O Porto - The Harbour. Always makes me kind of feel as if I had arrived already. And it's always hard to leave. Especially because my very good friend Pedro and all the friends I met through him over the years are living there. But also for that the city has changed considerably everytime we meet again and there is always something to discover: a stylish new cruise ship terminal here, a tiny art gallery there, business people, travelers, weirdos, you name it.
I naturally loose my orentation anywhere, but in Porto it's an extraordinary plessure. It happens to make me feel as if I was a little boy in a big old city, running up and down the countless stone stairs with a big grin on my face, this black dog that keeps following me everywhere, taking random turns into narrow alleys without knowing where they lead, getting lost between the smells of fresh laundry and warm pastry. Is there anything nicer than Portuguese pastry? Whatever I've tried so far, and may it just look like an all too simple piece of cake, it never is. It's either incredibly juicy or has some surprising super-tasty filling to it. A pastry shop window can be so very fascinating...
Also in Porto we had the first major repair coming up. The rear brakes had been an issue for while, since Ireland actually. But driving in Porto, probably one of the most hilly cities in the world with its 1st-gear-steep slopes, you might wanna attest some importance to those brakes. The tricky bit with these drum brakes is that when they're too loose there's too much space and they just fall apart. Inside a more or less fast spinning wheel. So when I heared that not unfamiliar sound of some parts randomly rotating back there, I felt it was time to pull over and do something about it. I'd ordered new brake shoes beforehand and carried them with me forever. But now there were no excuses - no rain or galeforce winds, an even dry surface next to the train tracks, and not much longer to go without doing something anyway.
The job took about two hours and everythig worked alright. It's such a good feeling getting some boxes ticked. But from my experience I know that with this van, if you fix one thing two more will come up soon. Just as if it was trying to make sure it gets its share of attention besides the dog and the surf and the books. Which is fair enough I guess for what would I do on this trip without my little casita viajera?