Going to Work on a Sailboat: a Project that Starts by Chance

Just over a year ago, I decided to take on a new challenge and return to working as a freelancer in the fields of IT and sailing. It all started by selecting services that allowed me to work remotely, thus maintaining a certain mobility.

Last summer was the first test: 2 months in the Mediterranean aboard a sailboat with friends and acquaintances. Besides performing the usual tasks on the boat, I managed to work on the sailboat by carving out time to continue the work for my clients back “home.”

Essentially, I was active 24/7, but the view from my “office” was priceless and a balm for the mind.

The Second Test

Winter arrives. I go to lend a hand at the Swiss Ski School in Bosco Gurin, where I handle logistics, course organization, and private lessons, as well as managing equipment rentals. It’s a job that allows me to reconnect with people I had lost touch with and meet new ones.
And to acquire new clients for my professional activity!
The laptop is always in my backpack and follows me everywhere: even this winter, I manage to carry out various projects for clients working remotely.

The winter experience was more than positive, so much so that the idea of going to work on a sailboat and managing work remotely doesn’t seem so difficult to achieve!

Third Time’s the Charm

A couple of weeks after the ski school closed, a guy contacted me through a nautical site. He asked if I was interested in helping transfer his sailboat from New Zealand to Cape Town, passing through Darwin, Cocos Keeling, and Mauritius.

My response was spontaneous: “Why not? Give me some more details…”

The proposed conditions would allow me to continue client work from the boat, but that’s not all. There are indeed other interesting aspects of this undoubtedly unique experience:

• we will take on board other people during the journey and spend considerable time in New Zealand and Australian territories, giving me the opportunity to improve my English
• we will certainly face new situations at sea, enhancing my experience in entirely new areas that I honestly hadn’t planned for
• checking off the second cape from the “ToDo” list by rounding the Cape of Good Hope

On April 15, I accept the offer: I have just under a month to prepare.
The adventure is about to begin!

A Brief Presentation of My Activities

I work as a freelancer in the fields of IT and sailing.
The services provided are concentrated under two separate activities and are mostly manageable remotely.

• LALU Solutions, targeted IT consulting on term projects (particularly specializing in Wi-Fi networks for hospitality), creation and maintenance of websites and e-commerce, cloud backup solutions, cloud server management
• free-time-activities.com, sale of discounted nautical equipment, consulting and various services in sailing, sailing instruction

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Last update: May 22, 2019 @ 05:28

L'articolo Goodbye Office, I’m Going to Work on a Sailboat! proviene da Yamana - Sailing Life.

I must admit, from the very first evening Lisbon surprised and captivated me: for the local people, for the organization, for the cleanliness, for the architecture, and for the open spaces. It’s a human-scale city, where people get around on foot or by public transport and where it’s still a pleasure to stroll through its unchaotic streets, encountering many green spaces both in the center and along the banks of the Tagus.

To visit the city, you need to take your time – I’d say roughly one day per neighborhood. A week in Lisbon allows you to visit the main 5 neighborhoods and take the two day trips to Sintra and Cascais.

The neighborhoods of Lisbon that you absolutely must visit can be discovered using the famous tram 28, by metro, or even better on foot. I highly recommend wearing good hiking shoes, also because the limestone calçada used for the sidewalks is slippery, even more so when they start cleaning them with water cannons!

The Bairro Alto Neighborhood

Bairro Alto is Lisbon’s most creative and authentic neighborhood, where history, artists, galleries, and folklore are at home. During the day it’s quiet, but in the evening it comes alive and the nightlife becomes vibrant.
There are two funiculars that lead to the neighborhood: the Elevador da Glória north of Rossio station and the Ascensor da Bica right behind the Mercado da Ribeira Nova.

Don’t miss the panoramic viewpoint Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, from where you can admire the Baixa neighborhood and the Castelo de S. Jorge.

Baixa, Chiado and the Docks

Symbol of the city’s rebirth, Baixa is a central neighborhood of Lisbon that extends from Rossio to the river, with elegant pedestrian streets and squares. Here you’ll find the major shops and during the day it’s among the busiest in the city. The neighborhood was rebuilt after the 18th-century earthquake by the Marquis of Pombal. Towards the Tagus River you’ll find Praça do Comércio and the Arco da Rua Augusta.

While wandering around Lisbon, you can’t help but taste Ginjinha, a sour cherry liqueur that’s sweet and spicy at the same time, typical of the area. You can taste it in various places, but the most characteristic and historic remains Ginjinha Espinheira, in Largo de São Domingos.

