbon-Philadelphia-Orlando / Orlando-Philadelphia-Lisbon). The storms in Florida (Erika, Ignacio, Kilo, Jimena) didn’t allow to take clear pictures over Orlando, except above the clouds where the sun always shines. 

     In this moment only the first album is complete; the second one will be finished soon and some pictures will be added to this or a following post. The first album shows more the land than the sky, mainly Porto airport, a peaceful place with a beautiful light. Not the place that one may associate with the chaos and rushing of a big airport. Porto airport is a medium one and it is very well that way.

STREAMS

XXIX

Swift as a thought, from the mountain to the shore

The quiet bird flies across her wide home

What she leaves behind is what she meets ahead.

XXX

From now and then she lands here and there

A floating nest wherever there’s sky and warmth

A clear blue island in the heart of the travelling rainbow.

XXXI

She could go higher than the highest mountain

Lower than the deepest volcano crater or ocean abyss

Yet her dwelling and path is in between.

XXXII

She could grow older than the sands

Younger than the first rays of dawn

Yet she remains a traveler out of time.

XXXIII

She could be more alive than life

More fantastic than the ocean of dreams

Yet she’s just a tiny sparkle in the soul of imagination.

XXXIV

She could be all the birds

All the beings, all the things around and beyond

Yet her wings just embrace the soft breeze of freedom.

XXXV

Her home is wherever the heart is

Her path is drawn by light and love

She’s the bird of reality and wonder.

São Ludovino, 7/10/2015 – 3:09 a.m.

Porto airport - Generous light I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Generous light I, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Generous light II, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - The magic hour I, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - The magic hour II, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Coincidence, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - Close to departure, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Places where waiting is living with light I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Places where waiting is living with light II, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Wings within I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Watching the planes I, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Watching the planes II, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Watching the planes IV, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - The beauty of light III, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Coming down II, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Quiet and easy, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Solved in transparency, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - Coexistence of levels, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - A corner in time I, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - A corner in time III, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Time mask, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Time frontier I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Decoding space I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Decoding space II, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Dialogue with light, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Passengers I, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - Soliloquy with light, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - Geometry Lab I, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Inside outside I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Inside outside IV, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Made of wings I, photography by São Ludovino. 

Porto airport - Made of wings III, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Traveling still, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - To the gates, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Bridge to the sky I, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Porto airport - Cloudy sunset I, photography by São Ludovino.

 Porto airport - Cloudy sunset III, photography by São Ludovino.

Porto airport - Why hurry II, photography by São Ludovino. 

Departure from Porto, photography by São Ludovino. 

 Departure from Porto - The river and the bridges, photography by São Ludovino.

 Arrival in Lisbon II, photography by São Ludovino.

 Arrival in Lisbon III, photography by São Ludovino.

Between Lisbon and Porto I, photography by São Ludovino. 

Between Lisbon and Porto II, photography by São Ludovino.

A CORNER IN PARADISE

A CORNER IN PARADISE – Horse Stream Beach
Sesimbra, Portugal, 19/9/2015

     Sometimes paradise is so near. There are thousands of beaches along the coast, West and South, some big, some small, some well known and constantly full of people during Summer or unknown and almost empty even in Summer. Horse Stream Beach (Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal) is one of those paradises still almost untouched by human presence, mainly because the access is very difficult and somewhat dangerous. It is located very near from Sesimbra, a fishermen village where the sea is especially blue. It’s only 40 Km from Lisbon, about half an hour from my home… and yet I had never gone there… because I didn’t even know that existed until three months ago when I watched a documentary about it on TV. The most part of the people who were on the beach on that day were foreigner, from many different countries… And I asked myself “How is it possible that all this people know about this place and come here to enjoy it and I and the most part of the people here (with the exception of the local people of Sesimbra) never heard about it?” On that same day I made the decision of going there as soon as I could. There was work to do, then I was away from home and also from the country, but as soon as I came back I went there.

     Going to Sesimbra is easy, there’s a good highway and then a National Road. In Sesimbra one must go to the safe harbor and follow until the road ends close to the sea. Then, on the right there’s an unpaved road for about one mile and a half. On that point the road ends and what seem trails are seen in several points among the bushes, but only one is advisable to go down to the beach. And even that one is very narrow, steep and dangerous. In many points only one person can pass at a time and it is better not look much down, mainly those who suffer from vertigo. I fell once, not in the main trail but in another one that I had tried first. But all is worth to get down there. And coming up is always a little easier.

     The best trail is the one that begins in the point where there are some big rocks on the ground with graffiti and the word “Amor” that also appears in several rocks along the trail. Some gentle souls had the wonderful idea of painting and writing on the rocks along the main trail so one can avoid getting lost. It was always reassuring to find one more rock painted; that meant I was on the right trail. The way down takes about 15 minutes. It’s not much but it seems more because of the difficulties. During half of the way it isn’t possible to see the beach, only bushes and stones and with the several trails around it’s always possible to get lost. About 20 meters high it is finally possible to see a partial view of the beach (the West side, the one that stays in the shade earlier after sunset). 

     Since I only went there in the afternoon, the pictures I took are mainly of the sunny side. The beach is bigger than it looks in my photos. And there were there more people than I expected. Half of them went there by boat, an easier way. They leave the big boats near the beach than go there in small boats. There were a few people in tents that intended to spend the night there. And also some people doing scuba diving even in the late afternoon when the shade already covers about half of the beach. The high cliffs protect it from the wind and strong sun but also bring shade earlier. When I returned to the top, the sun was still shining bright over the village and the castle on the top of a hill. The water is limpid of a clear blue-green colour and the waves are very smooth. There are spots with very soft sand and others with plenty of pebbles. In both sides East and West, there are big rocks covered with several kinds of bushes and a few small caves, some inside the water and some in the base of the cliffs. Like in any other beach around here, there are nests of seagulls in the cliffs and on the rocks. They gather near sunset, fly low close to the sands and water and land beholding beauty from near.

     Below is a selection of pictures that only show a part of that fabulous place and not with the best light. Let us hope that paradise remains a paradise for a long time… 

GPS coordinates: 

N 38º 26’ 01”

W 9º 07’ 47”

Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Beginning of the trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, 

photography by São Ludovino.

 Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

Trail to Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal - going up again, 

photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo - cliffs near the road, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

 Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

Praia do Ribeiro do Cavalo, Sesimbra, Portugal, photography by São Ludovino.

How to go there.