Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 250

The story goes as follows: Early one night, at 4:30am, a door across from the Rising Cock Hostel opens and a backpack comes flying out, crashing to a halt square in the middle of the narrow street. There's a bit of a ruckus inside (no, I can't describe this ruckus), 30 seconds pass and an Aussie stumbles out, only to have the door slammed behind him moments later. Disheartened and dejected, the evicted backpacker slowly gathers his gear, takes one last look at the flat, and pleads to no one in particular, "I've GOTTA get out of this loopy town." Welcome to LAGOS, Portugal. Fittingly, my own whacky trek through Lagos begins with a chance encounter to end all chance encounters. On a never-ending bus ride from Sevilla, we get to the end of the line ... read more

All of it!! Sights of Portugal... read more

Well, I loved Sintra . It is a great little town about 28 km from Lisbon. After arriving in Lisbon in the early morning of May 13, I immediately took a train to Sintra and, thanks to the train conductor, I found some great accommodation adjacent to the train station . In the end, I stayed four nights so will happily act as Australia’s ambassador for Sintra having seen all of it! I walked through the hills up to the Moorish Castle and then to a bizarre eclectic castle known as Pena Palace. So many different styles and mostly should just be described as over the top. Also climbed the highest peak in Sintra, Alta Cruz, at 529m. Not really a warm up for Mt Kilimanjaro! I took a bus trip to Cabo de Roca, the ... read more

1) Portugal is definetly and defiantly not Spain. Before I arrived, I too would have been hard pressed to distinguish between Portugal and its larger Iberian cousin. Portugal does however, retain an immediate and distinct atmosphere of its own, although this atmosphere is hard to define. I suppose it seems somewhat Carribean or South American to me, although having never been to the Carribean or South America I'm not exactly an authority on the matter. But it is certainly multicultural and seems much more exotic than other european countries 2) Until I recieve conclusive evidence to the contrary I will continue to believe that all portugese people can sing very well. I mean really sing. One evening in Lisbon a group of people from my hostel and myself went to watch some Fado music. Fado ... read more

After a refreshing night’s sleep, I decided to make my way around the west coast of the island. By mid-morning, the ocean mist had burned away and I had clear blue skies. Porto Moniz lies in the Nortwest corner of the island. They have some neat salt water bathing pools amidst the crashing waves. Purdy cool. From Porto Moniz, the road climbs straight up. Before long, it seems as if I had been teleported directly to Northern California. The road cut a path through a grove of eucalyptus trees looking for all the world like the section of the Pacific Coast Highway just north of Bolinas. Of all the places I’ve ridden, this section came the closest to matching the PCH for twistyness and beauty. Unfortunately, it only lasted for a few kilometers. The entire stretch ... read more