Making my way towards Lisbon. I stopped at the Benagil beach for a boat tour of some of the caves
These small boat drivers were fearless. They would pull the boats into these caves with the waves throwing us within inches of the rock walls. We would get near an opening and think, “That looks too tight but it is a nice view from here”, then he would gun it through the opening deeper into the cave system.
I layed on the beach for a bit after the ride and then moved on to the tourist town of Lagos. Dropping off my gear I headed out to a local point where I could take a staircase down among the cliff rocks.
It reminded me of some of the pictures I have seen of Italy. I moved over to the popular beach and laid out for the afternoon.
After showering in my house I went out for drinks
On the way back to Lisbon I found a cool seaside spot in Vila Nova Milfontes where they were cleaning up the days menu out in the water
I stopped at another beach for some sun before moving further north
I sped past the traffic of Lisbon and ended at Cabo da Roca. It is Europe’s Westermost point. Not sure why I took the trouble to go here. It is not like I live in Europe and this spot holds any significance to me. It was crawling with tourists and after taking a couple shots I headed back East to the Picturesque town of Sintra.
Sintra is a page torn from a fairy tale. It is dtted with pastel manors and mountains covered in ferns and exotic gardens. I checked into the Moon hostel and drove over to the Palacio Nacional da Pena
The Palace was built in the 1800s by a Prussian architect by the Queen. It is odd, obnoxious and beautiful at the same time.
It was late in the day so I grabbed some wine in town and then headed off to sleep
The next day I visited another local palace and its impressive gardens with the highlight being a spiral staircase that dipped 50 ft below the surface with tunnels running out from the bottom
Off to Lisbon. I was able to check into my room right away and my host was kind enough to help me find a parking spot for my car.
I immediately headed out on foot out to the Belem district to see some sights. First was the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos and the attaching nautical museum
I was excited about the museum as I always had an interest in 15th and 16th Century explorers. Portugal had Diaz making it to Cape Hope, Da Gama going around to India and Magellan circumnavigating the globe (he sailed for Spain).
I even picked up some cool maps at the museum and am in the process of distressing them to make them look authentic.
Next up was the Padrao dos Descobrimentos.
It showcases many of the explorers, led by Henry the Navigator. Below is a shot of the Torre de Belem
I got back to the city in time to catch Portugal playing soccer on the big screen. They love their soccer/futbol here.
The next day I wandered the neighborhoods
I even stopped at a public beach. The crowds were crazy
I like this couple. There are lots of people posing as statues for tips around Portugal but these 2 were definitely the best
I closed the night out with dinner along the street
I returned the car the next day and they gave me a bunch of crap about a scratch on the door I could barely see. These Europeans. In the states I have returned a car missing a door and they did nothing and here they charged me $80 for a scratch. I did not complain too much as they never charged me for the tire I blew that was technically my fault.
I had to fly back through the Azores on my way home. That was a mess. I got to the island and went through immigration and waited by the gait for 5 hours before they cancelled my flight due to engine problems. This means I missed my flight from Toronto back to Michigan and since it was a different airline, SATA, the Portuguese airline could care less. I had to scramble to get another flight out of Toronto the following day and of course they charged me $150 for missing my flight. Gotta love the airlines. So I was put up in a hotel in the azores for the night. The next morning they bused us all back to the airport and the flight was delayed another hour because the pilot did not show up. This was ridiculous. I barely made my connection on Toronto. I was pissed for a bit, but this is travel.
SO, the trip started out rough with my sickness and ended with some travel SNAFUs but the in between was good. I enjoyed the small villages, food, and quiet relaxed nature of the country. I could do without the big cities and all these dramatic Europeans.
I have no real desire to hit France, Italy, Germany, or Spain after seeing the way these types behaved. Not that Americans in travel mode are much better. I will continue to seek out interesting locales off the beaten track.
A couple months and I am off to Iceland. It is becoming the new epicenter of tourism and I need to get there before the masses!
Until Next time
Darren
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