The dense, humid, and warm air immediately assaulted my nostrils upon the release of the airlock after our flight landed at Humberto Delgado Airport. It was unapologetically humid, but the cozy warmth after 20+ hours in flights reminded me of bedtime. However, I was too excited to accept the fatigue; what lay ahead was a first-time experience of a part of Europe I had never been to.

Early morning in Heathrow Terminal 5, Leica M11-P

A short taxi ride to Alfama, the old town, conveniently brought us to our hotel just in time for check-in. The ride opened my eyes to the stark contrast between this part of the world and what I’m accustomed to back home. It reminded me of the world I left behind twenty years ago. The narrow cobblestone roads wind through dense housing, and the immaculate tiles of identity adorn the buildings that rise on a succession of hills. I took a note of few places I planned to go back to but in time forward I didn’t.

Alfama - Lisbon, Leica M6, Kodak Ektar 100

Alfama - Lisbon, Leica M6, CineStill 50D

Bairro Alto - Lisbon, Leica M6, CineStill 50D

Over the next week, we wandered through the narrow streets of Alfama, occasionally descending the hill to the water. Imagine, for a moment, that I am a street photographer, which I am not. This city would be a goldmine. I admire the work of some of the greatest street photographers in the world and their extensive bodies of work. However, the streets of Lisbon inspired me to explore this genre because it felt effortless. Strangers usually make me want to look away, not lean in. But not knowing the language turned conversations into pure sound and gesture, and faces into something I could just watch and shoot, without the usual self-consciousness.

Alfama - Lisbon, Leica M6, CineStill 800T

Bairro Alto - Lisbon, Leica M6, Monopan 50

After spending a few days in an apparently heat wave it was absolutely necessary to find fog and colder temperatures in the hills inland, it was time to venturing into Sintra and pay a visit to the insignia castles and gardens of Portugal. A 1,000 feet elevation hike, a 19th-century Romanticist castle and one built by the Moors on an adjacent peak.

Chiado - Lisbon, Leica M6, Kodak Gold 200

Alfama - Lisbon, Leica M6, Kodak Gold 200

I’m not sure when or if I’ll return, but the week I spent in Lisbon will undoubtedly be a memorable experience, almost with the fear that a second visit might diminish it. Nevertheless, I’d love to go back someday, before I die.

Land of the Poets

A Backyard Cookout - shot on Kodak Gold 200