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Published: June 16th 2009
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Well....... I do not know where to begin! Portugal has been a great chance to throw all the rules out the window, leave the sites behind and drink, party and sit on the beach. I can't remember the last time I had a holiday like this but it was much needed. Kelly (an Aussie teacher I work with at Bannockburn Primary) and we planned to fly into Lisbon and see where life took us. The Algarves were seriously on our minds. So we headed to Lisbon and stayed in an awesome boutique hostel called the Lisbon Lounge. This hostel was much more like a hotel with ultra modern decor and very clean rooms. We had no plans to stay in Lisbon for long so the following morning we headed for some on the run site seeing and then planned to jump on the bus to The Algarve asap. Our quick stops were made to the Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos which is the house for the Hieronymite monks. The sculpted entrance to the church was magnificant and so detailed. Another quick stop was made to the Discovery Monument and the Pasties De Belem which have a reputation for having the best potugeuse tarts
in Portugal. They were delivered to my hands fresh out of the oven and still hot and delicious. I ate my full holiday quota in 1 hour. The whole 6 went down like a treat! We visited the church and met this really cool girl, Joey also a solo traveller and the same age as myself who had spent the last year in london and now intended to head home.
Soon we were on the bus and on the way to the beach WAHOO! 4 hours later we landed in Lagos and the rest of this trip is a blur! ha ha ha. We stayed at a hostel called the Rising Cock! yes the Rising Cock! and walked straight into their 25th birthday celebrations. Loads of people who were expected to leave the hostel had stayed on for the celebrations and we found ourselves bedless. But the owner of the place, Mama, took us to one of the rooms and told this guy sleeping in his bed to get out and move to the double bed with his friend ha ha ha. Then she looked at us and said 'I will change the sheets this is where you will sleep'
OMG! The place was absolute party central. Free food and alcohol everywhere and loads and loads of aussies! A few americans and canadians but mostly australians. We did not know what we had walked into let alone what to think! But we soon joined in and at midnight found ourselves heading to the local The Three Monkeys! At 2am when Three Monkeys closed we headed with all the workers to Inside-Out Bar and kicked on till close. This is pretty much all we did for the next four days LOL.
Oh..... we did wake up early one morning and took a boat ride around the grottos for 10 euros. It was really funny cause Kelly was really scared of the choppy waves. The boat ride was cool because they actually took you right inside the grottos and it was a great chance to get loads of sun. The rock formations are beautiful and it funny to hear the original names that the locals have come up with for some of the formations. Big elephant, little elephant and camel. We have spent every afternoon on the beach drinking Sangria during Happy hour then eating tapas. WHAT A LIFE!
The day following
Up close
You really appreciate the intricate detail in each sculpture. the Rising Cocks birthday celebrations things really settled at the hostel and met some really interesting people. A crazy scottish lad who was really tough to understand, a few aussies who were all living in london and a couple of canadians. I spent some afternoons strolling through the towns centre admiring the white buildings and mosaic style roads. The most beautiful roads I have ever seen. There is not much else to see here but beach but is worth the stay. There are lots of private beaches along the coastline which you can choose to visit and be the only ones basking in the suns glory. We did take ouselves to one secluded section but it wasn;t to long before we were joined by my favourite guy who humoured me every day. I like to call him 'Dinghy Man'. He he he he I still giggle every time I think of him. Imagine a skinny little portugese guy with shorts pulled up to his arm pits. Dinghy Man strolled down to the beach everyday and took out his blow up dinghy. He would use one foot on the pump striking an heroic pose with each foot press he made. Then
Dinghy Man
My daily entertainment he would take himself down to the water and row his boat between the grottos for a bit, then stop and have a cigarette then repeat the same pattern day in and day out. I found him absolutely mysterious and hilarious all at once. On some afternoons, when the tides were right many daring people would jump of the main rock which protected the beach. Everyone watched as so many tempted fate. I felt for the little boy who went all the way to the top but after 11 runs to the edge lost his nerve and ran back down. Bits of me were tempted to give it a go but I still havn't found that daring side of me again since I sky dived or white water rafted in Africa.
The day before we left we headed back to our Boutique Hostel in Lisbon. This time the 4 hour bus ride seemed much shorter, probably because I slept for most of it. We arrived just intime for dinner which the hostel served each night for 8 euros. It was a delicious meal and we sat around a table with more new travellers and their stories. It was a great
Our daily beach spot
Time for sleep and some recovery. table with people froma ll walks of life. Different ages and different nationalities. We enjoyed each others company so much that we headed out together making a first stop at Lisbons bar area. What a sight! Hundreds of people buty Mojitos and beer in plastic cups and take it out to the streets to drink. The streets are packed so much that cars struggle to get through and people take their time clearing a path. By 2am Kelly was ready to go home as we had to be up for our plane back to london by 6am. I decided I was having to much fun and stayed on with my new friends. We made our way by taxi to a night club by the water. Do not ask me what it was called. I have terrible memory at that time of the morning. We danced the night away and at 5.30 I thought I better leave. I jumped back in a cab, picked up my bags and Kelly at the hostel and headed straight to the airport feeling very smelly and tired.
I spent all of sunday in bed and found it hard, hard, hard to get back to my
normal routine, whatever that may be. In fact, I think I am still recovering now. Gosh I hate that..... I need to go back to portugal as I don't think I have done everything I want there. Right, another one for the list..... Portugal Part 2.
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