Lisbon, Portugal – April 2008
Rosie

We arrived at Lisbon (Lisboa) airport at around 7.30pm from Gatwick and, true to his word, Mark our friend was there to meet us. It was a good reunion as we haven’t seen each other for about 6 years. He hadn’t changed much apart from a few more inches on his dreadlocks and a few more tattoos and piercings.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect as Mark is a travelling Juggler and circus performer who just happens to have juggled his way into Portugal a few years ago and hasn’t got around to juggling his way out yet. We knew we’d be staying on his bus near Lisbon for the first few days before heading down to one of the islands off Faro where his girlfriends parents own a holiday cottage. As it turned out we were allocated to sleep in his transit parked along side with the use of a chemical loo in the shed nearby.

We’re here for a month to visit Mark and to check out Olive farms for sale near the Spanish border. I’m not quite sure what our main plan is yet but as we had time to kill in England before we possibly move to the Midlands it seemed like an ok thing to do and a good excuse for a holiday.

Marks bus has definitely come on leaps and bounds since he bought it 6 years ago when he was visiting us in Morecambe – it’s even got a kitchen and a separate room at the back which he’s turning into a hairdressing area for Cilla his girlfriend, who we’ve yet to meet as she’s away working until Friday. Cilla is a hairdresser by trade and I presume the plan is for her to be able to offer this service when they are travelling around the summer festivals.

So tonight is a night for reminiscing with an old friend and tomorrow, well, tomorrow is another day.