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Published: October 18th 2013
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Portugal (“Port-oo-gall”) (noun): a country to charm the senses.
Admittedly, the last nine months have provided more travel opportunities than we imagined or even hoped for and we are ecstatic. Living in Morocco, a country ruled by a King and one religion, learning a new culture and customs, as well as speaking a new language, has been challenging and fulfilling all on its own. But, did we think we should go for more? Yes, of course we did.
After our trip to Belgium in July, we decided that August should provide us another international destination whereby we could again take advantage of our access to cheap flights. Portugal fit the agenda for many reasons, besides the obviously affordable travel and close proximity to Europe. First, neither of us had ever been there… and that fact alone is enough to send us that way. So far, Clay has 37 countries under his belt, and Ann 24. Secondly, Portugese is close to Spanish, a language with which we are both comfortable. Thirdly, the country has pork products and wine aplenty. Finally, Ann would be allowed to wear a tank top as well as a skirt above the knee. All good reasons
for the trip!!!
Our airport was in Casablanca this time. However, Casa’s airport is not near the city center, so we chose to stay in a nearby riad the night before the flight. Dar Daria is set in a beautiful garden surrounded by tall walls and has charming rooms, with traditional Moroccan décor. We had a traditional, well prepared dinner by sunlight right by the small pool which was surrounded by bolganvillia, and where a mama kitty was closely guarding her newborn kittens. In the a.m., the riad owner and our wonderful host actually took us to the airport on his own suggestion and without additional cost. We had offered to get a taxi, but he wanted to insure our timely arrival. The personalized and warm service at this riad cannot be overstated. It was a wonderful stay and marked a grand start to our little trip.
The airport in Casa is the largest one we have been to in Morocco. Everything went very smoothly and before we knew it, we were in Portugal. Portugal is just to the north of Morocco, directly across mouth to the Mediterranean Sea. Historically, there were various land battles over towns in
Morocco between these two countries and some remnants of Portugal culture can be seen in the middle coastal regions of Morocco. As an aside, Portugal was one of the largest transportation ports where slaves were brought by Africans for sale to the Americas, so very long ago. But now, Portugal is a thriving tourist destination, and a breathtakingly, beautiful country on the Atlantic Ocean.
The country of Portugal has so much to offer, but we decided to stay in Lisbon for our short, 5 day trip. We received wonderful, personal treatment and fantastic breakfasts (included) at the Brittania Hotel (ham, eggs, grilled veggies and great cheese selection… YES!!!). We want to throw out a very special thanks to Jefferson, the most awesome bartender in the world, hailing all the way from Brazil. His fresh-squeezed OJ was a nice, personal touch and he always remembered to provide Clay with extra ice. Love ya Jefferson!!!
For the first couple of days, we visited the trendy areas, saw the “beautiful” young people, and ate at a couple of fashionable restaurants (one of which was beautiful but wherein the food was not up to par with the decor). We walked up and
down cobblestone streets and hiked the many hills in town. We experienced a new culture of sights, sounds and smells. It was fantastic!!!
For the first time in our lives, we decided to give port wine a fair shake. Of course we have cooked with port wine and many reductions have been deliciously drizzled over our main dishes… but we have never really tried to discover this underrated libation. So our journey of discovery went something like this… We located and boarded a funicular (a tram up a hill), to a street where the Institute of Port (run by the government of Portugal), lay awaiting us. Upon entering this very swanky looking place, we felt a little uncomfortable because we were so casually dressed. However, our fears were soon dispelled as we were greeted and taken into the inner rooms. Once seated, we were given a menu of the port selections by a stern looking gent. After looking at it for what seemed to be an eternity, but in reality was probably about ½ of an hour (there was a large amount of information on each selection and the family of port wine from wince each selection came), we
finally selected a 30 year old port, of the darker shade. We expected it to be sweet, but it was actually warm and delicious. This was especially enjoyable because of the accompanying heady cheese we chose to go with it. The pretentious atmosphere really blended with the whole experience and we left educated and a little giddy. It was a great experience.
On two separate occasions, we witnessed incidents of stealing in Lisbon. Both of which were amusing and ended poorly for the thieves. We ate the famous cod and as much ham as we could hold. We drank freshly squeezed orange juice which tasted wonderful, but surprisingly different from that in Morocco. (Nothing beats the oranges in Morocco!!!) We bought cheap bottles of wine that tasted better than anything we had had in a long time. We enjoyed a cheap and strange foot massage at a tucked away house after having sore feet and seeing some advertising outside.
Also, we visited Sintra for a day. Sintra is a little picturesque town with castles and lots of hills!!! From the train stop, we walked up, up, up, up, and up to finally get to an unbelievable, historic area
of Sintra. The views here were great but the castles were even further up the hills. There is a bus that we shuttle visitors to the top in a very few minutes… bah!!! Who needs the bus… we walked. The views were stunning and worth the effort, although at the time we were cussing a bit at our decision to not take the bus to the top, which we formally, whole heartedly and vehemently recommend to anyone else that follows in our footsteps!!!
Transportation options in Lisbon are varied and inexpensive, so being a tourist is easy. Inexpensive food is everywhere and delicious. People dress fashionably. Looks wise, we blended in with the majority of the human population in Portugal, something that we do not do in Morocco. It was a little bit nice to have a break from stares for a while (yes, it can get tiresome being famous) and have some western world conveniences.
However, as with all vacations, both good and bad, it had to come to an end… and so, we said goodbye to Portugal and hello again to Ksar el Kebir. As we were leaving through the Lisbon airport, we were corralled into
the duty-free section of the airport. It is a pretty devious and effective move by the airport and we fell to the barrage of offers for cheap pork products and local wine. We think our fellow PC volunteers will enjoy our efforts and sharing with us all the contraband we were able to bring back to Morocco. There are certainly more than a few things we took for granted before we moved to Morocco (and thank you Lisa Marie and Kathy for sending us care packages from home!). However, missing a few things is a small sacrifice for the benefits we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy. We really love our simpler life in Morocco, learning the beauty of a new continent, culture, religion, food and living our long-time dream of living abroad. Thank you Morocco.
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Sandra Hedrick
non-member comment
Thank you.
Thank you for your recent posts. I am really enjoying them. Love you both!