In the Baixa neighborhood are hidden shops dating back to the early 1900s and even earlier, where these commercial establishments have preserved their original furnishings. Don’t miss Confeiteraria Nacional, a pastry shop active since 1829; Manuel Tavares, a grocery store founded in 1860; Retrosaria Bijou, a haberdashery opened in 1922; Luvaria Ulisses, a glove shop from 1925.

Chiado is a small traditional and characteristic neighborhood of Lisbon. Once a meeting place for writers and intellectuals, today it’s an elegant area where you can shop or have a drink in one of the many establishments.

Along the docks, the old port wharves on the Tagus, everything has been renovated. The former warehouses once used by importers of exotic goods have been converted into nightclubs, restaurants and trendy bars, as well as some design shops. Opposite Cais de Sodré station, where bus, train, tram, metro and ferry lines meet, we find the Mercado da Ribeira, a renovated metal and glass structure that houses the wholesale food market and the Time Out Market, an area where you can find various restaurants, bars and shops. It’s definitely a place to visit and stop for lunch.

Alfama

Alfama is one of the neighborhoods of Lisbon to visit: it’s actually the most popular in the Portuguese capital, the neighborhood of narrow streets and daytime tourist visits. The first thing to visit is definitely the Castelo de S. Jorge, not so much for the structure, but rather for its position that dominates the city and thanks to which it offers an unmissable 360° view. In one tower of the castle there’s the “camera obscura“, which I recommend going to see, even though you need to queue a bit.

To see the castle it’s better to arrive between 9:00 and 11:00, because when I left at noon there was a line at the ticket office of at least 30-45 minutes.

In the Alfama neighborhood you can find various interesting graffiti and see various buildings with the famous “azulejos“, the typical Portuguese ceramics, which became famous following the arrival of the Moors in the country.

Bélem

The Bélem neighborhood is far from the center, but still well connected by train and tram 15. Don’t go on Mondays, because several attractions are closed. Important expeditions that brought conquests to Portugal departed from this neighborhood and it therefore has a certain importance for the city. In Bélem there are 3 important points of interest: the Monasteiro dos Jerónimos, the Torre de Belém and the Monument to the Discoveries dedicated to Henry and his navigators. Another point of interest little mentioned in guides is the Maat, the museum of art, architecture and technology. If these are subjects of interest, it’s worth entering and visiting both buildings.

Before returning to the center don’t forget to go and try the original “Pastel de Bélem” at the bakery of the same name.

Nations Park (Parque Das Nações)

The Nations Park is the neighborhood of modern Lisbon. Before its redevelopment, it was in a state of decay and abandonment: outdated industrial complexes, old military depots, a disused slaughterhouse and an open-air dump. Thanks to the fact that it was chosen for the 1998 International Exhibition (Expo ’98), the area underwent major redevelopment and since then became part of the life of Lisbon’s inhabitants. Today this area is the most privileged and expensive to live in Lisbon.

It’s definitely worth taking a walk along the banks of the Tagus to admire the Vasco de Gama bridge, which at 17.2 km is the longest bridge in Europe. Nearby is the Vasco da Gama Tower, 140 meters high, designed as a panoramic tower, now converted into a luxury hotel. Both were built for Expo 98.

The Parque das Nações also preserves other buildings and former pavilions that were built specifically for the exhibition: from the Pavilhão Atlantico to the Oceanario (one of the largest and richest aquariums in the world), not forgetting the Pavilhão do Conhecimento, the Pavilhão de Portugal, designed by the famous Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza Vieira and the Pavilhão do Futuro, now converted into a Casino.

The neighborhood is reachable via the red metro line that runs from São Sebastião to the airport.

For meat lovers, in the area I can recommend the Butchers restaurant, located right behind the Casino.

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Last update: Feb 27, 2018 @ 20:07

L'articolo Lisbon Neighborhoods to Visit proviene da Yamana - Sailing Life.

Before leaving for Lisbon, I had planned to rent a car, which luckily I didn’t do in advance because once I arrived, I realized that public transport is well-served and quite affordable. This morning I wake up early, as it will be a long day. The plan is to go to Sintra to see the Moorish Castle (Castelo de Mouros) and the Palacio e Parque da Pena, then take bus 403 which follows the Atlantic coast passing by Cabo de Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent, finally ending the journey in Cascais.

From here I will take the train to Algés, where I will get off and meet Sergio at the shipyard, who at 4:00 PM will launch his Class 40 “Calaluna” and bring it back to the marina, a unique opportunity to see Lisbon and its surroundings from the Tagus River. I will make a nice “round trip” using various means of transport.

