Trains Planes and Automobiles

Beach 1 Amarcao de Pera
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Once again Kim as the guest writer...my comments and additions are in () as you know I could not not contribute.....

And don't forget the drinks, many many drinks....do you know that a whole bunch of little bottles make one big bottle?!

do you know that a whole bunch of little bottles make one big bottle?!

Off to Portugal and the warmer weather....thank goodness!! Another plane!! Portugal, we have arrived!  It's time for the Portugese wine tasting to begin.  Sara succumbs to my desire of white and it just happens to become a daily ritual.  It is what I need to survive Sara's Ricky Racecar driving, through the mountains, no doubt.  I kiss the ground (I gave her to opportunity to do so, but she did actually decline) each time we arrive at our next destination.

Cape St. Vincent from Sagres Pousadas du Portugal
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We arrive in Faro, Portugal in the Algarve, jump into our tiny Hyundai and it’s off to our hotel for two days. We arrive at night to the small town of Amacado de Pera and quickly (quickly is not the word I would have used as we went down a back alley, around the downtown and then finally asked a man for directions when we were only 50 ft from the hotel, but based on the size of the town, I can let it slide) locate our hotel on the beach. Even by the moonlight we can tell it is a beautiful spot. We were starved and head out for our first Portuguese dinner (I had read about the fact that in Portugal they bring you bread and olives and nibbles before your meal, but they are not coperto (complimentary) as they say in the menu, but cost about 4 euros each...after this night and after we actually started eating them, so they were ours, like it or not, we declined and ordered our own appetizers).

Kim!
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The next two days we basically just flake out on our beach chairs (I kept asking, do you want to go for a walk? do you want to play beach paddle ball? nope nope nope, just relax, that was perfect) amongst the throngs of Portuguese (we figure this must be their vacation spot). The town was just full of new apartment & condo buildings, comparing it to Fort Lauderdale, we are delighted to move on down the road.

The roads in Portugal are fine, despite hearing otherwise, although some drivers are half crazed, they have a great highway (The "A2"), we arrive in Lagos, beautiful town with lots of history and character, tons of tourists. (after a bit of recon we decide it is pretty much a city like the last place we were at, and that we would like to check out some smaller towns down the road and possibly come back so....) We merely drive through and I am able to snap a few pics out the car window as Sara zips through the traffic. We do stop however, at the local fire department to grab a memento for Ben. I wait in the car and wonder, why is Sara taking so long, has she gone to help put out a fire. She finally arrives with t-shirt and pin in hand. Language barrier once again overcome. A lot of the fire departments ("Bomberios") are totally volunteer. When we were flying over Portugal, we were alerted, by our captain of the out of control fires burning in northern Portugal and Spain, we could actually see them from our plane. Arsonists and the desperately dry conditions have ravaged a great deal of the northern landscape. It was then (when we were in the Lisbon area the smoke was thick in the air even there, so travelling further north would not have been advisable although beautiful, they did not need tourists to complicate their endeavours) that we decided not to venture north of Lisbon. Sorry Porto , would have loved to visit, but perhaps another time.

That navigation thing Kim was speaking of at Cape St. Vincent
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We arrive in Sagres, the southwestern most tip of Europe. Once believed to be the end of the world (actually looks very desert-like and could pass for the moon in a movie). With no reservations, we desperately venture from one hotel to the next, "Sorry No Rooms". Visions of me sleeping in a room with 10 other people, sharing a washroom, entered my mind. Ahhhhh, or perhaps even worst.... the dreaded car! Sara promises me her sleeping bag, newly purchased in London. It is then Sara deems me with my new nickname, "Doom & Gloom" or D&G for short. It is then, I spot it, the hotel with no name, I (we!, ricky and d & g) find this beautiful property on the edge of the cliff. I enter, it’s paradise, I am saved and yes, they have a room, albeit with a king size bed, I’ll take it. (as we stand at the check in we make various jokes about having to sleep together and the girl feels sorry for us, or me hee hee and  we do get a 10% discount for having to share the same bed) Besides, the little chocolates they tuck beside our pillows , the mini bar...and yes, the hair dryer in the bathroom (which I might add is all marble), make up for it in so many ways (Kim goes to check out the room before me and returns saying oh it is ok....ok, it is bloody magnificent, king size bed or not!  it is a wash of orange with nice dark wood and cream marble, heaven I tell you heaven!). We have found our Pousadas de Portugal, a luxury chain of hotels found throughout Portugal and Brazil.

