Portugal on a Point & Shoot
& My Loose Travel Rules
The only concrete rule I give myself for international travel is to not lose my passport. Everything else is flexible.
I spent about 10 days in Portugal eating, touring the country, taking photographs, and celebrating with family.
One invaluable lesson I’ve learned throughout my time in America’s beautiful western states is that discerning what makes a place or experience “worthy” is hard. It’s often not possible until you’re there. Internet research gives you a good starting point, usually with the most popular spots, but it’s only the first step. Postcard and Instagram-famous attractions are renowned for a reason, so I’m not discrediting them. I don’t think anyone should turn their nose up at “touristy” things, especially when you ARE a tourist. That being said, there are countless gems that you’ll inevitably stumble upon… I think travel agendas should stay open and flexible to accommodate them. That’s why I don’t book my days from dawn to dusk weeks ahead of time and don’t impose stringent travel rules on myself. I like to leave a little room for serendipity, so…
Here are my fast & loose travel philosophies:
1. Adventure starts on your plate.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I’m not taking this to the extreme and swapping out my Led Zeppelin tees for white linen clothes, but I am serious about this philosophy when it comes to food. I’ve traveled with people who want to eat at McDonald’s for every meal. Baffling. This is your chance to cosplay Bourdain.
As much as I love chicken fried steak and 3 cups of coffee for breakfast, I gladly woke with espresso, cured meats, cheese, and bread for the sake of the experience. I ate the same things for lunch and dinner 3 days in a row because they were that damn good: clams, prawns, codfish, olives, grilled choricou, and sardines.
No regrets on my end.
Eating connects you to the culture and people, especially when it’s also a multi-hour social event. You can’t source ingredients and cook every meal at home, but adapting your palette in a foreign country is my best take on Radical Eating and Radical Living while abroad.
Meals are longer, coffee is built around socializing instead of to-go cups, and there’s no real rush. New surroundings flex all senses, best not to ignore the taste.
2. Move at the speed of “right”,
Not the speed of light. I still wake up early and go to bed late, but I’m not rushing through every minute of the day. Waking up early means I can slow down and sit at the cafe for an extra hour or walk around the streets before they’re inundated with cars and chatter. Going to bed late means I can bullshit at a cafe at 9pm, or grab a beer with my brother and watch the locals close down the bar.
You can’t really notice much out a car window if you’re driving 200kph (I’m using kilometers now), and you can’t really notice much about a city if you’re racing around for the sake of crossing off your agenda. In a place like Portugal, where some buildings predate the United States by several hundred years, I felt inclined to do a lot, and to do it slowly.
I toured castles from the 1100s... walked the cobblestone and marble sidewalks of my family’s hometown… even compared the sizes of doorways from different centuries. Every alleyway and storefront holds 100 things worth noticing if you take the time. I’d be remiss to rush through my family’s history. Slowing down is a worthy avenue for immersion.
4. Bring the camera, wisely.
I really enjoyed reading
’s, “Does the Camera Distance or Deepen the Experience?” on the plane. I’ve often debated this question, wrestling with the decision to bring or leave my camera on several adventures. Truthfully, though, I’ve never regretted bringing a camera anywhere… but I have learned a few ways to make it more enjoyable/minimal ( has a good post on this too). I used to carry a full-frame camera, heavy lens, and tripod. I’d find a good composition, set everything up, and shoot ‘til I got my money’s worth. I rarely ever use a tripod now, I pack as light as possible, and I spend only about 5 seconds finding a good enough composition.I packed two cameras for this trip: my Fujifilm XT-4 and my Ricoh GRIII. I love both, but I ended up using my Ricoh 90% of the time. It’s small enough to fit the pocket of any pants or jacket I own, and it takes amazing pictures. It allowed me to keep moving at the “speed of right” the entire trip. I wasn’t lugging around extra weight, fumbling with a backpack, or stuck photographing one spot. I could enjoy the present, snap a quick picture, and still walk away with something that evokes more emotion than my iPhone photos.
Having a camera immortalizes my experience in a lot of ways. I want to enjoy my vacation as much as I want to take great photos. I want to capture a memory without making it a chore… so that’s just meant smaller and smarter camera selections on each journey. Haven’t had a regret so far.
Photos:
I returned home to Las Vegas with tastebuds still yearning for seafood, so
and I shucked oysters at home.
More words/photos/food coming soon.
Adeus.
Love the photos Christian! Great job!
100% with you, being able to be a local when traveling is another type of experience you can have.