A PhD on the Road (Portugal)

Sailing from Lagos to Portimão

Living in a little confined space with other people can teach you a great deal about ruling your own life. It has been a fantastic experience in that sense.

We all need a man behind the Wheel, to go in the right direction, and so we had our Capitan (Alexandre) taking the wheel in these trip. And our Capitan just taught me another important thing that i promise myself to reflect about. The man behind the wheel can not be the same person all the time:

Sometimes, we have to assume the wheel because we are the best man for the job, other times we have to leave the place for a best suited person, and the most important thing is to have the courage and wisdom to distinguish the difference.

We live in a dangerous world where rage, stress, hate, double crossing, trapping, stepping on other people feet, or push a knife on their back at anytime are basic rules for surviving, which everyone seems to accept nowadays, with no fighting back. In summary we live in a world of...

I Fuck you, you Fuck me, .

And i really believe that we should live under a completely different rule...

I Love you, you Love me

which leads to a much more pleasant and sucessful life. It´s basic mathmetatics. Giving 1 receiving 1, or giving 100 and receiving 100. One has only one possibility for combination. With itself. 100 generates millions of possible combinations. What, in your opinion, is the best?

In a boat sailing in the ocean, if you want to survive, it would be impossible to survive following the first rule. The same thing goes with our lives. Sooner or latter, everyone finds it out. In fact, your possibility of receiving is as bigger as your capacity for giving, and at the end there is a big difference: you lived a longer and happy life surrounded by people that will make your life richer, growing with you while you grow with them. The first rule always lead you to loneliness, bitterness, stone heart, and for sure... a sad end. Don´t you agree?

To fundament these ideas i just picked up 2 Portuguese Songs of my youth: O Homem do Leme (The man Behind the Wheel) dos Xutos e Pontapés, in a version of Rio Grande and A Marcha dos Desalinhados (the March of the anti Yes Men) from Resistência.

Love you, Love me

Kisses and Hugs

Blowin' in the Wind - The Man behind the Wheel from nunocruz on Vimeo.

Desta vez deixo que as palavras da musica escolhida (o Homem do leme cantado pelos Rio Grande e a marcha dos Desalinhados dos Resistência) falem por mim. Escutem-nas com atenção.

Acredito que precisamos sempre de um homem ao leme, mas que esse tem de variar em função das circunstâncias (nenhum homem está bem no leme a vida inteira, de certeza). Cada um de nós tem que ter a coragem de assumir o leme quando a nossa hora chega, mas também a sabedoria de passar o leme quando outro está melhor preparado. Esse é concerteza um dos segredos da vida. Aprendemos todos isso com o nosso Capitan (o Alexandre) nesta viagem

Acredito também que se podem alcançar as mesmas coisas vivendo na base de

I love you, you Love me

em lugar daquilo que é o nosso mundo de hoje...

I Fuck you, you Fuck me

A diferença está numa vida plena, alegre, saborosa e bem vivida em detrimento de uma vida, stressante, odiosa, solitária e amarga. O que é que vocês acham?

Beijos e abraços para todos

I Love You...

A PhD on the Road (Portugal)

Sagres - Lagos

And after a few days blowin' in the wind i was finally touching my homeland. I confess i was a bit nervous about this moment, after 1 year with my eyes and my mind layin over other people and other cultures. The anxiety of having the good things of my people, such as the laughs, the joy for life, the Fado (of Coimbra) and the Football, and also the fear to face the big hole that the country is diving into. But i had promised myself to enjoy every minute has it was the last, Carpe Diem, leaving the hopes and fears aside. The fantastic moments i lived in this crossing with my friends, lost in the imense Atlantic in this little boat, which was a magnificent opportunity for a deep thought about life. My life.

We arrived in Sagres, but we didn´t go onshore, sleeping in front of the beach, with the new company of another sailor, Afonso, brother of El Capitan. I think it is symbolic to choose a very much portuguese soul as it is the Fado, and so i picked up a very known one (Gaivota), although i prefer, for this moment, the version of Sonia Tavares, instead of the Great Portuguese Icon that is Amália Rodrigues.

