Blogs from Central, Portugal, Europe

If all goes well, we should be crossing into Espanha (Spain) tomorrow. So, before I tell you about today, I thought I’d share my overall impressions of Portugal with you. The People: It always amazes that people everywhere share so many commonalities. We all laugh when we are amused and frown when we are sad. We all carry our babies in a similar manner and admonish our young children to watch as they cross the street. Teens tend to travel in packs and old people sit on benches bemoaning the state of the world. Having said that though, I will note that the Portuguese are a bit aloof; few wave spontaneously, but they try to be helpful when asked for directions. Most of the young people speak English passably well; many of the old do ... read more

Yes, this campismo is aberto (open). And this is Gerri back again, taking the blog writing from Lady who seems to think that she's doing all the work on this tour. Not so. In fact, as John Howard once said, "The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine." I do, however, appreciate Lady's being so cooperative as I change gears hundreds of times a day. We began the day climbing (no surprise there) out of Alcobaca in moderate traffic. We spent most of the morning riding through light industrial areas (a lot of brick factories, "ceramicas") and farmland. At a stop in a small town Bill bought a Coke and we munched on our stash of goat cheese, pao (bread), and apples. Many kilometers later we treated ourselves to the ubiquitous ice ... read more

Now, this is more like it. We got to see the countryside today -- no locking us in a closet while Bill and Gerri go sightseeing. (Tramp is still sulking about that.) Yep, today was truly a lovely bike touring day. Oh, this is Lady speaking. Gerri is busy eating pizza, so I’m taking over the blog entry this evening. Yesterday, Tramp introduced himself; today it is my turn. I was nearly a virgin when this trip began, less than 50 miles on my lovely white aluminum frame. Gerri has three bikes -- her red road bike (that goes much faster than I), her old blue touring bike (which now resides in Arizona), and me. Yeah, three bikes -- red, white, and blue. Kinda patriotic, don’t ya think? In honor of American freedom and the ... read more

Mei 2003 Wilma heeft een verschrikkelijke hoofdpijn, maar we gaan toch op weg naar lissabon. Kees brengt ons naar schiphol; Meer liggend dan zittend gaat wilma in auto en vliegtuig mee. In Lissabon na wat rusten en veel pijnstillers gaan we rustig met de oude tram 12 tussen de oude smalle straatjes rijden. We bezoeken de burcht en het oude deel. Het is een mooi aparte stad aan de kust met veel heuvels en verschillende wijken en natuurlijk de Fado. We blijven hier enkele dagen; Lopen een paar keer naar Belém, een mooi kust- boulevard wandeling. We nemen de trein ( prachtig moderne treinen en station) naar Estoril, met casino en stranden; De volgende dag naar het bergplaatsje Sintres, waar veel mist hing maar een gezellig plaatsje is Dan een dagje Porto, met de Expresstrein binnen ... read more

The expansive generosity of the Verdade family was expressed once again as we were shuttled down the road to Coimbra. This was particularly appreciated because of rotating strikes on the part of the train service. I suppose they imagined us waiting at the station, with kids, for a train that might never come...depending on the whims of the union. But, good natured lovingkindness won over civic unrest. Coimbra is the home of Portugal's oldest university. It is the part of the country where one begins to notice the strong influence of Moorish culture. When Afonso Henrique threw off the Moorish yoke in 1145, Portugal as a distinct society began its development. But a large part of that identity is Arabic in origin. You can see it in the architecture and the music, in the darker skin ... read more

After the grand snooze, it was up and at 'em and on the road to Aveiro. This is another little fishing village that has lent itself to tourist pursuits. Aveiro is a city of canals and bridges, waters plied by colourful boats (barques) and home to salieneras. Salienaras are facilities where salt is extracted from ocean water and then turned into a vast variety of products, some for munching and some for scrubbing. Portuguese people have a great love of salt. It has been used since olden days to preserve cod and many varieties are produced for use on the table. There is the usual bleached white type, but also brown salts, salts flecked with black,grey salt and lovely coarse, chunky salts. When you begin to explore the world of salt, it can become something of ... read more