So, my next stop on this summer vacation is Portugal. It is the 3rd time I have been here, and it seems that I am developing a pattern of coming back every 4-5 years! Each time, I venture a little farther. This trip, however, did not start off well.

Lisboa

My bags were lost, and it took 5 days to get them back. (Having talked to others here, some of them had to wait almost 2 months before they got theirs, so I guess I am lucky??). It was poorly managed, and caused a lot of frustration, as I had literally the clothes on my back, and I had a wedding to attend… I also walked out to over 100 people waiting for taxis at the airport after midnight… I am thankful that I was able to reinstall Uber, and use my data package from the UAE to get to my hostel by 1am…The following day, I took my meager remaining possessions to Kathryn and Paul’s hotel, and we toured around the Belém area. We started off at the Torre de Belém, built in the early 1500, in the Manueline style. It was part of the defence system (click the link for more info). It is much busier now than it was when I was here in February (4 years ago). We took pictures from the outside, but decided that it wasn’t worth waiting to climb up.

We continued back towards the city centre, stopping at the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries), in honour of the discoverer Prince Henry. It is built like the bow of a ship, and has historical figures, including Vasco de Gama. From there, we followed the underpass to the Jerónimos museum, and once again, the line to enter was insane… we skipped it in favour of some pastries at Pastéis de Belém, for the famed pasteis de Nata (egg custard tarts). We enjoyed a large selection of food, which sustained us into the afternoon.

From there, we wandered up towards the Jardim Botanico, where I enjoyed the hammock display while Kathryn and Paul checked out the museum exhibit inside a former mansion. After battling the swarms of birds and witnessing a “bird rape”, we decided to head indoors to the Coach museum. This is another change since last time. The coaches are no longer all housed in the original, historic building. This one now only has a few select coaches from the 17th century, along with a firefighting display of how the equipment has changed throughout time. The rest of the coaches have been moved to a modern large gallery across the street. We bought the ticket that allowed us access to both parts. The coaches were more extravagant, but it felt a bit at odds with the large white interior. I preferred when everything was crammed into the old building…

To finish the day off, we headed towards the Praça do Comercio, enjoying a passion fruit lemonade along the river, some shopping along Rua Augusta and a gelato.

The following day, I went back to the airport, as my bag should have arrived. When I got there, I had to join a large queue of others with lost luggage (as I stayed longer in Portugal, I discovered this is a very common occurrence…). Despite my hope, my bag had not made it. I was told that it had left Cairo, but was not seen since! This meant that I now had to gather items for the next 3 days events (wedding, surfing, rehearsal dinner, beach etc). Under normal circumstances, I would have enjoyed shopping in Lisbon, as they have a few different fashions. Unfortunately, I was unable to enjoy my shopping experience, as it was a mad dash to get the essentials before meeting everyone else at 4pm to head out to Ericeira. (As a side note, I did very well in 3 hours, getting almost everything I needed, including treating myself to a Ted Baker dress).

Ericeira

I met the rest of my family and we headed out on the 45 minute drive from Lisbon to the coastal town of Ericeira. This town is known for its beaches and surf. The cobblestone roads and primarily whitewashed houses gave quite a quaint feeling to the town.

The following day, I went to the surf lesson that Rachel and Craig had organized for guests of the wedding. I did the beginner’s lesson. The lesson itself was really good on the sand, however,  there were so many of us, that we mostly just stood and waited for our turn. I went out to attempt to catch waves twice, and then gave up. I am not able to stand up. By this point, I was also cold, as we were only in 4.5mm wetsuits, and the the Atlantic is freezing… Kathryn is an amazing surfer, standing up every time she tried. I think for me, I was still in a negative head space from the lost luggage, and just couldn’t be bothered to keep trying. (This is also my second time surfing. The first time in Colombia, the waves were brutal, and I never stood up either, but I had more time where I could actually be in the water.) I will stick to swimming and diving. In the afternoon, we went to the beach, and then we had a tapas dinner later that evening. It was a lovely spread, and my uncle had organized a live duo to play.