In the morning we sailed away again to Lagos. Rodrigo (remeber him from Tibet?) and Ariana were around in the town and so the first big party celebrating my return jus came up, with the music of Rodrigo Leão (Rua da Atalaia) and the fantastic voice of Ana Carolina (La Fete). And so it was the best of returns.

Kisses and Hugs

Blowin´in the Wind - Steping my way home from nunocruz on Vimeo.

E assim, após um ano com os olhos e a cabeça em outros povos e culturas, aí estou eu de regresso a casa. Confesso que me senti um pouco nervoso em pensar no que esse momento me poderia causar. A ansiedade das coisas boas da minha terra como as gargalhadas bem dispostas, a alegria de viver, o fado (de coimbra) e o Futebol (o meu Porto, claro), mas também o medo do enorme buraco em que o país está a cair e donde parece dificil sair. Carpe Diem, carpe diem, prometi a mim próprio não me deixar envolver muito pelas esperanças e mêdos que me assolariam no regresso, apenas deixar-me ir gozando cada momento desta viagem com os meus amigos, nesta pequena casca de noz. Excelentes momentos para reflectir.

Chegamos a Sagres, mas não fomos a terra, fundeando na baia desta cidade, com a companhia de outro marujo de profissão, Afonso, o irmão de Alexandre (El Capitan), e com a Sonia Tavares cantando um bem Português Fado (Gaivota). Que me desculpe a Amalia Rodrigues, mas acho mais adequada ao momento a versão cantada por esta diva da musica portuguesa (a Sónia dos Gift).

No dia seguinte, levantamos ferro e navegamos em direcção a Lagos, onde encostamos na marina local. Rodrigo (lembra-se dele no Tibete?) e Ariana estavam por perto e assim se montou a primeira festa de celebração do meu regresso, bem portuguesa, com o Rodrigo Leão e a fantastica voz de Ana Carolina, que sempre me arrepia (Rua da Atalaia e La Fête).

Beijos a todos

A PhD on the Road (1 Year walking around the world)

Today is a special day. One year of this beautiful trip

14798 page views, 7990 visits from my Portugal and so many different countries such as, Netherlands, England, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, Taiwan, Macau, Sri Lanka, Korea, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Argentina, Malasya, Iran, Burkina Faso, Mocambique, Angola, Marrocco, Algeria, Australia, Egypt, India, Japan, Sudan, South Africa, among so many others. So many more friends i have now

Thank you all for the company, i hope i can make you smile

God Bless you

A PhD on the road (Atlantic Ocean)

Carpe Diem

I left Porto Santo really amazed by its magnific balance. Without the beach it would loose its main attraction, and without the mountains the beach would dissapear in a couple of years. That´s a good example of a team eficiency.

And then the last journey had started. 5 persons (Alexandre, el Captitan, Mena Zambujal, Vitor Az, my Silvia and myself) in a eleven meter sailing boat, for a couple of weeks, living, enjoying and tasting every minute without stress or outside pressures, or aiming any distant objective. Just living the best you can. CARPE DIEM

I learn to do that with the PhD, taking and sensing deep all the details, not worrying about the next step. It will come whenever it as to come, but really important is to take the one we are studying roght now. Somehow i mixed a bit of all the cultures i met in my way: the sensitivity and passion of Budists, the sharp wisdom of chinese or the capacity of improvisation of brazilian friends. And so i really got the pleasure of a deep and detailed work that led me to another state of knowledge, but knowing that you can not get anywhere if you just think and don´t try. The conditions were not perfect for everything i had to do, but i couldn´t be waiting for it to come.

And thus and again, Life, Tour around the world and Tour around the mind became one.
So, at the end of this adventure i have just one essential suggestion: CARPE DIEM IN EVERYTHING YOU DO WITHIN YOUR LIFE (family, friends, love, sex or work). "Carpe Diem" of that fantastic portuguese RODRIGO LEÃO is perfect for this walk. Hope you enjoy.

