Final Impressions of Portugal

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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 not. They do take pride in their homes, which are very unlike American homes. I have not seen a single, detached home here other than perhaps a few large farmhouses. Most people live in apartments, seemingly small by our standards, or in row houses up narrow, maze-like streets. The homes are often covered with beautiful old ceramic tiles, and many families have placed flower pots outside their doors.

The Language: Though I have always believed that Portuguese and Spanish are very similar, I was wrong. Though many of the words appear similar in writing, they are pronounced quite differently, with the Portuguese placing as many “oo” and “sh” sounds as possible in a word. Thus, a simple word such as “campismo” becomes “compishmoo.” Hopefully, Spanish will be a bit easier,

The Accommodations: Just as in Les Estados Unidos, the price of the accommodation does not always match its quality. The campgrounds have run about 11 euros a night so far and have been old but clean and well kept. Campgrounds here, as in the rest of Europe, do not provide picnic tables, but they do have quite nice shower facilities -- though, of course, no toilet paper. They provide separate areas for dish washing and clothes washing, even clothes lines for drying the clothes. As for other accommodations, we’ve found that in small towns people often offer guest lodging. Last night’s room was okay for 40 euros; this evening’s room is beautiful -- a large, gorgeous room with a fantastic bathroom and lovely bed linens -- only 35 euros. I am concerned, however, that when we get home Bill is going to want to buy a European mattress. These are quite hard and we love them.

The Food: Even the smallest of villages has several cafes selling teeny tiny cups of coffee and Ola ice cream. Pingo Doce seems to be the only large supermarket in the country; its selection is good and prices are reasonable. However, if you want a bebida fria (cold drink), you have to look hard. There seem to be no diet drinks available, and almost no Pepsi, just Coke. Restaurants open for dinner at 7 p.m. at the earliestnand post their menus with the plato do dia quite well advertised. The plato seems to always include rice and fresh made chips and is generally about 8 euros each. Some menus are in English and most have two sizes -- one dose and ½ dose. Believe me, ½ dose is plenty for one hungry cyclist. So far, we have tried several traditional dishes and have found them quite palatable! One item we have not tried is caracois -- snails. They are teeny tiny and in season right now. However, we can’t quite bring ourselves to slurp them up. Another traditional dish is a piece of meat -- hamburger, steak, whatever -- with a fried egg on top.
Interestingly, the price of meals (and everything else, for that matter) includes a 13% sales tax, and no tipping is expected. So, you think that what you order off the menu is exactly what you pay for. Not quite so; the waiter almost always brings bread or olives or something else to the table. If you eat it, you pay for it. If you wave it off, you don’t pay for it.

The Roads/Cycling: In the city of Lisbon and along the coast, the roads were not bicycle-friendly. Lady's run-in with the taxi attests to that. Tina told us that many urbanites view the bicycle as transportation for the poor. Out here in the countryside, however, we have seen a number of cyclists. In fact, today we saw two groups of what appeared to be professional cyclists training here in the hills of the country. The last 100 kilometers or so have been ideal for cycling -- smooth surfaces for the most part and a shoulder, sometimes narrow and sometimes nice and wide. The hills, in case I haven’t mentioned it yet, are killers though.
What Portugal does need help with is signage and mapping. Street signs are sometimes posted on the side of a corner building, sometimes not, and many times they do not match the map. We’ve even read that the country changes its road numbers on occasion. We’ve certainly had difficulty coordinating the map with the roads in front of us.

The Flora: Eucalyptus trees, cork trees, corn, and hay. A few pine trees here and there. And some kind of tall tree that emits a lovely fragrance and yucky yellow petals that fall, covering the ground. A woman told us today that it is a tree from which tea is made. What Bill and I have both noticed, however, is the proliferation of hydrangea bushes -- in pinks, and whites, and blues. It must be the season because they are lovely.

The Fauna: We have learned to watch where we walk in the villages because each little town has its resident wandering dog or two. They don’t bark or bite, but they do leave their evidence on the sidewalk. Not particularly nice! As noted yesterday, we’ve also seen lots of storks. Today, one tree we passed had at least eight large nests in it, each contained several of these huge, noisy birds. What a sight. In the countryside, we’ve seen sheep and goats and cows and horses. A few chickens here and there pecking around someone’s yard. No pigs though pork is on all the menus and ham is on the grocery store shelves. Today we saw several signs that noted the possible presence of deer on the highway, but no deer.

The Weather: Gorgeous. Blue skies with puffy white clouds. Warm, actually hot. About 28 degrees though we don’t know how to convert that correctly into Fahrenheit. The only rain we’ve seen was that Sunday in Lisbon when we were on the bus; other than that it has been beautiful.

Okay, back to today. A short day with no killer hills. On good road, mostly with a shoulder. At one point, we think we were on a road that did not allow cyclists, but it was a wide two lane road with very little traffic and the passing policeman did not pull us over, so I guess we were okay.

Tonight we are in Castelo de Vide, a pretty town flowing up and down a hillside overlooked by a 14th century castle. With only 50 kilometers on Lady and the Tramp, we arrived here by 11:30, stopped at the Turismo (tourist office) and found this lovely room in Casa Melanie. The owner speaks English passably well and offered us a safe place to keep the bicycles. After showering, we headed up to the castle, an extensive edifice with a tremendous view of the valley and the surrounding hillsides. After wandering around town for a while, we ate our cheese and bread and apple, bought some ice cream, and then came back to the room for a nap.

Now it’s time to go look for an Internet connection and perhaps dinner. Tomorrow is a long day -- either 100 kilometers or 130 kilometers, depending on the terrain and where we choose to end our ride.

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