{"id":2833,"date":"2018-07-25T14:36:06","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T14:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/?p=2833"},"modified":"2018-07-25T14:36:06","modified_gmt":"2018-07-25T14:36:06","slug":"eating-chicken-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/eating-chicken-in-the-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Eating Chicken in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had it all planned.
\nWait, that\u2019s a lie, I had nothing planned.
\nBut I knew what was about to happen, how it was going to unfold\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was going to find paradise.
\nI was going to get a high-paying job.
\nI was going to find a home.
\nI was going\u2026<\/p>\n

I had no idea where I was going.
\nI had no idea what I was doing.
\nI still have no idea how I ended up in Lagos.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But I love it.
\nAnd I hate it.
\nBut then I love it even more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost a month since I\u2019ve become a \u201cresident\u201d of the town.
\nThe bizarrely beautiful beaches.
\nThe cobble stoned streets of the old town.
\n(generally vomit coated in the early morning)
\nThe strange mix of Portuguese
\nAnd a plethora of persons from the far reaches of the world.
\nIt\u2019s a special place!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And now that I have but one job,
\n(I used to multi-task)<\/a>
\nI have the time to enjoy it.
\nAnd go surfing and paddle boarding and cliff jumping and trail running.
\nLagos has everything!
\nIt\u2019s pretty much paradise. [Tick]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I have a job. [Tick]
\nI work at a surf shop.
\nWe sell bikinis and boards and wetsuits and skateboards and go pros and\u2026 we sell a lot
\nAnd we sell tours.
\nDo you want to go for a surf lesson?
\nWe can organise that for you.
\nPaddle Boarding? Kite Surfing? Quad Biking?
\nNo problem.
\nDiving? Booze cruise? Sailing?
\nAnything else?
\nIt\u2019s Lagos, EVERYTHING is possible.
\nExcept finding accommodation.<\/p>\n

After a few days of living in a tent.
\nI moved into an apartment.
\nAnd while the fancy apartment had all the mod cons like power and a shower and a kitchen and stuff;
\nsharing it with nine others
\n[most of whom bar tended from 10pm to 3 or 5 or 7 am]
\nMade it all a bit mad.
\nI moved out.<\/p>\n

I spoke to everyone
\nand anyone
\nEvery person I met!
\nI made sure I had all my bases covered.
\nI was just about to give up the accommodation quest and return to the tent when\u2026
\n[in a movie like setting on the dark terrace-porch of the surf shop after the midnight shift]
\nI met a madly brilliant, constantly drunk
\n(he makes a living from being [and getting others] drunk)
\nAustralian with a van he just acquired and doesn\u2019t use;
\nI became a van-person.
\nI found a home. [tick].<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I found everything I wanted and needed.
\nPARADISE is currently a little over-crowded (Summer holidays – Peak tourist season)
\nThe JOB is a little underpaid (almost every job in Portugal is)
\nAnd HOME comes with its own complications:
\nNo toilet, no shower, no permission to drive\u2026
\nlocks that don\u2019t work and newly dysfunctional \u201cdisco\u201d lights\u2026
\nWhich is why last night, when I abandoned my picnic and fled the hurricane windiness of the outdoors
\nand crept into the safe confines of my cosy residency,
\nI feasted upon my Portuguese chicken in the dark.
\nI could not have been happier!!!<\/p>\n

Except maybe if you came out to visit!
\nYou need to experience this epic for yourself!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I had it all planned. Wait, that\u2019s a lie, I had nothing planned. But I knew what was about to happen, how it was going to unfold\u2026 I was going to find paradise. I was Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[784,900],"tags":[907,894,896,835,910,895,908,20,909],"class_list":["post-2833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-explore","category-hustle","tag-algarve","tag-hustle","tag-lagos","tag-life-of-adventure","tag-paradise","tag-portugal","tag-surf","tag-travel","tag-van-life-camper-van-enjoy-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/GOPR0083.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2833"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2846,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2833\/revisions\/2846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bearfootgypsy.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}