Kisses and hugs

Blowin' in the Wind - Sea Wolves from nunocruz on Vimeo.

Deixei o Porto Santo ainda espantado com o magnifico equilibrio que a ilha demonstra. Sem a praia aquilo perdia metade da píada e sem a montanha vulcanica, a praia desapareceria em pouco tempo. Um excelente exemplo do que vale combinar coisas diferentes. E assim arrancou a ultima jornada com os meus 4 parceiros de aventura (O Alexandre Santos, a Mena Zambujal o Vitor Az e a minha Silvia) todos enfiados num barquito ä vela com 11 m de comprimento lancado ao mar, vivendo e saboreando todos os momentos sem nenhum stress nem pressa de chegar. Que bom.

CARPE DIEM. Aprendi muito isso nesta jornada doutoral, aprofundando todos os detalhes, mas sem me deixar prender demasiado por eles, que a vida faz-se do movimento. De algum modo, incorporei tudo o que fui vivendo e aprendendo com as culturas dos paises que fui atravessando. O instinto africano, a sensibilidade e amor dos budistas, a sabedoria incisiva dos chineses, a capacidade de realizacao dos brasileiros e a perseveranca das culturas indias americanas. E assim consegui atingir o prazer profundo de um trabalho bem pensado e bem, realizado. E assim as duas volas ao mundo e ä mente, misturaram-se mais uma vez, deixando-me a vontade de vos sugerir... CARPE DIEM em tudo para as vossas vidas (familia, amigos, amor, sexo ou trabalho). "Carpe Diem" desse fantastico portugues RODRIGO LEÃO é o ideal para o momento. Beijos e abracos.

A PhD on the Road (Portugal, at last)

Porto Santo

Steppin on National Territory, again. I just choose the smallest island of our Portugal, in a symbolic way to come back home.

Pick up your Google, find Porto Santo, go up in the sky and see how small it is in the middle of the ocean and how amazing is that the nature who found a way of proctecting the beauty of that golden beach. The (volcanic) God of the Deep that came all the way up to protect that "lady" beach, the most golden beach in the entire world.

Porto Santo is an amazing place, the most curious island i´ve ever been. A combination of sedimentary and volcanic environment all in the same spot, with a 14 km long narrow beach, lost in the middle of the ocean with a vulcanic bodyguard that ensures is sustainability. It is a life lesson, about balance, protection and how important it is to combine advantages to get better results.

I recommend a stop by... People living there (how smart they are) just teach you how easy can life be.

My tribe is still walking along with me, making sure i really come home, and so i danced with them following the lyrics and songs of Macy Gray (I Try) and Red Hot Chilli Pepers (Stadium Archadium) , which were chosen by them. It was fantastic for me to feel their warmness, here. Next week, i´ll start crossing the Atlantic Ocean in my last track to the mainland.

Kisses and hugs for everybody, and make your life easy.

Small things are always great from nunocruz on Vimeo.

Pisando o território bem português, outra vez.

Vão ao Google, escolham Porto Santo e subam em direcção ao céu e apreciem a sua reduzida dimensão face ao oceano, e a forma como a natureza se encarregou de proteger uma praia fantástica e extremamente aprazivel, através de um guarda costas vulcânico de enorme resistência. O Deus das Profundezas, subindo até à superficie para proteger essa Dona tão bela, a praia mais dourada do planeta. Escolhi o Porto Santo, como Porta de Entrada, porque é sem duvida a ilha mais curiosa que já visitei. Uma linha com 14km de comprimento que o oceano não afoga, que mostra quão simples pode ser a vida. Recomendo uma visita...

A minha tribo ainda caminha comigo, como que para garantir que chego são e salvo a casa. Que bom esse calorzito. Dancei com gosto com eles ao som de Macy Gray (I Try) e Red Hot Chilli Pepers (Stadium Archadium)conforme escolha deles. E assim me preparo para a derradeira aventura de voltar à vela, cruzando o oceano até às praias do algarve, regressando definitivamente.

Dancem comigo e Divirtam-se