07-24-2024
My first outing directed me to a viral taco spot, La Malquerida, known for its 1.00 euro taco happy hour. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of the tacos. One moment they were there, the next, they were gone. Coming from a Texan, I have a good understanding of most things tacos, and this place totally lived up to the hype. In fact, I'm still thinking about the birria quesadilla with the “super spicy sauce.” That sauce hit the “oh shit” meter, which is increasingly surprising in Europe.
After blacking out on birria tacos, I walked over to another little place I had seen earlier—Musa, a small pub/brewery that sells all of its in-house-made beers. The bar had a nice outside chill area with tables and umbrellas. The number of people there had increased, making it a perfect place to meet new people since I knew exactly zero people in Lisbon. People mingled and laughed. No music played over outside speakers, no security, or designated drinking areas—just people enjoying each other’s company on the street. Some sat on curbs, and others sat at tables.
After securing a beer, I wandered outside and saw an interesting-looking fellow flipping through a notebook, standing by himself. I decided to introduce myself. The conversation that followed would shape the next week and a half of my experience in Lisbon and land me my first real friendship. After meeting Al and talking about great subjects for the next hour, he introduced me to his friend Pedro. Throughout the evening, Pedro had tried to convince Al to go to a music festival with him, to no avail. I halfheartedly piped up, saying, “I could bring my hammock to sleep in.” After joking about it for a few minutes, we all realized this was something we could, in fact, easily do. A day or so later, we all met up at a bus station in Lisbon and hopped on a bus to Sines, Portugal, to catch the tail end of a free world music festival—Festival Músicas do Mundo!
After about an hour-and-a-half bus ride south, we got off at a bus stop with a bunch of other festival-goers and proceeded to walk towards the fest. The atmosphere started to change the closer we got to the city center. The main stage of the festival was inside an old castle, and the streets surrounding it were packed with people selling art and colorful wares. The smell of fresh churros and kebabs filled the air as buskers and other musicians played along alleyways and shopfronts. It was a nice break from the massive commercial festivals with mass-produced knickknacks and overpriced food. Here, you could find beautifully handcrafted jewelry made by a nomad from Argentina or a student selling photo prints from protests in France. The restaurants opened their doors and windows to serve beer directly to anyone passing by, which we quickly took advantage of.
Over the next two nights, we partied and danced until the sun came up. We ate cheap, delicious street food that would rival anything at any American music festival at a quarter of the price. We laid on the beach to cure our hangovers and enjoyed the vibrant life around us. As for me, this was something my soul absolutely needed to drink up. At one point at the main stage, I teared up looking around and seeing everyone simply enjoying their lives—families with their little ones, a couple holding each other close and kissing while slow dancing, a group of friends all laughing and cheering with their wine glasses and spliffs. Just the simple feeling that none of these people were fearing for their lives constantly and fully enjoying humanity really got to me. It was beautiful.
I ended up meeting our camping neighbors and hanging out with them on the last night of the festival, which also happened to be my birthday. My new friends presented me with a stuffed churro and had me blow out a lighter. It was perfect. Two of the neighbors, Suraj and Jess, would later invite me to go camping with them in the Alentejo region in southern Portugal.
We ended up falling asleep on beaches and driving through the countryside listening to Blink-182 live in concert for the next two days. We smoked, grilled, and rested. A perfect way to recover from the party that was Sines. Friendships blossomed with beautiful people.
More to come soon.
-Shane
