Fast Lane

Miss WJ3 schmoozing in the Portimao Marina...

Portimao, Portugal

Having said we’re close to the end of our stay WE decided, in true last-minute-decision fashion, to further investigate over-wintering options.  Not many people haul out here at this time of the year and there’s no winterising to speak of.  We’d come across quite a few long-term marina residents who simply take a berth (cheaply) for 6 to 9 months and then haul out over summer when prices are exorbitant.  So we’ve temporarily docked at Portimao Marina, hired a teeny, tiny car and hit the motorway (without a map) to investigate all Algarve’s storage options. 

That of course offers opportunity to mention Portuguese drivers, most of whom are ex-rally participants.  Even though the motorway limit is 120kph, there’s nothing like being passed at the speed of light….  And it always happens just as you decide to overtake the only slow driver on the road.  Exciting stuff – no wonder they run from wild bulls for sport!

Arade River, fishing boat & seagulls with beach/tourist enclave beyond

One other lesson for foreign drivers is to encourage their navigators to develop a rich and vigorous vocabulary of sign language.  Police, on seeing said foreign driver skid across lanes at a busy roundabout (or something equally naughty), will naturally feel sorry for him and consider navigator’s nag punishment enough.  Worth a try – we think it worked for us…

It’s just as well we’ve had plenty of practice driving the Algarve motorways as we had to make a quick, late night trip to Lisbon.  BW is now fully qualified to pen best-seller, “101 Creative Ways to Miss Your Flight”.  I’m sure he will be only too willing to explain this whole ordeal once he has regained his sense of humour.  He may never travel again, never with TAP and certainly not with a bag brimful of surfboards!! (Sadly, no photographic evidence exists.)  Just as well he did his sea survival training before departure......

Lisboa on the Tejo_Part 2

Continuing on with our List of Top 10 Things to Do in Lisbon:

Top Shelf Day coming up I fear!

#6. Have a pastal de nata: A “custard tart” at a pastelaria.  Easy – but just one??

Going Up?  The Elevador de Santa Justa 

#7. Ride a tram through the old quarters:  Well, not with 3 cruise ships in town so we stayed on the bus to see the Alfama district.  Then we rode the Elevador de Santa Justa instead.  This wrought iron lift was built at the turn of the century to a French design and used by locals (assuming the well-to-do) to get from one neighbourhood to another without climbing lots (and lots) of stairs.

Will someone get those kids off the roof?

#8. Take a break with: a bica (a tiny espresso) at a downtown café:  GS had a galao (latte).  The Portuguese sure like their coffee strong.  Their wine too is not so strong and very more-ish, especially the vinho verde and vinho branco.  Vinho tinto though, seems to be more popular locally.  Otherwise enjoy a cold Sagres (a beer) or two before dinner.  Everyone it seems strolls, chats, meets friends and otherwise is very sociable at the end of the day before heading off for a serious but late dinner.  After that, it’s off to listen to some music or meet with friends until the wee small hours.

Lisbon has old & new

#9. Listen to the melancholic sounds of Fado:  Our bus had a recording….. This music style, an expression of longing and sorrow, is said to have originated in Lisbon’s nightclubs over 150 years ago.  A night visit to a fado house was out given our schedule – you will remember that nights out here don’t start until well after 10pm and our last bus is 5pm. So now we just need to find a CD.

#10. Watch your step:  Amazing designs in black (basalt) and white (limestone) cobblestone pavements.  Just everywhere!  The Lisbon City flag projects this passion for black & white.  We also thought the city symbol of an old sailing ship with 2 large black birds quite fascinating.

On the way back, we stopped to have a word or two with King Neptune. He has quite the protection racket going on...  So, safe seas = a few coins in the nearest ocean, then?  We're on it!!

GS whispering in King Neptune's shell-like ear.

Lisboa on the Tejo_Part 1

Lisbon, Portugal

We decided on a list of 10 Must Do’s in Lisbon.  Our ride from Cascais was on a big red bus….so we stayed on and did 3 separate rides to take in the sights and get a feel for Lisbon, finally ending a two day turistico splurge in this fascinating city.  So, borrowing a list idea from a "Go Lisbon" guide, here goes our first 5:

#1. Snap a picture of: (Everything – well, you know Miss Snap-Happy!)  Belem Tower (1515) was once a beacon located in the middle of the Tagus River and used by ships returning from the Indies and New World. Now it’s in the midst of a swell of tourists. Missed a good shot sadly so, next best thing is this favourite, a lucky snap, was of these lion faces…or is it men (with big noses)?

Man or Beast?

#2. Take a day trip to: Jeronimos Monastery and Belem to appreciate a maritime history that predates even Vasco da Gama’s voyage in 1498.  The Monastery’s construction was financed by ‘pepper money’, a spice tax, and is amazingly ornamented, as all Manueline architecture was.

Gaudy Gothic...just fabulous

#3. Enjoy the walk through: Rossio.  A busy town square decorated with fountains and statues.  Sidewalk cafes and restaurants fill the pavements.  Rossio has seen some action in its time, such as bull fights, festivals, military parades and even burning of heretics during the years of Spanish Inquisition. The National Theatre of Donna Maria II (1840) flanks the north side and the nearby Rossio Station built in Neo-Manueline style (1887) has impressive Moorish arches at its entrance. 

Reconstruction after the 1755 Earthquake

#4. Scale the walls of: St George’s Castle. This Moor built citadel was turned into palatial residences in 1147 by King Afonso Henriques.  After the 1755 earthquake, the ruins were “reconstructed” and developed into public gardens, but not until 1938.  We "scaled" them from the comfort of a Starbucks cafe.... seen here if you look closely & up through the window.

Look Up not Look Out

#5. Find your favourite miradouro:  Lisbon is lavishly decorated with tiles (azulejos or painted ceramic tiles).  Walls, floors and ceilings are covered in tiles.  Tile panels sit underneath or on top of window frames.  The blue and white tiles of the Baroque era are considered to be the finest.  The Casa dos Bicos is a diversion in the usual traditional style of decoration in that it is faced with diamond shaped stones - a Moorish influence..

Yes, I know it's being restored, but I can't see over this fence!