Lisbon, the Algarves... Portugal is Amazing

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By Darvin:

We arrived in Lisbon late Sunday night and caught a cab directly to our residencio (budget hotel) located near the downtown center of Lisbon. Right away I noticed that compared to Barcelona and Madrid the buildings in Lisbon were much more run down, the streets had more garbage on them, were smellier and there was more graffiti. The history of Portugal is again one of very rough times until only recently but the old historic area of Lisbon did not wear it very well. The metro was very easy to use however, and once we got out and did some exploring the character of this capital of Portugal began to show. We took a 3 hour walking tour on our second day there and our guide was awesome. She showed us many really interesting sights, including the very first store which began back in the 1800's to produce a local drink call Ginjinha. The drink is made by letting sour cherries ferment in a brandy, water, sugar and cinnamon mixture. It actually tastes very smooth when we sampled it. Also on the tour was an old cathedral that was the flash point for a massive and violent "cleansing" of semi catholics (Jewish people that were forced to convert to Catholicism) during the period following the Catholic Inquisition in Portugal. The church was barricaded and everyone inside was burned alive. Another really fascinating stop was a very plain building on the outside which turned out to be an old Moorish Palace which was constructed during the time of Moorish rule of most of Spain and Portugal. Personally I really love the Moorish architecture and decorations, they are incredibly intricate and delicate, very beautiful indeed.

We also ended up taking a second tour by van to a small town just South of Lisbon where we saw a castle built by the last ruling monarchy of Portugal before they were driven out. It was the first one in Europe of it's kind and was merely decorative and not built for defensive purposes, which then lead to other such castles being built by other European Monarchs. She also told us why the old part of Lisbon is in such bad shape: apparently the people who own all the old buildings want a huge some of money to sell them and charge extremely high rents, but refuse to take care of them. The city council has tried to change this but many on the council are also the same wealthy land owners so that makes things pretty much impossible. Also, 98% of the old downtown buildings are actually abandoned, and only 600,000 people live in all of downtown Lisbon. Each day nearly 2 million people come in from the surrounding area to work there in all the stores and business buildings, very strange. I thinks it's completely ridiculous that they are willing to let such a treasure of ancient buildings simply fall apart. Next was a trip to the most Westerly point of continental Europe, to look out at the edge of the world. To think that in ancient times people literally thought you would fall off the earth if you went any further was strange to imagine. At the end of our tour we stopped in the small oceanside town of Cascais and happened to randomly run into James and Pete, the brothers from Zenon Records who performed at BOOM, and had a great time chatting over beers and dinner before all heading back to Lisbon together.

All in all Lisbon was a decent place for us to begin getting our energies back, but we were also very eager to head to the Southern portion of Portugal (The Algarves) which we had heard were amazing. After a 4 hour train ride we arrived in Faro which to our surprise was not actually a beach town even though it was on the ocean, instead it was separated from the beaches by a estuary/nature preserve type area which, as lovely as it was, was not what we had desired. In spite of this we decided to stay as our accommodations were slightly cheaper than Lisbon ($50 Euros for both of us per night rather then $60) and much nicer, and we still needed to rest a bit more and finally relax. From our home base here we took day trips to a few different beaches, and on our last two days in Portugal we rented a small car and headed off to the West of Faro towards Lagos and Sagres. The night before we left however we had our first nearly scary experience thus far. We had decided to treat ourselves to a fancy crab dinner as many shops showcase massive crabs in their windows, but the place we chose ended up bringing us a ridiculously small and inedible crab, with the innards mashed and left in the shell of the crab with a spoon in it, all for $20 Euros. I was PISSED, and when the waiter returned I said I refused to eat or pay for it... and of course he insisted that it was fine and that we had to pay. Fortunately, our shouting match just happened to be drowned out by a marching band that was passing by (what are the chances?!). Irena was really worried that if we refused to pay we might get in a physical fight or they would chase after us in the streets, but when we received the bill we payed for the other dish we had ordered and eaten, then made a very brisk dash out of sight. Ha! We thought we were so sly, but as it turns out, in typical Irena fashion, she foolishly left her sweater on her chair so in the end we kinda got burned too. Next time I will insist on seeing the specific crab that I am to eat BEFORE it is cooked!

