May 24, 2018 - Meeting Interesting People at the Allmar Hostel, Sines, Portugal

May 24, 2018 Meeting interesting people in this Hostel. A fellow from Australia who is a swimmer also. He stayed here a couple of nights. So Anai from Argentina, Paula from Portugal via the US, Kim from San Francisco, Alex from France,  Deloris from Portugal via France, Josh and Alexa from Vancouver, Canada and Glenn from Australia have all provided interesting insights and perspectives from around the world. One month in a hostel feels a little ho-hum, but I have a nice place to swim and I began the yoga classes and the people pass through from all over the world, so all in all very interesting. From here I will be in private rooms for shorter periods of time. For now I think I would like to explore more and get more photos.

Going to have a few days of rough weather. I'm joining a yoga class to help fill my time and supplement the swimming. While the swimming is intense and a complete work out, the yoga will complement it, displace time sitting, and provide more direct social contact.

I am googling cold water swimming to make sure I'm not taking too much of a risk. Many extreme cold water swimmers swim at 40+ degrees F. And I think the English Channel range is 59 to 64 degrees F, and they swim from 6 to 12 hours. I swim 40 minutes: the first 10 minutes are cold; the next 10 minutes are comfortable; the next 10 minutes are off and on; the next 5 minutes are cold: and the final 5 minutes are mental survival mode.


But this is not a dangerous temperature, my core temp is still good as I'm only shivering a little and i'm still able to take a shower at the beach. By the time I'm dressed and have climbed 8 flights of stairs (a 300 meter horizontal distance) to the hostel I'm back to normal. And as the spring and summer progress  the air and water temps are warming. And as I travel south the air temps rise to extremely hot in Morocco and the water temps get into the 70s. So even though that's still cold, it will prove to be very refreshing swim in the heat. I may opt for a couple swims a day.


This trip is very different than Latin America, as you can already imagine. I'll be on this seaside town of Sines, Portugal for a month (until June 11) and after that mostly 4 to 10 day stays at my various Airbnbs ( except for a 24 day stay at Gibraltar and a month in southern Morocco, a town called Mirleft). Swimming the oceans, talking with the locals and allowing the atmosphere to sink in will be my priority. Once I get into my daily routine of pre- and post-swim preparations, and taking a nap (otherwise I fall asleep sitting up in the common areas of the hostel😮), I hardly have time for anything else. I walk around, but i also do my morning reading and semi-daily journaling. And when I meet interesting people, like the past couple of days, there is added conversation time.

May 17, 2108 - What's it Like When the Inevitable Happens? Allmar Hostel, Sines, Portugal

Traveling as an American in Europe seems to be different than traveling in Latin America. But I'm glad to begin my journey in such a quaint venue without a lot of tourism for a whole month. I am meeting some interesting people. They come in spurts, to where the last couple of nights we were up into the wee hours visiting.


A fellow American and myself may have experienced a bombardment from someone last night who I think may have been under the influence of alcohol because the night before she seemed fine. She is from Portugal and was very persistent that Europeans do not like Americans and how she needed to tell us what was wrong with us. It was however an example of how generalizing and stereo-typing (Americans, Europeans, liberals, conservatives, Christian, Muslim etc) seems to be at the core of division and arguments. This became painfully obvious last night during this group discussion. But it made me realize how I it do it as well. But thankfully because I wasn't drinking, I wasn't as overbearing about it; however affected nonetheless.


Thankfully the other American kept a very level head, but afterward stated she was shaken and surprised as well. We both decided it was definitely the alcohol talking. But what was very cool, a young Frenchman, who was just listening throughout the soiree and not saying much, came into the kitchen afterward, where we were cleaning up and wondering what just happened, and bellowed an invitation to the balcony where they drank wine and we proceeded to laugh and talk and listen to music (the instigator had retired for the evening so the air cleared and spirits were lifted).

May 11, 2018 - Sines, Portugal & Allmar Hostel

This is my daily trek to my beach. It's not detectable but there are 130 steps down and up everyday for 33 days. I would come into the hostel everyday after my swim winded and tell Pedro and Joanne that their stairs are killing me! 

It's a nice beach protected by jetties. Many fish to see as I swim with a mask and snorkel, so I don't miss anything. 

Next door to the hostel is this castle of old.

