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Although I have been touting Portugal as Europe’s affordable Hawaii alternative, I haven’t blogged about that subject until now. I lived in Hawaii for 28 years but I’ve only been living in Portugal for a few months. So this will lean heavily toward my own personal experiences and journey, rather than facts and statistics.

I lived in Hawaii from 1971 until 1999, with a year and a half in Guam sandwiched in there during 1979 and 1980. While Guam’s beaches compare favorably to both Hawaii and Portugal, Guam was far too isolated for me. Even more so than Hawaii. But there are so many exotic destinations that are easy to get to from Portugal. That is one point that definitely goes in Portugal’s column.

Cost of living is another clear winner for Portugal over Hawaii. I have touched on this subject in previous blogs. Suffice it to say that Hawaii is a difficult place to live on a limited fixed income. Although, it wasn’t necessarily that way when I first arrived there.

Hawaii on a Wing and a Prayer

Way back in 1971, while living in Boulder, Colorado, I was feeling a little antsy one day. It may have had something to do with a little blue pill I had swallowed. No, it wasn’t Viagra. That was years before that was invented and at 21 years of age, not a concern. This was more of the psychedelic variety.

Under the influence of this mood enhancer, I made a split decision to sell my car and hitchhike to someplace new. I put a for sale sign on my Peugeot and positioned it next to the park, waiting for a buyer. Even though Craigslist or cellphones would be decades away, it only took a couple of hours to sell. Apparently, the $200 price tag was hard for someone to resist.  

Even at $200, though, this car was not exactly a bargain. The car’s hood had a rusty latch in front and two rusty hinges behind. This would occasionally cause the hood to fly up and over the car while driving, landing on the road behind it. Luckily, nobody was ever in harm’s way when this happened.

I gathered everything I owned, shoved it all in a small backpack, stuck out my thumb and headed west. I turned north when I hit the California coast. By the time I got to Portland, I realized that I didn’t have a plan or a destination in mind. It was time to make a decision. Having unwavering faith in the Universe back then, I would often leave my fate up to the I Ching or a flip of the coin. This time I flipped a coin.. heads Hawaii, tails Canada. Heads it was!

Landing in Honolulu, I walked out to the road and stuck out my thumb. Nobody picked me up. I crossed the street and stuck out my thumb again, thinking that I might have better luck going in the opposite direction. Still, nobody picked up this long-haired, bearded freak. So I walked back inside the airport and hopped a plane to Kauai.

I had better luck hitchhiking after landing in Lihue. I caught a few rides going north and was dropped off in Haena near the end of the road. I heard the sound of a guitar wafting through the swaying palms and fragrant mango trees, so I decided to follow the sound vibration until I came across a hippie commune.

This piece of prime real estate was called Taylor Camp, owned by Elizabeth Taylor’s brother, Howard. There was a lot of nudity, to which I had no objection. There were also a lot of makeshift bamboo and plastic houses that I thought might have potential for shelter. But even those two positives weren’t enough to compel me to stay.

Frank Zappa Crappa

Maybe it was the elevated community toilet with no walls, adorned by a poster of Frank Zappa sitting on a toilet, that made me continue on down the road. I didn’t even flip a coin. Eventually, in 1977 Taylor Camp disbanded due to disease, county regulations and fairly regular beatings by local vigilantes.

Interesting side note; about 20 years later, at one of my wife’s school retreats, I met a football coach from Waianae, Oahu, and we got to talking. By the way, Waianae had a reputation as a very tough local town. Not many haoles back there in the day, if any. Waianae also churned out some outstanding Samoan football players.

Anyway, the conversation somehow came around to Taylor Camp as we rehashed our youth. He said, “Oh, yeah, me and my buddies used to fly over there and beat up the hippies.” After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked him, “Why would you fly to Kauai to beat up hippies? Did you run out of hippies on Oahu?”

Then he told me that the lawyers who were working for some State of Hawaii Trust were trying to get that land back by eminent domain and couldn’t do it while it was inhabited by hippies. So they paid these tough locals to go over and beat them up. My chin might have gotten bruised as my jaw dropped to the floor again. All this time I had thought the beatings were just recreational.

Click HERE for a 2015 Slate article about Taylor Camp or HERE for a trailer, Edge of Paradise, about the camp.

