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Published: April 11th 2010
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Today we learned something very interesting. None of the roads or streets have names. Not only that, bus stops are not named or easily identified, either. Therefore, as we made our way into Albuferia, we had absolutely no idea where to catch the bus. So we walked in the general direction of the city for about 3 kilometers and, it was getting so warm, we decided to catch a cab. Again, we had to get 2 cabs because no one would take 5 passengers. The remainder of the trip was less 2 kilometers , we were that close - go figure.
Our first stop in the old city was the information centre. We loaded up with maps that turned out to be useless because none of the streets have names. We also looked for a wi-fi signal so that I could send out the outstanding blogs. They were all protected and there are no internet cafes anywhere. Consequently, I will not be sending out any more episodes until Cath and I get back to Lisbon on Sunday. So stay tuned!
We walk down to the beach and what a spectacular beach it is. Miles of beautiful white sand and
slow rolling breakers on to the beach. This is a very popular beach and it was getting well populated by the time we got there, around 12:30. It was also getting very warm. We walked in the sand and in the water for about an hour and we took in lots of local scenery (thankfully none of the gorgeous grannies we saw yesterday). Afterwards we headed into the town for lunch.
I have to say that I’ve never seen so many cafes, bars, restaurants and souvenir shops packed into such a small area. Every road and side street had more shops than you can shake a stick at. We found a little hole in the wall cafe down a side alley and decided to try it. The menu wasn’t large but the prices were quite reasonable. We all ordered the chicken piri piri and it turned out to be exceptionally delicious. Like East Indian households with their own recipe for curry, each family here has its own recipe for piri piri spices. It was served in the traditional way with rice and french fries and the chicken left a nicely heated taste on your taste buds and in the
back of your throat.
After lunch we explored a couple of the old churches and parks. By mid afternoon it was getting really hot and I think the temperature was starting to approach 30 degrees. We had wandered around for quite awhile again trying to reference maps that were absolutely useless. After asking several people where to catch the bus back to our villa, and getting different directions from very one we talked to, we decided it would be safer to cab back.
The balance of the day consisted of a cold swim in the pool and happy hour on the deck. Tonight we’re watching a soccer match on T.V.(Man U. vs Bayern). Oh oh, sorry Mark, Man U just got beat and are now out of the playoffs. First time in 7 years. Tomorrow we’re going to try another beach closer to home.
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