The train to Sintra departs from Rossio station, just a stone’s throw from the apartment. It takes about 40 minutes. I take the 7:41 train, but once I arrive, I realize that the entire tourist “machine” of Sintra is still at a standstill.
The first bus to the two main attractions leaves at 9:15 from the station, so there’s time to walk to the historic center of Sintra for a coffee and to see the National Palace from the outside.

We’re off, the route that bus 434 takes to climb Mount Luna is winding, and the driver must have good experience for the very narrow passages, but especially for the natural obstacles on the road, like bent plants or rocks that force you to stay in the middle of the lane. I stop at the first attraction we encounter, the Moorish castle, but I later realize that the ideal would have been to go up to the palace, visit it, and then walk down to the castle. Both open at 10, so there’s a bit of waiting involved.

The castle is truly beautiful, from its walls you can see 360 degrees, all the way to the Atlantic coast.
In about 45 minutes, I saw all the walls, the cistern, and visited the archaeological part, which honestly wasn’t anything special. It was a quick visit, as time is running out.

I leave the castle and walk towards the palace. The entrance ticket also includes access to the 200-hectare park, where there are tree-lined walks leading to panoramic spots and hidden lakes. Unfortunately, I can’t see them due to lack of time.

The palace is truly enchanting, with an Arabian air, terraces with breathtaking views, and many tiles and bright colors. Inside, the state rooms have been preserved as they were in 1910, when the Portuguese royal court had to flee the revolution. It has a somewhat fairytale-like quality.

It’s now half past noon, and I need to catch the bus back to Sintra station. Here I have a quick lunch and then take bus 403 which, passing by Cabo de Roca, will end its journey in Cascais. I quickly check the schedule, but unfortunately, time is tight, and I can’t stop at Cabo de Roca to take photos, I have to go straight to Cascais to catch the train.

At 3:53 PM, I arrive at Algés train station, I still have a 15-minute walk to reach the shipyard. I meet Sergio, they are applying the antifouling on the last spots where it was resting, and then off we go, Calaluna goes into the water.

We motor along the Tagus and head towards the Lisbon marina. The tide is rising, so we have the current in our favor. In Lisbon, the tidal range reaches about 3.5 meters, so the currents can be significant. We arrive at the marina, and the bridge is still closed, we have to wait for it to open to enter. Once docked, we have a coffee and then say goodbye, with my intention to return and do a week-long course on this boat.

I haven’t yet seen the stretch of shore from the marina to the center of Lisbon, so I walk there, heading to Cais de Sodré station where I’ll take the subway home.
And today, I’ve walked my 18 km.

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Last update: Feb 25, 2018 @ 12:50

L'articolo Sintra proviene da Yamana - Sailing Life.

I’ve been in Lisbon for a couple of days, and one thing I understood right away: if you want to move around easily and perhaps visit some important attractions, you need to start your day early in the morning. Around 11:00 AM, hordes of tourists start arriving, creating long queues at monument ticket offices, and you can be sure that despite your efforts to avoid them, some Japanese tourist will end up in your photos.

I leave home at 8:15 AM and head to Cais de Sodré station, where I’ll catch the train to Cascais. The city is slowly waking up, there’s little traffic around.

In Cascais, there are several attractions and museums, apparently with free admission. Note that most are closed on Mondays and holidays. I’ll skip them as I want to walk and enjoy the outdoors.

Leaving Cascais station, I walk through the town center until I reach the main beach in front of the town hall, Praia da Ribeira. It was once Queen Dona Amelia’s private beach.

For those interested, you can take the free BICAS bikes and ride to Guincho beach, one of Portugal’s most spectacular beaches. Thanks to its magnificent waves, it’s also very popular among surfers. You can reach it by cycling about 8 km along the beautiful bike path next to the Atlantic coastal road.

I don’t take a bike, but I follow the path next to the imposing Cascais fortress (Fortaleza da Cidadela) until I reach the marina. From there, I continue to the Santa Marta lighthouse, then take the Atlantic coastal road that leads me to Boca do Inferno, a collapsed cave where the huge Atlantic Ocean waves have eroded the rock.

It’s noon, after seeing the cave I walk towards the town center and end up eating at MyAtlanticRestaurant, above Praia da Rainha.

A Brazilian street musician entertains during lunch, singing songs in English, Italian, French, and Russian… impressive repertoire and great entertainer!

After lunch, I move to the beach next door, Praia da Conceição, where I treat myself to a couple of hours of relaxation in the sun. The temperature is around 20°C and people are swimming, not bad for February 20th.

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Last update: Feb 22, 2018 @ 11:21

L'articolo Cascais proviene da Yamana - Sailing Life.