About

When you subscribe to explorexchange, you’ll become part of the first publication, and its community, in Portugal that focuses on lesser-known parts of this small but unlimited in adventure country.

I often hear people asking for destinations or tips on how to do things here. There are many guides and internet resources written by the robots, and most are recycling the same destinations in Lisbon or Porto forgetting there is so much more to explore.

Here I write, with my Eastern European accent, about places worth seeing that I researched and checked well.

Who are we ?

Hi, my name is Piotr.

I was born in Poland. Having dream for years about the mountains and southern European nature, in 2020, I moved to central Portugal. My path, however, to this part of Europe was curved. I spend almost 20 years moving around; driving all over Europe, and walking the streets of New York with my camera. Then, over a decade, I lived in London.

But with time I craved gradually more to be closer to nature. I was longing for freedom, to enjoy nature without fences and walls; the UK's most famous Hadrian wall sets the tone for life and a highly regulated way of exploring beautiful English nature; the walls are everywhere, some are invisible, but impossible to cross.

Having settled in central Portugal, I explore, with a childish curiosity, the breathtaking nature in this creased like an old paper sheet bumpy landscape. Occasionally, I'll visit a city to remind myself about my origins and the convenience and that the visitors mostly stay there, rarely peaking outside of the buzzing places. Visitors may not see the value of getting out of the city, but it is, for me, a whole different world. It took me a few years, however, to adjust to this new way of, far from the convenience, life.

For my introverted self, that is paradise; now I have a choice: go to the city to overstimulate myself or go the opposite side, towards the mountains - to gain energy, and to calm down, and to connect with nature.

I care about a contemplative way of life. I'm learning to intently live my days. Walking with my dog, the teacher of the present, far from the crowds, we like to spend time in the forests and in the mountains. I like to be vulnerable to nature, swimming in wild places.

I used to do many things in life, I wear many hats, as they say, but one is in common: a search to experience life more.

Writing here, I hope to take you on an adventure and show you that the best things in life are almost free.

Hey! I’m Kristen. 

I’m a historian, anthropologist, guide, educator, and parent. A series of twists and turns brought me to Portugal in 2020, and to Coimbra, my home, in 2021.

While my arrival in Coimbra was not particularly intentional, the staying has been. I needed a place to write my PhD amidst the chaos of a COVID-19 dislocation and two babies, which the University of Coimbra and its many hardworking researchers and workers generously offered. As for the decision to stay, I can thank Alva, Mondego, Ceira, Zêzere, Vouga, and a handful of other rivers and pools whose cool waters offer a relief so juicy and so rare that I find it hard to stay away for long. 

I grew up in Budapest, a magical city of pools and a swimmer’s paradise. Hungary’s deep water-culture is unmatched, and little by little it has left in me a sense of calm and home at the water’s edge. As an urbanite, my saudades are for the places I grew up: late-night outdoor chats at Palatinus; swim practice at Császár-Komjádi pool; champagne foolery at Széchenyi; and the more sophisticated tranquility of the Ottoman Szent Lukács baths. Always on a swim team, for me water has been both the place of endurance, meditation, and relaxation. 

This love of water, matched only by a love of high mountains, has brought me to a range of occupations over the years: camp counselor, lifeguard, road-trip driver and leader, multi-day trekking guide, environmental history researcher, and university lecturer.

Now, through writing and action, I hope to share knowledge (of swimming, trekking, camping, the out-of-doors), and all that magnífico centro have to offer, and the absolute necessity of doing everything we can to protect water and land such that generations from now children grow healthy and strong at the water’s edge.