It has been an amazing day!! Not without all the crazy ups and downs- literally ups and downs of this mountainous area. We started early with a train ride to Sintra. We get there raring to ride electric bikes up to Pena Palace. It was starting to rain so we opted for the hop on, hop off bus and thank God we did. After taking a bus up the mountain and hiking 400 meters to the palace, I can confirm beyond the shadow of a doubt that I would not be able to ride a bike up 5 plus miles of mountain. NOPE. It said average athleticism... and like I know I am no picture of high metabolism and healthy lifestyle practices, but still, I can do average. We did hike with no problem to Moorish Castle after the amazing tour of Pena Palace. Pena literally translates to mean boulder, cliff or rock which accurately describes the landscape up to this point. Pena was last inhabited by King Fernando II as a summer home. A. Summer. Home. That is until 1910 when the country of Portugal became a republic. You should see this place. It was amazing and the view of the valley and the ocean is gorgeous. (This photo doesn't do it justice.)
Like I said, on to the Moorish Castle, which is a military fort built around the 10th century by the Muslim populations occuping the Iberian peninsula at the time. They used it as a control tower for the atlantic coast and the land to the north. Also, King Fernando II used to paint in one of the towers and I have no idea how he got up there, but the view probably offered a decent backdrop.
Before we visited the castles, we ate at this sweet cafe named Cafe Saudade. The atmosphere was perfect and very bohemian feeling. I had a Saudad coffee which is coffee with sweetened condensed milk.... Holy sugar. It was hard to drink but I wanted to do the Cafe Saudade thing. I also had their quiche which was a little taste of home- although nothing gets close to Aunt Susie's quiche.
From Sintra, we grabbed a bus to Cabo da Roca- the western most point of Europe. I have been to a lot of places; a lot of beautiful places at that, but this place was unreal. Never have I been able to stand on one small piece of land and look in 300 degrees around me and see nothing but beautiful Atlantic Ocean. It was a really neat experience. The bouldering sea side and the crashing waves, the breeze on my face and the wild flowers growing along the hillside. It was just one of the times that I took a deep breath and said, this is what they mean when they say this is a once in a lifetime kind of trip. It is. And I am so thankful to be on something like this. Nothing is going to shake me on this trip or bring me down. Its all the bees knees and I am just taking it in one breath at a time. While we were there, this really sweet man who was traveling with a group of older men and women offered to take our photo and then came back by and gave us the remainder of his port wine. I know it seems sketchy but I am trusting as you know and its not like I sat there and drank it in front of him. He offered it to us as a congratulations for being in this beautiful place and being young and able to travel. I loved the gesture and I cherish that gift from him. Also, I have always wanted a free drink from a stranger and now I got one!
After finally making it back at 10 pm to the apartment, we regrouped and went to a local Portugese restaurant that our proprietor suggested. I got the Bacalhau a Lagareiro which is codfish with olive oil and garlic with a side of roasted potatoes and broccoli. It was superb. By far the best meal I have had in a while. I went out of my comfort zone and it was so so worth it. I also had some port wine with dessert that was not from a stranger. I didn't end up drinking that tiny portion the man gave me either p.s. (settled some nerves I hope).
At dinner we had some wine. When in Portugal, do as they do ya know? So at the end Cybil come out with this shit, "I mean, I am definitely enjoying the trip more now with the wine." But what??? Thanks Cybil. We are enjoying your company too.
Want to hear another funny thing Cybil said today? I bet you I will have something good everyday to report to you guys. We are at the bus stop and there are a number of Asian travelers waiting with us and out of nowhere Cybil starts talking about how badly she wants to be Asian. She goes into great detail and then says that she and Mahamed (her boyfriend) already have their Asian names- Ming (Mohamed) and Ling (Cybil Katherine Lango Geiss). Her greatest desire is to be an Asian family and have Asian children. I am starting to understand the context of our meeting one another... on a trip to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
So after dinner we got adventurous and tried out the nightlife in Barrio Alto. We had a mojito and saw the view of the whole city at night. There are no container laws and apparently some really lax drug laws judging by peoples behavior and inquistions. We have vowed to go out at least once in every area that we are visiting so that we can get the full picture of the culture.
Last thing honestly! I want to talk about the people of Portugal for a quick second. I discussed a little history, a lot of landscape, a little food, and now a touch of culture. Barely scraping the surface and not even sharing all I know, just the high points. There is no identifying portugese people. That is to say in the areas that we visited, there isn't a type of person that you see. Much like America, everyone is different and all the same as well. What I really want to share before I get too deep is that these people take their time. It was something I noticed in Asia and again here, other people LIVE life. the actually take it in and appreciate the moment. They contemplate the small things and revel in the beauty of life's happenings. They take the time to understand the people and the world around them and they live in it. It isn't centered around them. Some things to keep in mind as I start this life thing on my own two feet.
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