Caveman on Kauai

So I moved on down the road from Taylor Camp until there was no more road left. From there I hiked two miles along the Napali Coast cliff line until I reached magical Hanakapei Beach. There was no shortage of nudity here, either. You’ve got to love the 70s, and youth. I didn’t have a tent but there were three caves, two were inhabited although sharing was not discouraged. The one closest to the beach seemed as good as any for a place to settle in. Thinking back now, one big wave could have swept me out to sea. Maybe that is why it was vacant.

I stayed there for one month. People would come and go. They would bring me food, books, drugs and everything I could possibly want or need. We had no technology back then. If the outside world wanted to reach us, then they were just tough-out-of-luck. I made friends with folks who lived back in the jungle in tents, or in more permanent bamboo and plastic huts. And there were no beatings out there. Not worth the hike, I suppose. It was a small community of free-spirited souls, some who had lived back there for more than a year.

I have many, many stories and fond memories from that era but I would get too far off the Hawaii and Portugal comparison theme if I start down that road. Trying to keep on topic!

What was Happening in Portugal in the 1970s?

While I was experiencing total, uninhibited freedom in Hawaii, what was happening in Portugal was the furthest thing from my mind. Other than the weather and the beaches, Portugal was nothing like Hawaii back then. Portugal was a dictatorship and American music was banned. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was not blaring from Portuguese bars.

The Carnation Revolution overthrew Portugal’s Estado Nova regime on April 25, 1974. That date is now one of Portugal’s biggest holidays. Almost no shots were fired during this revolution. Celeste Caeiro, a Portuguese pacifist, offered carnations to the soldiers. Other demonstrators followed her lead and placed carnations in the muzzles of guns. Hence, the name. People were just ready for hope and change, and the relatively peaceful revolution succeeded.

Speaking of guns, Portugal has very strong gun control. Guns are not even allowed in self-defense. Yes, this controversial policy sounds rather extreme but nobody here worries about gun violence in schools, in domestic abuse or in random gang shootings.

Politics in Hawaii and Portugal

Both Hawaii and Portugal are liberal leaning. Hawaii is predominantly Democrat and Portugal is Democratic-Socialist. I think if Hawaii was an independent country, unbounded by Federal laws, it might be more like Portugal.

Hawaii used to be an independent, sovereign nation before the United States overthrew Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 and annexed the islands. The coup was led by Sanford Dole, cousin to the founder of The Hawaiian Pineapple Company (now Dole Food). He became Hawaii’s first Governor. This illegal overthrow still angers many Hawaiians, justifiably so, and many Hawaiians now favor secession.

As alluded to earlier, the Portuguese were also angry until their anger and dissatisfaction boiled over and they overthrew their dictatorship. Fortunately, the Portuguese people had the support of the military whereas Hawaii didn’t have the forces necessary to stop the coup backed by the U.S. Navy and Marines. Congress issued an apology in 1993, a century after the overthrow.

Wages in Hawaii and Portugal

The aloha spirit still exists in Hawaii. It is part of Hawaii’s DNA. However, there is also frustration as the price of paradise has become completely out of reach for so many locals. Thousands of people born and raised on the islands have had to move away due to exorbitant costs and low wages.

Portugal has similar problems regarding wages and job opportunities. While it may be an easy life for expat retirees, that is not always the case for local Portuguese trying to support their families. Many innovative young people have taken to online entrepreneurship rather than move away, seeing as cost of living is relatively low, unlike Hawaii.

It is hard to leave Hawaii once it is in your blood. It was not until we moved to Portugal that I was able to get some of that feeling back. Although the culture and history of Hawaii and Portugal are different, the laid-back attitudes and the sunny beaches are comparable.

Beaches and Weather in Hawaii and Portugal

There are so many beautiful beaches in Hawaii and Portugal that I cannot possibly do them justice here. I prefer the beaches in Lagos, Portugal because of the incredible rock formations. But I would never disparage the beaches of Hawaii. We spent many delightful hours at Hapuna Beach on the Big Island when the kids were young.

The weather really depends on where you live in Hawaii or Portugal. Both places have lots and lots of sunshine, a prerequisite for me! But you can also get a lot of rain in some areas in both places, although much more in Hilo, Hawaii than anywhere in Portugal. The Big Island happens to be home to 11 of the world’s 13 climate zones! Do you prefer desert or rain forest?

