Setúbal Odyssee

My last day in Portugal started out to be a bit of a fail. Originally, Jacqueline and I wanted to do a day trip to Porto. We already knew that we were going to be on a tight schedule, as trains and busses from Lisbon take around three hours, but we decided we could do it if we just got up early enough. However, when we couldn't even book the tickets ahead, we had to accept that there would be no Porto for us.
Instead, we chose to go to Setúbal, having read that it was only 50 minutes away and that trains ran at least hourly. It turned out that they didn't, so we decided to take a ferry to Cacilhas, from where busses were supposed to run every 15 minutes - no chance. Even after having traveled to different countries in Latin America and Asia, we couldn't believe how much information on public transportation varied and how wrong each of it was. Not even the employees at the ticket counters gave you right answers to your questions.
After another little labyrinth to visit the peninsulas main attraction, the Cristo Rei, and out of pure frustration already waiting for the next ferry to bring us back to Lisbon, we found another little place called Copa da Caparica with a decent beach and gave it a try. We were absolutely amazed to get there and back without completely getting lost, so in the end at least that place was worth the trouble.
We almost didn't care anymore about the frat party at the other side of the street (the third in five nights), which was so loud that it was hard to sleep. But still we were glad to be offered earplugs by a roommate.Read more