Estoril & Cascais -- walking by the beach

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The weather is amazing here. One minute it can be warm and sunny, the next unprepared travelers can find themselves in the middle of a torrential downpour. We wore layers today and still were occasionally caught off-guard by sudden changes. But all in all we had a lovely day exploring Estoril and Cascais.

The day dawned bright and beautiful. “It looks like it's going to be sunny!” Matthew announced while I was getting ready. By the time we switched places, I looked outside and said “Um, honey? It's pouring rain outside.” What to do? We went to have breakfast - and I finally broke down and paid the hotel clerk the euro to use the internet for a half-hour to post photos on the blog - and by the time we were done the rain passed and we could set out on our walk.

There is a lovely stone walkway that connects Estoril with Cascais. We walked through a tunnel (decorated with lovely tile pictures, like every other tunnel and passageway we've found here) and arrived on the boardwalk, which runs along the water. Locals use this for jogging (and there are several adult jungle-gyms scattered throughout so that joggers can pause and exercise their entire bodies), and tourists use this to catch good views of the sea and the surrounding tourist traps. We saw plenty of people out walking their dogs, too. This area seems to be filled with dog-lovers, much like Munich and Prague, which makes me really miss my baby (all my babies). Lotus would have loved running along the boardwalk!

As we walked along the boardwalk we realized that we were closer to the water than was quite comfortable - we felt the mist and a few drops from the waves as they hit the rocks directly beneath the boardwalk. However, since the sun was out and the day looked clear, getting a little wet wasn't too terrible. We were walking and exploring and this was all part of the adventure! The day's quest: discover Boca do Inferno (the Mouth of Hell), a cave and inlet just past the main tourist section of Cascais, with a viewpoint so that people can safely take pictures. The sun was warm, so I removed my jacket, and then my sweater, enjoying the fact that I could walk down the road in a sleeveless top in December. Of course I had forgotten just how suddenly the weather can change, and shortly before we reached Boca do Inferno we were caught in a sudden shower that left us soaked and scrambling for our jackets and umbrellas. (Yes, I carry jackets, umbrellas, travel guides, books, and anything else we might need in a large black bag - I am a pack mule.) We jogged off our path onto another road that offered trees and walls and a bit of protection from the weather. After a few more minutes, the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds again, bringing with it temperatures to help dry our drenched clothes. A few more turns and we were back on the path to Boca do Inferno. After a few pictures of some impressive waves and a bit of peering over the side to glimpse the caves, we turned around to walk back to Cascais.

The Museu Municipal de Cascais is lovely for two reasons - it is an incredible house (now museum) and grounds (including a “mini-zoo”) and it is free, something almost unheard of here (and at every other tourist destination). We wandered around until we found the entrance to the park surrounding the museum. The park is large and beautiful and is home to flocks of hens, a number of roosters, geese, ducks, and peacocks. The museum itself is a lovely villa that has incredible décor. In the music room there is a very large organ - 1170 pipes in all - that dominates the room. The dining room has an interior fountain. The library is filled from floor to ceiling with thousands of books, some very old, and a large fireplace. Everything was beautiful and quite luxorious. I wish that cameras were allowed so that I could take pictures to show everyone!

Aside from the boardwalk, the caves, and the museum, there are few sites to see in Cascais and after walking for a bit we decided to go to the local supermarket for a few things (Matthew still has his headcold, so we needed more tissue, and I wanted to find a small bottle of port so that he could say that he actually had port in Portugal), and then we'd search for lunch. The Jumbo - a large supermarket and the closest I've been to a Wal-Mart in years - was packed with people. We were able to find what we needed and get out without too much difficulty. From there we decided to check out the mall, basically next door to the Jumbo, for lunch, since mall food is relatively inexpensive (at least compared to some of the tourist cafes we'd seen in Cascais) and it's a bit different than at home. At the top floor of the mall is the food court, which housed the typical mall fare as well a few restaurants. One of the restaurants was an Indian food place, and since I'd been craving Indian food since our arrival and they advertised 5e meals, we decided to eat here. I had the day's special, some sort of chicken dish similar to tikka masala (but not exactly that), and Matthew had chicken tandoori. Both lucnhes were wonderful and did not disappoint at all. But instead of satisfying my craving for Indian food, the meal only served to intensify it. I already have a plan to make naan and daal and a few other things this weekend once we are home!

With full bellies and happy hearts we set out to enjoy a bit more of the sunshine before returning to the hotel. There were park benches near the water and so we sat and read for a bit and then made our walk back to the boardwalk to return to Estoril. It was a good thing that we were already headed home because part-way through our walk a gigantic wave crashed against the rocks and completely drenched us! Even my shirt underneath my jacket was soaked, and my jeans look like I had decided to jump into the sea iteself. I had Matthew take a picture because we both looked like drowned rats. But what a fun way to finish the trip!

Currently Matthew is attempting to figure out our flight information home. Our itinerary says we leave around 7:30, our boarding pass says closer to 8:30, and that means that difference between paying for a taxi and just taking the train and bus. Of course we're hoping for the later time. That does mean, however, that we might have a bit of a jog through the Amsterdam airport. Our flight there doesn't leave until around 2PM, but boarding is shortly after noon - about the same time that we arrive. Why more than 90 minutes for boarding, you ask? Well, it all has to do with another idiot trying some funny business on a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit a couple days ago, causing everyone to fly into a flurry of additional security. Now in addition to the regular screening, there is an additional pat-down and baggage check at the gate before boarding. Will all this additional security do anything other than give a vague impression that we might be more secure? Probably not. It may end up being like the shoe issue - now we all have to remove our shoes (even if they are flip-flops), and twenty years from now we will probably still do it, but by that time everyone will have forgotten why and removing one's shoes won't guarantee safety any more than packing all one's toilettries in a one-quart bag. But at least everyone looks busy and can give a certain impression of being in control.

We like Portugal, at least the bits that we've seen. But now that our journey is at its end it is time to start thinking about the future. Where will we go next year? That remains to be seen!

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Photos

Fish, fish, fish
The walls of most tunnels, walkways, and homes are covered with pretty tiles and different patterns.

Plants!
Some of the plants we saw seemed huge -- they must like the weather.

Look Mom, no sleeves!
The weather was periodically warm enough to go without a sweater -- just don't get caught off guard in a rain storm.

Peacocks, roosters, and hens
A mini-zoo!

WET!
Watch out for waves when walking on the boardwalk in Estoril and Cascais!

Comments

[lani]

Jumbo
Some store, wasn't it? We went to one in Santiago, Chile 14 or 15 years ago and it had 52 checkstands - EVERY ONE OF WHICH WAS OPEN!!! Unforgettable... Thanks for blogging. I loved reading every word.