My first experience as Digital Nomad exploring Algarve — waves, sunsets, and human beings
Last year changed many things and prospects in our life. We learned to valorize all the little things and habits that we gave for granted like going out for a walk, having a coffee with a friend, a meal with your family, the simple pleasure of hugging someone.. or even just shaking someone’s else hand!
Talking about work instead, many companies realized that people can work remotely and be productive (personally I think even more than before). A few months ago I signed my first fully remote contract, and I find it so much better being able to work wherever I want, zero commutes which means less stress and more free time. I’m writing this article from Sagres, a city in southern Portugal known by surfers for its great waves. It’s October, 25 degrees Celsius outside, the sun shines, and a nice gentle breeze moves the curtain of my room.
For my first experience as Digital Nomad, I wanted to try to work and travel in a place where nature prevails over man, less traffic, more ocean, cliffs, and beaches. I live in Manchester city center, a classic metropolitan city, in a brand new building with many comforts like co-working space, rooftops, etc. But I see and hear traffic from my windows, thousands of people stuck for hours counting the days left before the weekend which usually means going from their desk to another table, the one at the bar. I wanted to take a break from all of it, I wanted chill vibes, slow pace, untouched and untamable places. So south Portugal :)
How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 8:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so? — Charles Bukowski
No wild van life for me, not yet. I need to figure out how to find bathrooms and showers first. What I am doing instead is to work 3 days a week from a hotel/hostel and then having the remaining days off in order to enjoy the place and do some experiences. If you are traveling for two weeks like me there’s no point in working every day of the week, but it might make sense if you plan to stay longer like a month or more. I have realized that even if you work 8 hours you still have enough time to make the most of your day, especially if you have flexible working time like me. You still have time to walk on the beach and enjoy the sunset or take your surfboard riding waves while the sun goes down. Definitely a different scenario from the big city life, no perks can match this.
So what are the learnings that I got? What could I share that might be useful and practical?
First of all, don’t be worried about not finding a good internet connection. If you travel in Europe, there’s wifi everywhere. I have worked from hostels, Airbnb, normal hotels, and I have never had any problems, even if south Portugal is not exactly famous for its internet quality.
Another thing that was in my mind before this trip was the fact of finding quiet places for work. I usually have many calls during the day, especially for “Pair-Programming”, which is when two or more Software Developers jump in a call and work together. I was worried that working from a hostel might not be quiet enough, but I was wrong. Many structures have dedicated working spaces now, again last year changed a lot of things. Also, people who are on holiday do not spend the whole day in, so I’ve found myself working duering the day with no one else around me. The only thing worth considering if you decide to stay and work from a hostel is the quality of sleep. In the first days, I was sleeping in a dormitory and it was very noisy, could not sleep until 4 in the night. Some structures have private rooms, not only dormitories, which are a bit more expensive but probably worth it. It was for me.
We can not avoid talking about money. Something very important while traveling and working is the management your expenses, which means not go out for dinner or drinks every day for example. It seems easy to do but when you are in a sunny and warm place with beaches everywhere trust me when I say it is not…
I’m not saying that you should track all your expenses, I’m talking about a switch in your mind. You’re not there for holiday, you’re there for work. It’s like when you are back home, but this time is sunny and sandy :)
In my case, I combined work and holiday in the same trip so I had a mix of these things which is fine for a short period but if you stay longer like a month or more then it’s a different story. Think about what you do when you work from your city, do you go out every day for dinner?
It’s a matter of Discipline.
This last one can be your best friend and your worst enemy at the same time. It’s the one that lets you start and finish work early, but it’s also the one that forces you to go home when you’re having a good time with a nice group of people, all from different countries in the world, some of them solo travelers with crazy stories to share. But you need discipline if you want to work remotely and deliver good results, so even if she has diamonds for eyes and a beautiful smile, you still have to work tomorrow.. so one more hour and then go home :)
Last but not least, speak to people, don’t be scared!
Maybe it’s the vibe of this place full of surfers and solo travelers, but I’ve met a lot of people in these two weeks in Algarve in completely random situations. Don’t be scared of their possible reaction or refusal, it’s not like back home that people almost get scared if you start talking to them (too much time spent on Instagram and TikTok? Are we forgetting how to interact with others ? ). For example, I was going to my car and get lunch when I saw these german girls in a van with a bed, curtains, etc. “Hey, are you traveling and sleeping in a van?? That’s so cool!” and the day after I was having a beer with them and a friend. Or again this german doctor that I met on the beach, He started talking to me and then we all went surfing together, had dinner and we also almost stole a cat from another hostel. Or the desert island near Faro that I visited with these two lovely girls, one from Holland one from Belgium. I was just arrived in this hostel, and from a classic random conversation they invited me and my friend to go and explore this place with them.
“Hey.. bla bla bla” → Experience →Friends → Good memories.
It is probably the most important learning and suggestion that I have to share, especially if you are traveling alone and living in a place for a long period of time. You have to push yourself. This time I was with a friend of mine so I had someone to talk to, but we met so many solo travelers and they had no problems at all in starting conversations and socializing with random people.
I’ve seen so many breathtaking places, wild beaches, sunsets, but the most beautiful thing that I’ll always remember of this trip will be the human beings.
Next year I’m going to do the same from other locations, Canary Islands for sure. If you want to join me for a 2 weeks trip in Tenerife etc, feel free to text me on one of my profiles: Linkedin — Instagram
