Lagos–Portugal’s Paradise

The following takes place between Days 163-167, May 9-14, 2011

I hadn’t really planned to go to Lagos when I came to Portugal. I knew I would head to the south of the country, or at least Southern Spain. I just happened to meet a girl in my hostel in Lisbon who mentioned how beautiful the Algarve region of Portugal was. In particular, she raved about Lagos. A quick Google search showed a little resort town right on the Atlantic ocean extremely popular with tourists from England. Lucky for me, it wasn’t the high season quite yet so finding a hostel for only 10 euros a night was a breeze.

So, early in the morning, I hoisted up my backpack and took the metro to the nearby train station, bought a ticket and within an hour was on the train heading south.

Lisbon 2–The treasured city

The following takes place between Days 161-162, May 7-8, 2011

After the quick breeze through of Porto, it was back on the bus for me towards Lisbon. And good timing too as just as the bus was pulling out of the city did the rain start pouring down. I wouldn’t have gotten much done in Porto that day it seems.

The one thing that really was annoying about Porto, which I alluded to previously, is that there is no central bus station. Each bus company runs out of its own office so it’s not exactly user friendly. You don’t get the opportunity to shop around for the best times and/or prices. You basically choose the bus company and take what’s available. Luckily for myself and the two girls I was with, the next bus to Lisbon was leaving in ten minutes so it wasn’t that much of a wait.

Rushing Through Porto

The following takes place between Days 158-160, May 4-6, 2011

With a plan in mind to head to the Algarve region in a few days, I decided to split my time in Lisbon in two and head to Porto for a couple nights to check out the home of Port wine, a type of wine made by using brandy during the fermentation process. It’s amazing to drink. Highly recommend it.  And drinking it where it’s made is all the more better

Lisbon–A City of Contrasts

The following takes place between Days 155-157, May 1-3, 2011

I admit that not only have I been completely neglecting updating the blog, but I’ve also been half dreading writing this post, and the others about Portugal as I have a good friend back home from Portugal. I really want to do his home country justice.

And wow. What a country. We’ll start with the capital as that’s where we are currently situated. I just fell in love with this city. Sure, my Portuguese leaves much to be desired but at least it’s close enough to Spanish that I can get by. “No fala Portuguese. Solo ingles o Español" was a phrase I said many times. I tried though! I caught onto the way they said numbers which is a pretty important skill to have.

Ah! Back to the city though! And what a city. What a city indeed.

Overseas Birthday

The following takes place on Days 153-154, April 29-30, 2011

A curious pattern seems to be emerging, I’ve noticed, when it comes to me and travel days. They become almost a complete waste. Take for instance my travel from Barcelona, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal. First I was extremely bummed out that I had to leave behind Jordi and Esteban. At least there’s a huge reason to come back to the area. Second, I get extremely exhausted sitting on a bus for an extended period of time. I left Barcelona at just before midnight and, after a quick transfer in Madrid, arrived in Lisbon at 4:30pm the next afternoon. When I successfully navigated the metro system and found my hostel in the center of Restoradores Square I had been on the move for over 17 hours.

So what did I do with what was left of the day? The same thing I seem to do with every travel day. I plucked down on my bed and did absolutely nothing.