So when we did leave Faro in our rental car our two days on the road were by far my favorite times in Portugal. We caught an incredible sunset from high up on a cliff over looking the Atlantic at the most South-Westerly point of continental Europe, the coast in this area is incredibly dramatic with huge cliffs, crashing waves and stunning views. During these two days we tried to drive on small roads as close to the ocean as possible and found some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen, most with blow-holes and grottos all woven throughout the cliffs that overlook crystal clear (although chilly) Atlanic waters. Awesome!! The people were very friendly and chill and the roads were surprisingly easy to navigate, Irena did an A++ job driving us from place to place. Up until this time I was very worried because I had felt that Portugal was not as impressive as I had hoped, but the last two days really made me realize how much of a country you will miss unless you make the effort to simply head out and do some exploring the old fashioned way. It was with renewed sense of adventure and positive thoughts that we left Portugal, heading by train back to Lisbon and then onwards overnight to Madrid where we caught a cheap flight to Greece. Considering I nearly creamed my pants when seeing the old buildings in Spain and Portugal, I had a feeling that the ancient ruins in Athens were going to blow my mind!

By Irena:

After our time at Boom festival, we headed to Lisbon for a few days. I really liked the city, there was something about it in the air. It was certainly a lot more run down and older looking than Barcelona, but it was something about hearing the Portuguese language everywhere, I just loved it. its really such a beautiful language, so soft and romantic sounding. I think its by far my favourite language yet! It was relatively easy to pick up some of the key words and phrases and practice them out, and with the help of our handy dictionary we were able to communicate with the people who worked in restaurants and hotels decently. I liked that not everyone spoke English, as pretty much everyone does in Greece from what we've seen. Its nice to rely on good old fashioned sign language and basic words to make your way around!


We started with a really great walking tour - I highly recommended starting a day in a new city with one of those! Not only did we see and learn about all the important landmarks, we also got a sneak peak at some hole in the wall places that we'd normally never thing of checking out. Like an old cathedral that looked like an average white church from the outside, but inside it was very old and untouched. You could really feel the history, and the sad stories over the years, inside of it. It was really a very powerful place that brought me to tears, something I didn't expect, but appreciated as it really gave me a moment to think of the important things in my life, my family and friends whom I appreciate so much.

After the walking tour I felt that I got a really good look at Lisbon and it made me look at it a different way, with more appreciation...looking beyond the old and run down buildings, but seeing a lot more character. Personally, I loved this city. And the Portuguese pastries are unreal. custard, custard, custard!!

After filling another couple of days with sightseeing at various castles, and the most westerly point of continental Europe, it was time we headed out to the BEACHES! all these weeks on the road and no time to do some actual sunbathing, it was killing me! my bikini was ready...


We set out to the Algarves, the southern tip of Portugal. We found a cute little pension to stay at, in the centre of Faro, it was really important to have a few days to simply CHILL OUT, since the pace of our travels (and our lives prior to this adventure) were completely insane. finally we caught up on some much needed sleep, some food...and more pastries.


Faro turned out to be a good place to do this, but the quest for beaches was a bit disappointing. Although Faro was right on the coast, there were no actual beaches - we needed to take a 1/2 hr ferry ride to get to an island. The island beach was a fabulous little place. It had a cute little beach bar that served cheap, cold beer and played some great tunes, the water was clean (but cold!) and you could rent a beach chair, what more could I ask for? We enjoyed a couple of days at this beach, much needed relaxation and time to read our books and work on our tans. Darvin and I both felt our batteries were recharged. finally!


Still...although this beach was fine and dandy, it looked NOTHING like all the Algarves brochures we saw. Where are these famous blue waters? So, we rented a car and toured around for a couple of days through some of the smaller towns up the coast, like Lagos, Silves and all the way up to Sagres, the most South Westerly tip of Europe. Here we go! Finally some of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen, with grottos and blue green water, powdery white sand, and basically sheer heaven. Even thought the water was freezing cold, it was mighty refreshing since it was roasting hot out. These were two of our finest days yet. We basically drove from town to town, from beach to beach...sampling the water everywhere. It was painful to think that these beautiful beaches were just around the corner from us the entire time we stayed in Faro!! We were kicking ourselves to say the least, and it was a hard pill to swallow, because we had JUST booked our flights to Athens before leaving Faro and realizing what was in store for us. Unfortunately we only got to beach hop for two days, but the good news is that we ended our time in Portugal on such a high note - it was truly amazing there, and now we know exactly where we want to go when we go back!!!

toodles and love,

Irena

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