{maique}

Back in the city, for a little while, and off we went again. This post was published when we’re already in Africa! Definitely a very strange week, there’s not a lot to share. We were too tired to do anything worth recording, and mostly dealt with the trip’s preparation.

💨 Spent half a day in Lisbon, straight from the Azores, then moved to the in-laws. Car wouldn’t work, so used one of my father’s. I’ll have to deal with that when we’re back.

We (the little one and I) rested, while the older girl had meeting after meeting. Three days of this routine.

We then moved back home, and had to deal with the trip: barber, bookstore, dentist. Packing. Checking in. Returning the car to my father. We had a very busy, and very stressful, couple of days.

On the night before the flight, only the little one got some sleep. We had to wake up early, and kept doing double takes, trying to figure out if something was going to be left behind.

I got up at 3AM, to add another lens to the backpack. Then back to sleep. Then awake again, for no special reason.

And on to the airport we went.

💺 I inherited a cousin when I got married. Well, I inherited a few, but one is worth mentioning today. He’s an airline captain, at the company we flew this time (and, truth be told, whenever we can). We get upgraded to executive when there are empty seats, and that’s always good. We did on this flight. Better food, always nice. Another (very) good thing about the upgrade: never a line to use the loo.

The plane is a small A320, not the most glamorous of planes. The flight seems endless, and the fact that we must stop for 90 minutes in Accra is just a shame. There’s a direct one, but only once a week. Bigger plane too for that one.

🇸🇹 I’ve said it before, but trips to this island are special, in the sense that there’s next to nothing there. We have to take everything we need with us. There are no shops on the island, except grocery stores, and handicraft shops, and other assorted establishments, of no practical use for us. And there’s no way I’ll be able to find a cable, or a card reader, or a battery. There’s also no ATM for our cards, so we’re always taking a lot more cash than we’d like.

All this. while also trying to keep the total weight of our luggage as low as possible, since there’s an allowance of 15kg (33lbs?) per person on the internal flight to Principe. Yeah. My camera gear alone is close to that.

I never got on that flight without being charged for the extra weight. It’s been 9 years now since I first came, the local airline has made a ton of money from my flights! The flight, in case you’re wondering, costs an insane amount anyway: close to 250€ for a 35-minute hop.

💸 Purchased a few more presets, just because they were cheap. Will probably keep using the same old dozen, but I’ve seen a couple on this pack that look very cool. And it is very hard to resist a well designed ad, and $9 for a few hundred presets.

🍿 The Union. What a load of nonsense. SOOOO predictable, from start to finish. Free Guy, a little better. Enjoyed this one.

📱 Settled on Castro again, for all my podcast needs. I missed the playfulness, and it seems to be working. Please don’t screw this up, new owners.

📝 Wrote a longer post, concerning blogging workflows. Everyone seemed to be doing it, and the posts were inspiring enough to get me to write my own.

📚 The book I picked up just before the trip was my entertainment during the flight. The airplane has no other means of keeping you busy, even on an 8 hour flight (please fix this, TAP, it’s not acceptable). Loving the stories, and theories, about the horrific 1755 Lisbon earthquake.

⌚️ Worth noting this is the first time I’m spending time in STP without the Explorer. I’m still wearing the 5000U, that’s why. After Menorca, Chaves, the Azores, it’s now time for the Japanese to visit Africa as well. It’s a comfortable watch, the feature set is perfect for traveling, and it’s awesome to know it will be able to handle everything. The other one did as well (it’s built like a tank), but one always worries a little.