Portugal

A quick thanks to all of our friends and family that have written the kind words of support, typo corrections and resentment...keep them coming!!

After a brief two days of flying from South America, we touched down in Lisbon, Portugal where once again our spanish did little to help us in the way of getting around. we toured around locally to the outlying town of Cascais which was clearly too upscale for us and with the upcoming international sailing competition coming to town, housing was booked for weeks. a brief note to our government...GET THE DEFICIT UNDER CONTROL...THE DOLLAR IS WEAK!!! It is no fun doing the math in your head while reading menus....okay, take the euro price..add the exchange rate and that equals.....errr...I can almost afford a side of dressing...we realized our days of coffees and steaks were finished. We jumped on a train to the south where we started in Albufiera...once an old fishing village that is quickly becoming a haven for the english party crowd. the brief time we were there, we took in a great outdoor fashion show parading the latest in threads we´ll never get to wear by designers i´ll never be able to pronounce. Then..back on the bus. For all of the buzz that Lagos gets...it even exceeded my expectations. The old city encircled in a large fortress wall has changed little over the centuries..the narrow cobblestone streets and overhead balconies give you a taste of times past and the TINY pubs and cafes give you little in the way of personal space but make up for it in charm and spirit. each drinking establishment employs "flyers" who are seasonal help that attempt to lure patrons through free drinks and specials. these kids are good entertainment as the night skips along as they drink for free and become more aggressive in the commission based job. We were recommended a choice little hostel that was a former residence of a wealthy local and still contained his furniture, pictures, even a pet frog we fell in love with was left behind in the fountain. It was the cheapest thing in town yet still in terms of character, one of the best places we have stayed. We spent 10 days in this little town getting to know the folks, cheap eats, and best beaches that were nestled in tiny coves under the cliffs. A shoutout to our favorite restaurant, NahNahBah Bar...comes complete with great service and smile...thanks Kacie! I had always wanted to tour by car over here to see more countryside so we started looking at cars and seemed to find just the fit. a 1994 ford taurus station wagon was a gift from heaven....strangely delivered by God through a funny little English man with eye-liner but who are we to question His methods? We packed up with the necessary camping good and set out for the next week taking in other coastal towns, learning round-a-bouts, and shifting gears with our left hand on our U.K made car. We camped under the stars every night next to golden fields, sandy beaches or cliffs that provided views for a hundred miles...it has been better than we imagined. Before we knew it, we had reached the border with Spain.

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