Fracture in the earth at Cape St. Vincent
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We head off to the beach, down a huge (not so huge, see pic...) cliff, Sara wants to climb down. I tell her to save herself for Morocco, she will soon have enough climbing to do (too true!). The beach is gorgeous, not crowded and the waves are huge. It is sunny and hot, burning hot, it’s a wonder everyone (except us) on the beach is lying under an umbrella (we are gonna fry!). Hence, we head for the water (I take it easy and Kim runs in, what was she thinking the waves were 10 feet and crashing on the shore?!? before I know it I turn around and....). I didn’t see it coming, thought I could outsmart it, smashed (understatement of the story!) by a wave and enter the blue room. I emerge to Sara’s hysterical laughter and a bathing suit that has suddenly re-arranged itself. (We gather ourselves together and experience the second best part of pousadas, the food...it's all about the food, but not before relaxing in the room with raiding the mini bar of it's wine and champagne...true luxury).

Palace in Lisbon
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The next day we depart with the knowledge there are other Pousadas scattered throughout Portugal. I am on a mission.

Before we leave Sagres we visit the Fort on Cape St. Vincent at the end of world.  Cape St Vincent was the site of two of the most significant events in maritime history. What happened here six centuries ago led to the discovery of the world as we know it today. Before then only the bravest of Mediterranean sailors dared to venture beyond the "Pillars of Hercules" (Strait of Gibraltar), and none were foolhardy enough to sail past the rugged cliffs which marked the end of the known world. All that changed in the 1400s. The world was opened up to discovery, exploration and settlement; and Portugal and other countries went on to acquire overseas empires and great wealth. All this was due mainly to the foresight and determination of one man; Portugal's scholarly Prince Henry (1377-1440).

Sunset looking over Setubal
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He established a navigation and seamanship school near what is now Sagres, just to the east of Cape St Vincent. It was probably the world's first great research and training institute, and it earned him a place in history as "Henry the Navigator".

The school and accompanying buildings occupied a scarcely-fortified area of perhaps a dozen hectares (30 acres) on top of a high granite cliff. It attracted astronomers, marine scientists and scholars from all over Europe, and soon the hoped-for students began to arrive too. They were the "iron men in wooden ships" who would study and later go on to become household names, like Magellan, Columbus, da Gama, Diaz, and Cabral.

Santa Clara Lake and Dam
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In 1755, the great earthquake wrecked havoc on this site. The small chapel and a few buildings along with the huge "compass rose" which Henry had laid out on the ground (see pic) now remain.  (ok that is the end of the history less, where did she get that from...was I sleeping while we were walking around?  We did go out to the tip of the point and discovered fractures in the earth as a result of an earthquake.  These holes opened the ground up to the water below, it was truly amazing).

Room at Pousada Santa Clara
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It’s off to Lisbon. Remember the Ricky Race Car driver references, this is where they come into play. Zipping and winding (as you wind around mountains there is a rhythum that develops in the road, two rights and a sharp left is basically what you do, so as you go along you can go faster as you anticipate the turns, excellent fun!) through the mountains on roads not much wider than a path. I hang on for dear life and Sara quickly pretends she is deaf. If only I had learned how to drive stick. I continue to navigate as I hang on tighter and shut my eyes during the scary parts. "Why are the cliffs only on my side?" I wonder if Emily experienced the same thrills of Sara’s driving? I think to myself, at least we have air conditioning (that was supposed to be our secret!, sorry Emily!).

