DAY 8 - ALVADOS TO VILA NOVA DA FOZ COA:

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WE PACKED UP OUR GEAR, CHECKED OUT OF THE HOSTEL, AND AFTER A BIT OF NAVIGATIONAL RESEARCH, HEADED TO OUR NEXT STOP, VILA NOVA DA FOZ COA. THE MAP AND DRIVING DIRECTIONS I'D MADE FROM GOOGLE MAP DIRECTIONS (GREAT TOOL!) TOLD US ALMOST ALL OF THE 312 KILOMETERS WOULD BE ON MAJOR ROADS. THE GAS TANK OF THE LITTLE FIAT WAS GETTING LOW, SO WE STOPPED AT ONE OF THE SERVICE AREA ON THE HIGHWAY AND BOUGHT 30 EUROS OF GAS, WHICH BROUGHT US BACK TO ABOUT 2/3 OF A TANK! GAS IS ABOUT 6.5O EUROS A GALLON, AND EVEN THOUGH OUR LITTLE CAR PROBABLY GOT VERY GOOD MILEAGE, THAT PARTIAL FILL UP STUNG A BIT. ANYWAYS, WE CONTINUE ON OUR WAY. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MOST OF THE TIME WE WERE ON TOLL ROADS. PORTUGAL TAKES AN UNUSUAL APPROACH TO TOLLS. WHEN YOU USE A TOLL ROAD, EVERY TIME YOUR CAR PASSES A SECTION, THERE ARE OVERHEAD CAMERAS THAT SNAP YOUR LICENSE PLATE AND EITHER THEY BILL YOU LATER, OR YOU DO LIKE WE DID, AND HAVE EACH TOLL ADDED TO OUR RENTAL, SO EACH TIME WE'D GET A LITTLE BEEP IN THE CAR WHERE IT TOLD THE COMPUTER HOW MUCH TO ADD. NOT A BAD IDEA, BUT WHEN WE PASSED ONE SOMETHING LIKE EVERY 10 KILOMETERS OR SO, IT SAID ANOTHER EURO OR SO, IT ADDS UP!

MOST OF THE TRIP WAS ON A PLEASANT NEW HIGHWAY, BUT WITH A LOT OF CLIMBING AND DESCENDING STEEP HILLS, SORT OF LIKE IN OUR MOUNTAINS, BUT THESE ARE JUST BIG HILLS. THEY DON'T SEEM TO LIKE TO BLAST THEIR WAY THROUGH. INSTEAD THEY CLIMB OVER, OR OCCASIONALLY TUNNEL THROUGH. ANYWAYS, AROUND 1PM OR SO WE REACHED THE NICE SIZED TOWN OF VILA NOVA DO FOZ COA, AND THANKS TO SOME NICE SIGNS, LOCATED OUR NEXT HOSTEL. BELIEVE IT OR NOT, WE WERE TOLD WE COULDN'T CHECK IN UNTIL 6PM! SO, WE LEFT THE CAR AND WALKED BACK DOWN TO THE TOWN. THE HOSTEL SITS ON THE OUTSKIRTS A BIT, IN A NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AREA, BUT IT HAS FANTASTIC VIEWS FROM THE TERRACE AND ROOMS. ONCE IN TOWN, AFTER SOME STROLLING AND DOOR PHOTOGRAPHY (MY WIFE'S FAVORITE THING), WE LOCATED A NICE LITTLE CAFE TO HAVE LUNCH, CALLED A MARISQUEIRA. MANOLI HAD A VEGETABLE SOUP AND MEDIUM SALAD, AND I PLAYED IT SAFE AND HAD A PORK KEBAB DISH WITH FRIES AND RICE. EVERYTHING WAS VERY GOOD, AND THEY ONLY CHARGED US A EURO OR TWO FOR THE BREAD AND OLIVES.

AFTER LUNCH, WE WANDERED UP TO THE HISTORIC DISTRICT AND OVERLOOK (MIRADOURO). NOT ALL THAT SPECIAL, BUT STILL HAD SOME INTERESTING BUILDINGS AND VIEWS. NEXT, WE DECIDED TO HEAD DOWNHILL TO LOOK FOR THE COA MUSEUM WHERE WE'D BE TAKING OUR ARCHEOLOGICAL TOUR TOMORROW. AFTER A LONG TREK DOWN AND ANOTHER TREK UP, WE DISCOVERED IT WAS STILL A COUPLE OF KILOMETERS OUT A SMALL ROAD, SO WE HIKED BACK UP TO THE TOWN TO CHECK INTO OUR HOSTEL. WHEN WE ARRIVED, WE REALIZED WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH CASH, SO WE DROVE BACK DOWN INTO TOWN TO GET SOME MONEY AND DO SOME SHOPPING FOR DINNER AND DRINKS IN ONE OF THE BIGGER SUPERMARKETS. SINCE WE WERE BACK IN THAT GENERAL VICINITY, WE DROVE ON OUT TO THE MUSEUM. THE MUSEUM IS NOT ONLY WELL OUT OF TOWN, BUT IN A VERY, VERY MODERN BUILDING. WHEN WE INQUIRED ABOUT THE TOUR, THE GUY TOOK US TO THAT OFFICE WHERE WE DISCOVERED I'D APPARENTLY BOOKED A TOUR FOR TOMORROW, ACCIDENTALLY, WHEN I MADE MY INQUIRY ABOUT THE TOUR. FORTUNATELY, WE REALIZED THEY HAD US DOWN FOR THE LONGER TOUR IN THE AFTERNOON, SO WE SWITCHED TO THE SHORTER TOUR TOMORROW MORNING. AFTER THE MUSEUM, WE DROVE BACK INTO TOWN, WE STOPPED AT THE INTERMARCHE, WHICH HAD A PRETTY GOOD SELECTION OF STUFF, SO WE BOUGHT SOME COKE, FRUIT, AND FIXINGS FOR SANDWICHES TONIGHT.

RETURNING TO THE HOSTEL, WE FINALLY CHECKED IN WENT TO OUR ROOM. THIS HOSTEL IS JUST AS MODERN AS THE ONE IN ALVADOS, BUT HAS A NICE TERRACE AND GAME ROOM, PLUS THE ROOMS ONLY USE AN ACTUAL KEY, INSTEAD OF A CARD THAT HAS TO BE IN THE ROOM SLOT IN ORDER TO USE LIGHTS OR OUTLETS. MUCH BETTER ARRANGEMENT. UNFORTUNATELY, AGAIN THERE WERE NO VENDING MACHINES, BUT AT LEAST THIS TIME WE ARE CLOSE TO PLACES TO BUY DRINKS AND SUCH. ALSO, OUR SHOWER IS A BIT NICER AND ROOMIER, AND THE VIEW FROM OUR WINDOW IS AWESOME. AFTER FINISHING AND POSTING MY BLOG FROM YESTERDAY, I FINISHED WRITING THIS ONE, BUT IT WAS GETTING TOO LATE TO POST. I PROMISE YOU'LL GET TWO TOMORROW INSTEAD, THEN I'LL BE UP TO DATE. TOMORROW WE DO THE TOUR OF THE OUTDOOR 'CAVE' DRAWINGS, THEN MAYBE CHECK OUT A NEARBY CASTLE OR TWO.

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