Meet Boris 

This is Boris. He is very friendly and often comes out front to greet customs. Boris is quite mellow and will not greet you enthusiastically. Kids can ride the mechanical Boris outside the shop. Don’t worry, this is no bucking bronco that will toss your youngster. It is practically as mellow as the real Boris.

When bringing a pet to Hawaii, those that meet all the strict (and sometimes expensive) requirements may qualify for a short quarantine of five days or less. However, if you don’t meet all of their requirements, your pet will be subjected to a 120 day quarantine. Check the list of requirements HERE well in advance. Many people wait too long only to find out that their pets don’t qualify.

Bringing your pets to Portugal is far less stringent. The list of requirements is shorter and the cost is nominal. Although, Portugal does have some additional conditions for dogs they consider “dangerous breeds”. You can check the requirements HERE for bringing your pet to Portugal.

Creative Parking in Portugal

It is not unusual to see cars parked like this in Portugal. In Hawaii, it is easy to rack up expensive tickets for any kind of traffic infraction so you won’t see much of this. Here in Portugal you will get ticketed for driving in the left lane if you aren’t passing and not using the roundabouts properly. Portugal loves its roundabouts! Please learn the roundabout rules HERE before attempting to drive in Portugal. I didn’t do that but I consider myself lucky.

While on the topic of driving, I will take a short detour from comparisons in order to share a couple of anecdotes about driving on Guam. My experiences on the beautiful beaches of Guam were much more pleasant than those on the road, though!

During my stint there in 1979-80, I purchased an old Volkswagon squareback for only $75. It actually ran fairly well. But as I was driving down the road one day, the engine caught on fire. Seeing as the engine was inside the car, a rather poor design in my opinion, I got out ASAP. As luck would have it, a fire truck just happened to be directly behind me and put out the fire. The bad news was that all the distributor wires and other things that made the car run, were melted. But Lady Luck was smiling upon me when someone walked up to me as I stood beside my smoldering vehicle and offered me $300 as is. I said yes, he handed me $300 cash, and I helped him push the car to the side of the road.

That was the kind of good luck bad luck story that seems to have been a recurring pattern in my life. Maybe the moral of the story is to live in the moment and try not to worry about what might happen because we just never know what is around the bend, for better or for worse.

Anyway, so now I was without transportation. My friend on Guam loaned me his Honda 600, a tiny little shoebox of a car, which I totaled around a telephone pole. I broke the gearshift with my elbow and snapped the steering wheel in half with my cheekbone, which shattered like a jigsaw puzzle. The ambulance came and the EMT wrapped up my head so I was in the dark for a while.

The accident happened on a beautiful, sunny, Sunday morning on Guam. A great day for golf, which is probably why It took eight hours for a doctor to come to the hospital and attend to me. I was not allowed so much as an aspirin as I lay there all busted up and in pain.

The doctor proceeded to unwrap my face to access the damages. The first thing I see out of my right eye (my left eye was covered by my cheekbone) was a nurse with her hands up to her mouth as if Frankenstein had just been unveiled. Well, I suppose the Mummy might be a better analogy. Regardless, she looked horrified and that did not comfort me one bit.

Without elaborating on the operation and lengthy healing process, I am here writing this now so I guess everything turned out just fine in the end!

Feliz Natal (Portuguese) or Mele Kalikimaka (Hawaiian)

Christmas is big all around the world and it not so much about location as it is about who you are surrounded with. I wrote about our American Thanksgiving in Portugal with a group of expats. Now we have experienced a Portuguese Christmas in Portugal with a large and wonderful local family.

Our holiday season started out with an amazing Christmas concert in the Mafra Palace cathedral, an acoustical delight. The concert featured six humongous organs and a couple of hundred young people of all ages.

We were invited to a traditional Portuguese Christmas Eve dinner by our new friend in Mafra. My wife had been feeling a bit of melancholy, seeing as this was to be our first Christmas away from the grandkids. So this invite was a lovely gesture and so very much appreciated.

The traditional cod fish and potatoes dish was delicious. There were copious amounts of excellent food, desserts and Portuguese wines. A large amount of good cheer was added by the brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins! We didn’t get back home until 2:00am, way past our bedtime! Our host joked, “Okay, now we go to the disco!”

I hope that everyone reading this is enjoying a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah or Fab Festivus. Hoping that 2020 brings peace and happiness to you and your loved ones!