Portuguese hospitality

I tried to go to the visitors´ center of the Parque Natural de Rio Formosa. They let you do volunteer work in exchange for free lodging in the dorm, and I wanted to see the mud flats anyway. I ended up walking for 2 hours looking for it, only to find that it was closed for Carnaval (despite the brochure clearly stating that it remains open weekends and holidays.)

At this point, my self-created rule that whenever the inconvenience factor gets too high, something amazing happens to restore travel balance, kicked into action. I complained to some other people who also seemed to be trying to get into the nature reserve. The guy introduced me to his stepson George, who immediately invited me for coffee with an old English couple he was hanging out with. It turns out that George works for the Hilton group in England and is home on vacation. He speaks really good English peppered with Briticisms (bloody, old chap, lovely, take the piss... although actually he says "take a piss" for that one.) He invited me to stay at his family´s house.

George proceeded to show me around his hometown and take me to his football club to spend the evening. We ate tiger prawns and octopus salad, drank beer and aguardiente, and played pool. He knows everyone- I mean EVERYONE- in town. In fact, I think the main part of his motivation for hosting me is to show off his connections. He worked for the local government and knows everyone on the police force. I would have enjoyed the evening even more if I hadn´t been so busy trying to figure out if he was trying to sleep with me (he actually wasn´t at all, but you never know.) Also, it´s a little bit awkward hanging out with someone who spends lots of money and socializes exclusively in Portuguese. So although I´m very grateful for George´s hospitality, we´re not really soulmates. I skipped out on a seafood lunch with conversation in Portuguese to go to the beach and read a book. I do feel indebted to him though... I hearby swear that if I can´t show him around NYC someday, I´ll do my best to host the next foreign traveller I meet at home! Too bad I don´t exactly live in tourist destinations.