Sunday (wedding day), I experienced what it feels like to be an early bird; arriving for the first time ever at a grocery store before it opened, and waiting with other (more senior) patrons watching the doors be unlocked! I picked up some food for our breakfasts in our apartment and some toiletries that were lost in my suitcase (mascara, cover up, deodorant etc).

 

In the afternoon, we boarded the bus out to Quinta Sant’Ana, the vineyard where the wedding was taking place. It is a beautiful location, with lush green hills covered in grape vines, and bright yellow buildings. We were even fortunate that the sun came out, and the contrast between the blue sky and the setting was spectacular! We had a welcome lemonade before entering the area for the ceremony. One of Rachel and Craig’s friends was the officiant, and both sets of parents gave speeches. Afterwards, we had access to the storeroom (where they store all the large casks of wine). We were able to sample 5 different wines from the vineyard, or help ourselves to cocktails on the patio. There was even some live music. Dinner afterwards was fantastic, and we finished the night off dancing downstairs.

Monday, we packed up, and headed to the airport, where I was finally reunited with my bag (just in time to shuffle everything I needed for Brazil, before handing over the wedding/Canada stuff to my parents!) I wished everyone a safe journey back to Canada, and I headed to the bus station to head south to the Algarve region. In just a few short hours, I was on the coast in Lagos. I have previously been to Lagos (10 years ago), and was pleasantly surprised to find that it still had the same feeling as last time! (I really enjoyed the last time I was here too). I stayed at the Tag Hostel, a nicely redone Victorian style (I think…). It was just off the main square, which was excellent for walking everywhere.

Lagos

My highlights of Lagos (in no particular order) were walking around town and going to some of the beaches, spotting common dolphins, doing my first wreck dives (at 25-30 metres). Unfortunately, the visibility for my dives was awful. Only about 2-3 metres at some points. It was a neat experience, and I think I will try other wrecks (in warmer water), although I would not say that I felt very confident on either of my dives. (My dive guide basically kept hold of me so that we wouldn’t lose each other.) I was on edge, perhaps due to the depth (which can cause disorientation), or the cold, or the fact that the rational part of my brain was calculating all the ways I could get caught or stuck among the wreckage…

Once back on shore, I took advantage of the sun, and went for a walk to a couple of the beaches. I was aiming for the Praia do Pinhão, but misread the map, and ended up at the Praia dos estudantes. This was not as nice as I had hoped, but had a cool tunnel through the cliffs to another section of the beach. I didn’t stay long, as it was crowded. The sand was scorching, but the water was freezing, so there was no nice medium. On the way back to the hostel, I stopped at the Praia da Batata, near the fortress. Here at least, they had a boardwalk for you to make it to the beach! They should follow what they do in Rio, by watering pathways to the ocean so that you don’t burn your feet! This beach is normally more crowded, but it wasn’t too bad. It is also the place to go if you want to kayak through the grottoes (I did this last time, it is worth it!), or if you want to try other water sports. If you have more time (and head out early in the morning), you can venture farther out and complete some beautiful hikes to the other beaches, which are supposed to be stunning.

 

In the evening, I was able to join in the festivities for France vs. Belgium which was being broadcast on a screen (and several TVs) in the main square (where the astronaut statue is). It was an intense game, and you could feel the rivalry among the crowd (the French were rowdier). In the end, France won, and moved on to the finals to face Croatia.

On my last morning, I went on a Dolphin watching tour with Seafaris. We were lucky and spotted several common dolphins, who played for a good amount of time near our boat. I also learned that tuna fish are huge, and jump out of the water, tricking many of us on the boat into thinking that they were also dolphins! Seeing dolphins and being on the water was a wonderful way to finish up my time in Portugal.

 

Onto Brazil! Chau chau!