Ferry over to hotel from Setubal
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We arrive in Lisbon, across stunning bridges, tons of graffiti everywhere and finally... we find our next Pousada. It’s a miracle that we never (I wouldn't say never, but you just have to remember that it is the journey, not the destination) get lost, throughout the trip, we seem to find what we are looking for despite not knowing where we are going. Lisbon is built on 4 hills, to me, although I’ve never been, I compare it to the streets of San Francisco. Our Pousada is built in what was once the building of the Royal Guard of the Court in the Palace of Queluz. Very nice indeed, aside from the ants (our first room although beautiful and we are assured the nicest in the place is infested with ants, needless to say we move to another equally nice room), we still have our chocolates on our pillows. We venture out at night to the Doucas area (arund the port and under a very noisy bridge, but good food) of Lisbon for a lovely dinner. The next day, we check out and head for some shopping. We finally find it....Rua de Ouro in Baixa, a wide cobblestoned street (closed off to traffic) with tons of fabulous shops. We are so hot and thirsty though so not much shopping gets done, but I do find a great pair of shoes.

We decide to leave Lisbon, as we are not too keen on it, find it very dirty, although some of the buildings are absolutely stunning. We head off towards Setubal, just south of Lisbon. We jump on a ferry and drive over to what had looked like many hotels on a wide strip of glorious beach. We book in at the Hotel Troia. Great sunsets and Sara’s first Portuguese toasted ham & cheese! Doesn’t do her Dad’s justice. It’s once again time to check out, I can’t remember how many hotels we have been in the past 6 days, but I think this was the 5^th. It’s off for some peace and quiet (or so what we were told would be peace & quiet). We had booked two nights in our final Pousada in Santa Clara. We were told by one of the managers from the Sagres Pousadas that this was the most relaxing of all their hotels. In the mountains, close to a lake near a huge dam. Sounded great! Now back to the navigating. I thought it would be quite simple, actually most of the way was quite flat, no mountain runs, thank goodness! No offense Sara, but I’ve just about had enough of the hills or so you called them. (read on with the knowledge that this fear was self inflicted as it was Kim's short cut, I loved it, very fun to drive!) I believe I found a short cut, I check the road and it is a "national" road according to our trusty map. Ha! We find ourselves, in the mountains to me, hills to Sara, on another path (I don't even think it would be considered a path, much worse than any cottage road and always on a cliff, but excellent fun to drive!), this time it’s a dirt path. Should have rented the 4 wheel drive car! I am, to say the least, petrified, once again, Sara conveniently looses her hearing! I see my life flash before my eyes at least 50 times on this (according the map) 17km road. We finally see the dam and lake and emerge from the dirt and lo and behold, we come out on a paved road about half a mile from our final Pousada, the greatest place to relax. Another ha! Although lovely and I’m sure peaceful, at times. We had just happened to check into the family resort, complete with screaming children. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have one too! But thankfully, he was back at home. Our dinner that evening came complete with two screaming children seated at the table next to us (it really was a shame, but the champagne took the edge off). Much to our dismay, the same screaming children decided to invade our space at the pool the next day. Albeit, I completed a book that day, despite the screams.  Our luck has finally change when what to our wondering eyes we see. A single male! No, can’t be! Sara & I both stare in amazement, I wonder if we are too obvious in our drooling. Visions of Sara’s new husband emerge, with me be the matchmaker. Although we are introduce to "Pedro" later in the evening, in the bar, sampling a wide argodrange of .....yes, drinks, I am afraid, Sara has no spark for this Portugese God.

Okay, we are done, time to once again check out, this time complete with a hangover (incredibly the first of the trip). It’s back to the airport in Faro. And yes, another winding trip through the mountains, need I say more. Eyes closed, heart pounding. It was during our stay in Portugal that we found out about the problems in London and the airport restrictions & searches. We tried to stay on top of it, but we were kind of left out of the loop with our lack of Portugese. No worries, we arrived back in London for our final night. Too late to go out as we arrived at our last hotel, The Rochester at 1:00 am. Up early and back to Heathrow for my trip back to Toronto. I bid Sara goodbye with a tear in my eye as I headed through the long lines of fellow passengers!

Thank you Sara for a fabulous time, I immensely enjoyed myself, your wonderful company and guidance through my first visit to Europe. I wish I could have stayed longer with you. I will think of you daily throughout the rest of your journeys and cannot wait for you to be home, safe and sound! Lots of love to my truly amazing friend! Miss you! There is always Brazil!!

Sara here...well I do not think I need to add much more to that, except that my driving is actually excellent...  Thank you Kim for joining me, you are a true friend and I will cherish the memories forever!