My family had planed to meet me in Portugal as a I had not seen them for almost a year. I was excited about a family reunion.  They fell in love there 29 years prior and wanted to take me back to where it all began.    It was a beautiful coastal town called Ericera,                                     

They decided to invite Inka along as well who is like family to us, mum and dad adore her and how exciting to have my sis and bestie in tow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The plan was we all meet in Lisbon, . I arrived from Italy , Inka from London and my Mum and Dad all the way from Bali . Mum and Dad Picked up a fully decked out gypsy travel van which was going to be our home for the next few weeks. I was so excited to hit the road.

My mum pulled out her suitcase and handed me a bag of all this new beautiful crochet her and Inka have been working on the past months with my input from afar . She said “we will find some beautiful places to shoot and you will bring Akoia back to life, with this beautiful new designed collection. “

Off we went. My parents took us to the most beautiful beaches that they went to almost 30 years ago. We went to old towns that my parents said never changed. We saw pristine beaches with no one on them for miles. just miles and miles of unspoilt coast.

 

Life in the van was awesome, cooking , sleeping and exploring some amazing places.

Navigating our way around, no plans, pulling up to some random locations,  sleeping where it felt right.

Nestled amongst the dunes in some incredible locations,  we got to camp  for the night, falling asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore,.   Nights spent making fires to keep us warm and to make some yummy cooked meals and showering in the bitterly cold Atlantic ocean  

Inka and I got to shoot in such  a diversity of amazing landscapes, beach towns, caves and incredible pristine beaches.

 

We met beautiful Portugese people. Everyone was so humble. the further we travelled the more incredible people we met.  

 

 

As we roamed the streets past old traditional homes, this lady saw us armed with cameras and gear and she invited us to shoot at her house. She welcomed us with a warm loving smile and we were able to snap some incredible pics with her.

 

 

 

 

The Beach towns were so lovely, still carrying the old Portuguese tradition with beautiful churches, cool architecture with the most beautiful colour palates. The Portugese have a beautiful eye for art , they have these amazing antique tiles everywhere. Colour overload!

 

 

 

We set of on adventure that seem to go for miles trying to get to secret beaches through hills and rock cliff drops. This is one of my favourite photos i have taken of Inka in the middle of the hills at dusk.   It is always easy to shoot Inka in such raw beauty , i can shoot her any time of the day capturing her at any moment , thats how much natural beauty she holds. Don’t you agree?.

 

If you keep following down that path there is the Praia Arabaita, our favourite beach. 

 

We had so much driving to do, travelling from beach to beach. Winding down the coastal roads. It was great as we made use of the time in the back of the van adding touches , our creative juices flowing, even redesigned some pieces of the  collection . Our collection grew in this time from only a few pieces to one of our favourite collections so far.

 

We had such beautiful bonding time, the four of us. It was a trip that will always remain in our hearts. Portugal has so much raw beauty, amazing people and great food.

 

 

All photos were taken by me, @reopfilm and my dad who is also a photographer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 12th 2018. 

We set out to Marrakech as the first stop. We stayed in a Beautiful Traditional Riad in the centre of Marrakech.There was a lot of Chaos, so much smell and noise. But the streets are filled with so much beauty. There was many market stalls of fruits, Traditional food, vintage jewellery, herbs and crystals and other traditional Treasures, from Morocco. 

We didn't have much of an idea for a plan, we knew we had to make it to the middle of the desert by the evening to make it in time to go camping in the Desert. We decided to rent car and drive for 9hrs through Morocco - literally 9hrs across pretty much nothing. We seemed to have crossed a few, perhaps five, villages and the rest was just nothing for as much as the eye could see. But we stumbled across some beautiful Oasis's and traditional berber villages.

We went through the desert, mountains, sand and many curvy turns. Yet to just end up here, 

 

 

One of the most realist moments of my life. A nine hour drive away from any sort of "civilisation" just so that I could breath the purest, cleanest air, and observe the stars and a gaze at the desert fire. 

We had the pleasure to meet and stay with some Berber People, who are Gypsies of the desert. they live in no present spot, they travel the desert all year long, with just the camels and a back pack. The most simplest living. They navigate there way through the stars, and know how to survive with nothing. They took us for a ride into the desert on the camels and showed us bond between human and animal relationship when it comes to survival. These ways of life really give you a perspective to life. and learning from these people was something we all honoured and there ways of life we really took in. 

 

 

 

We left the desert so liberate, in peace. in awe of the beauty and life of the desert. 

At this point we really didn't have a plan after the desert, so off we went, another 9hrs North, to the mountains into Chefchaouen the "Blue city of dreams". A tiny village tucked in the middle of the mountains surrounded by Marijuana fields. We were in heaven. The village was the most beautiful village i've ever soon, everything was blue,  it was said to be the Jews introduced the blue when they took refuge from Hitler in the 1930s. We found so many beautiful locations in the blue city, we also got amazing food. Or maybe it was just really good because we where high the whole time. 

 

 

 

We spent a little to much time in the blue city, and had 1 day to get back to Marrakech for our flight. The drive from the Blue city to Marrakech is another 10hr drive. We spent the whole day in the car, but this is where we found the most beautiful locations. And were A lot of these images were taken, where desert meets mountains. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for a beautiful experience Morocco, we learnt so much from you. we took in a lot of your beauty and Culture awareness. You have a place in our hearts. 

Best, 

AKOIASWIM. 

All Photos Taken by @reopfilm 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We left the desert,