Ever played with a drone?
We did. Years ago. My nephew and his husband had bought a drone when it was new hype, but right after that it was banned just about everywhere. The first drone pioneers had apparently been so enthusiastic that people got the creeps from those strange-maneuvering spies, who also confused official air traffic.
It was soon banned in the city. Did you have to go all the way out into the countryside. Then it quickly becomes less fun. So we got him. The boys had fun playing with it, but it often came down quite hard, so the protective flaps at the propellers were soon damaged.
And in the hands of five adolescents around 17, it won’t last long unless it’s made of concrete. It seems to me that an adolescent-resistant drone made out of concrete doesn’t fly for long either … More and more broke off, and after the last landing that had made a pilot of the worst airline in the world blush, he died. That was it. The drone hype was over. Here and everywhere.
Drones are now more something for professional photographers who use them to take winning pictures
Or – as the last camping guests did – take your drone on vacation. Then it is much easier to find a place and an opportunity to take beautiful pictures. They could even make videos with it – progress never stops.
The weather is somewhat unusual for mid-summer. Cloudy in the morning, sometimes even a little drizzle, and then by 11 o’clock it clears up and becomes radiant. In the summer you often have a “solar wind” – warmth and bright blue skies often take wind with them – but there was none now.
Ideal weather for a drone, you’d say
The drone apparently didn’t agree with that, because suddenly he took a dive and crashed into the rice field. Without any reason. The family asked me dejectedly if I knew the owner of the rice field. “Yes,”
I said, “is it the field directly behind the camping field? And do you know roughly where it crashed? What color is it?” It was yes, yes and greenish gray. Not a nice color in a field where everything is pretty much green.
Neighbor Josué, owner of the rice field, didn’t answer, so I walked a field further to the shepherd. He should also be in a blog, because he is a very sweet man. We had a chat, and he thought I was “very smart that I hadn’t brought anything, no pen, no paper, no phone… You go learn that by heart then?” Finally he took a small notepad from his backpack, made from a feed sack and a length of string, and wrote down the number in large digits.
I thanked him, went back, compared the number, and saw that I’d had it, and that Josué had called back. It turned out to be no problem, but he appreciated that they had asked permission first. No farmer likes it when you just step into a rice-maize-corn or whatever field just like that. If a boar does that, he will be shot inexorably.
Now a French family is a lot more delicate than a group of wild boars, and with great caution the father first went to take a closer look.
They searched for an hour, with the rest of the family in varying compositions at the edge of the field for encouragement. Unfortunately.
I have the family’s address, in case he’s found. I’ve prepared them carefully for that might happen, but probably a tractor will find it first. Farmers now only go into the field with machines, you never see anyone walking in there.
But you never know. One can hope.
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We moved here in 2000 from Rotterdam, Holland to the Termas-da-Azenha, Portugal.
A big step, especially with two small children.
We are busy to rebuild one of portugals cultural heirlooms: Termas-da-Azenha, an old spa which has been turned into several holiday houses, rooms and a campsite.
You’ll find mosaics and paintings everywhere.
Since 2018 we call ourselves the first B&B&B in the world – Bed & Breakfast & Bathrobes. You can buy a home-made unique bathrobe/housecoat with us.
Each week a little blog about what is happening around us. An easy read. A few minutes in another world. A little about what it going on in Portugal. If you plan your holiday to Portugal, it might be a nice preparation
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