The beauties of the world...trip to Açores...

It's been a long time since the last time we've posted something on our blog, but I think this will make up for lost time! I've been here in Portugal for nearly 8 months now and I've visited too many places with my new friends. Evora, Portimao, Albufeira, Tavira, Vilaand many more. All of those places had a unique beauty. Evora for its Capela dos Ossos and Templo Romano, Portimao for its Praia da Rocha, Albufeira for its beaches, Tavira for its narural beauty and its castle, Vila Real do Santo Antonio for its praça and its proximity to Spain, but Portugal it's not just the peninsular. Portugal also has beautiful islands, and I will always be grateful that I managed to visit one of those. São Miguel of Açores! Açores is a place of a unique beauty. There you can pretty much do everything and anything you want.

You can relax on the natural hot springs

or simply enjoy the spectacular landscape

and the beauties of nature

Taste the delicacies 

and then relax at the natural Atlantic hot tubs that the island has to offer :)

And this is just the tip of the iceberg! There were lots of places of indescribable beauty I didn't take any photos, because sometimes you just want to sit down and enjoy the view. And at those times the thought of taking a photo is not crossing your mind, because you have already taken the best photo, and it's saved in the best saving place, your mind!

I sound like a tourist ambassador of Portugal but after you experience what I've experienced you would sound the same. I will be always grateful to my Portuguese friend Fernando and his company, Renado, Mariana, Katarina and Luis, for inviting us, me and Farid, to this amazing trip and lived this amazing experience!

Our chains set us free: Bike trip to Tavira

As always winter is very summery in Algarve so our friend EVS from Faro Alexandross inspired all of us to go to Tavira by bicycles. Saying all of US i mean the new volunteers as well...

Yes, yes... in the beggining of Februry we wellcome to our EVS familiy 3 girls: Tabea (Germany), Martina (Macedonia) and Busra (Turkey).
Well, the idea was challanging and at the same time very interesting: cycle 23 km is not the same as cycling from the Cube to the Port and back and there is no Catita in the middle to go, have a rest, drink cervejinha etc.
So we went out folowing the EN125 road that leads to Tavira.
There is also a Eco road, very short and nice but you know, we are EVS, we love the challenge :D

For those who want to know about "EcoVia do Algarve", it is a coastal route that links Cape St. Vincent (Sagres) in the west point of Algarve and the city of Vila Real de Santo António (V.R.S.A.) in the east border with Spain. It is part of EuroVelo route 1 that links Sagres to the North Cape, in Norway, and is also known as the Atlantic Coast Route.

After 2 hours of cycling we get to Tavira...again, it was one of the best places we have ever been in Algarve. City is devided into 2 parts by Gilão River which meets the Atlantic Ocean.

And yes, will be better if we just show you all the pictures. Enjoy

Ah yes, on the way back we found an "increadable" praia in Algarve #ifyouknowwhatimean ...Praia that will change you understandings about them at all :D at least the photo we did there was good

Update

Olá Nuno...update is on the way

And now we are four...! :)

Well hello again people! Two months ago 3 people came here to Portugal ready to change the world! Ready to make lots of things and learn even more! But somewhere on the road they run out of ideas. Fortunately a new guy came, sharing the same passion, the same motivation and also fresh ideas! His name is Farid! He is our new roommate! And we would like to welcome him to the team through this post. Well, Farid is from Azerbaijan and he came all this way to the far end of Europe searching for the experience of a life time. He is a Mathematician, with lots of experience in Youth in Action programs, thus his experience would help us to develop new projects and he will be very helpful with the kids´ homework because of his degree.

So a big welcome to Farid from all of us.....

...and a big smile from Farid to all of you :)

What happens in Braga...stays in Braga!!!

Well, hello people....

It took us some time but eventually we managed to post something... Few days ago we went to a beautiful city called Braga, and by saying beautiful I mean fantastic! There we met some people from all over the world doing their EVS here in this beautiful country. We met people that shares the same passion, same ideas, same point of view of the world with us. Heck, we made some friends. And as all fairy tales begin; Once upon a time, three people from different countries, with different cultures, different dreams, came together here in this beautiful country called Portugal and settled in small city in the southern part of the country, at the region of Algarve, called Olhão. And then one day their coordinator said: "OK people, you are going to Braga for your "On arrival" training course." No one knew how amazing was going to be. No one expected to be that good. No one had dreamed of that it was going to be among the best experience they would had! So on the 7th of October, early in the morning those three people began a long journey from the city of Olhão towards an unknown, until then, city. The only thing they knew was the name, Braga. The journey took around 8 hours with the first stop at Faro train station after just 10 minutes. It was just a mid-stop to switch trains in order to get to the first major stop of their journey, Lisboa Oriente!

Évora is calling

And here we are. Autumn seems very summery in Olhao.

Didn't post a long time because of... you know...adaptation, getting to know each other and the people here, feeling the MOJU Power.

What is it?

This is the thing that you can feel only if you meet some people from MOJU or even better if you know people working there.

Cortiça

This time MOJU gave us the opportunity to go with them to a very big conference: 13º Encontro Nacional de Associações Juvenis (ENAJ´13) in translation it is 13th National Meeting of Youth Associations, on 4 and 5 October in Évora. The meeting was organised by the FNAJ - National Federation of Youth Associations in Portugal. It was not the first time that FNAJ organise the ENAJ and its have been consolidated as a reference point for the sector of youth (over 1000 participants).

In a few words: It was a conference with lots of active leaders, volunteers from all over Portugal, and yes it was all on Portuguese :D A challenge, isn´t it? But we survived and had a lot of interesting moments in Évora.

I think it will be more interesting if we tell you about ENAJ time that we have in the city.

And the first thing that comes to the mind- IT WAS AMAZING.

Évora is the capital of the Alentejo region, and it is a "UNESCO World Heritage Site" as well as a member of the "Most Ancient European Towns Network". May be now you think, "What the hell do you have to do to be a member of this networks". Let me tell you.

Firstly is the "Capela dos Ossos", which seems very nice church in the beginning and very scary in the end. Afterward, when you go out of the Chapel, you can walk to the street where people sell typical Portuguese things made from cortiça (cork). At the end of this small street you will see "Sé de Évora" (Cathedral of Évora). The main façade of Évora Cathedral, built with rose granite, and the lantern-tower over the crossing is very picturesque. It has a row of windows that bathe the transept area with light, and the ogival main portal is a masterpiece of Portuguese Gothic sculpture. The marble columns are filled with huge statues of the Apostles executed in the 1330s. Besides that, all tourists have possibility to go to the top of the church and see a breathtaking panoramic view of  Évora.

Sé de Évora

And at the end, the place which we fall in love is "Templo romano de Évora" (Roman temple of Évora) also referred to as the Templo de Diana. Locals say that it represents one of the most significant landmarks relating to the Roman and Lusitania civilizations of Évora, in Portuguese territory.

Templo romano de Évora

Why we love kids!

Well there are lots of reasons why we love kids and this is one of them!! Just look at them...aren't they adorable? :) 

How can you not just love them!!!

I mean come on!!! they've got some nice mooooooves!!! :)