Praia Vasco Da Gama

My swim hole as I drink morning coffee from the hostel balcony, reading, journaling and meditating. Getting old has it's upside. 

May 10, 2018 More Intro - Allmar Hostel, Sines, Portugal

No, no motorcycle, just beaches. I sold the motorcycle back in November; I believe it went to a perfect new home. 

I knew it had too many miles on it for another such trip, and even though it ran great, there were repairs (an oil leak from crack in case ~$2,000) and maintenance (valve adjustment ~$500) that made it unfeasible to pay $90/month to store. I made sure the buyer knew all about these costs and sold it very cheap, so I can sleep at night knowing we both got what we needed.🙂

I planned this trip solely around swimmable, clean, safe beaches (according to the reviews anyway - yes Gail, beaches get reviews 😂). 

However, by beginning at my northern most Aibnb/beach here in Sines, Portugal (about the same lattitude as San Francisco) in May, I'm encountering the coldest possible sea temperatures that I can stand for my daily 40 minute swim @60F. It's not dangerous, just challenging for a really old man🙄! But as spring/summer progresses and I travel south through Portugal, Spain and into Morocco, the sea and air temps should improve the comfort of my swim.

So from my introductory email you're probably up to date on everything so far. Not sure if you are aware that Todd and Nicole had a baby back on July 9 last year. So most Sundays from September to February 2017 and April 2018 were spent visiting there beautiful little family and bouncing Frankie Lee on my knee🤗!

This trip is proving to be much different than Peace Corps or the motorcycle trip. This first Airbnb is 33 days, so I don't get around as much. I try to swim every single day, and I've joined a yoga class for 3 days per week. As much as I've enjoyed exercising over the years, I've never been much for exercise classes. But on this trip it's a nice way to not only learn some yoga, but to immerse with locals. My other goal is to read the books that I brought along.

May 9, 2018 - Arrive in Lisbon, Portugal

Landing in Lisbon, Portugal

Landing in Lisbon, Portugal

Landing in Lisbon, Portugal

May 8, 2018 - Saying Good-bye to Seattle, Washington, USA

Good-bye Seward Park, Lake Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Good-bye Interstate I-90 Floating Bridge, Lake Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Good-bye Interstate I-90 Floating Bridge, Lake Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Good-bye Mount Rainier, Washington, USA

Good-bye Mercer Island, Seattle, Washington, USA

Good-bye Mount Rainier, Washington, USA

Good-bye Mount Rainier & Mount Adams, Washington, USA

Good-bye Keechelus Lake, Washington, USA

Maps with destinations and routes

My Route through Portugal and Spain from May 8 to July 25, 2018

My route through Morocco from July 25 to October 18, 2018

Current Itinerary - Copy and Paste this URL to Get to Itinerary

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uO97hzwl1hHgVvEO7K9w3i_Y0kgfqQ0k/view?usp=sharing

Introduction - My First Trip Across an Ocean May 7, 2018

My First Trip Across an Ocean

As many of my family and friends already know I have spent two years traveling Latin America by motorcycle and two years living with an indigenous community in the Comarca Ngobe Bugle, on the Mosquito Coast of  Northern Panama.

Now I've planned another adventure from May 8 to October 19, 2018. I have reserved Airbnbs along the coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco. I plan to do my daily one kilometer swim at each of the beaches where I will be staying. 

This little adventure will not be as fantastic as my previous two adventures, motorcycling 30,000 miles for two years and volunteering with the Peace Corps for two years. So I don't expect as many arousing stories to tell, but I would still like to document my experiences.

Please enjoy!

Michael Matthews

Back on the Road my Friends:

Beginning May 8, 2018 I began a five month trip to travel Portugal, Spain and Morocco. Many of you followed my "One Border at a Time" Blog, and I will be using the same blog address:
miketmatthews1.blogspot.com  

I will be using a new blog address: 

miketmatthews2.blogspot.com

And with a new title: "Swimming the Seven Seas," as my goal will be swimming many beaches throughout this journey. 

Some of you follow me on Facebook and may wish to opt out of this email; others may receive these updates on a work email and wish to opt out; while others, like most of us just get too many emails everyday and are much to busy to deal with the additional email traffic and would like to opt out this one. Please let me know, I feel a bit awkward assuming everyone has time to read these, so I do understand.

😎