Santiago de Campostela, Spain
24–27 Nov 2023, Spanyol
The high speed train from Porto to Vigo, Spain was sold out, so we took a bus that went all the way up to Santiago de Campostela, Spain. It was a bit slower, but at least we didn't have to transfer. And on the way, we forgot that we lost an hour, as Spain is one hour later than Portugal. That means sunset is later now, a good thing for us. The scenery was mostly smaller cities with wooded pine forests and small mountains in between. Vigo is a port city just over the border. I thought about staying here, but I didn't read about any reason for a tourist to stop over.
I couldn't find any bus info on Google maps for Santiago de Campostela, which is weird. I downloaded an app to show bus schedules, but it was lacking. There's no Uber here, so we got in a good old fashioned taxi at the bus station. It's been awhile since I've taken one. I've had so many bad experiences with them in South East Asia and South America over the years, that I had written them off. I really like to know the cost before I get in. But this was reasonable and efficient and the meter was built into the driver's rearview mirror so I could see it was on the up and up. That's a far cry from the old Ecuadorian trick of putting a rag over the meter in Quito and saying it's "broken."
We rented a small, and I mean SMALL apartment for 3 days just across a ring road that separates the old city from the rest of the city. We're used to cramped places in Europe, so it's not a big deal, but it's quite a shock if you're coming from America and you've never seen a bathroom where you have to stoop and can hardly turn around in the shower. The way we see it, we're damn happy to have a fridge and a clothes washer.
Santiago is the end of a long pilgrimage for many who start the long walk from SW France. It's a pretty popular thing to do for people from all over the world and of all ages. We know a couple of people who've done at least part of it. Walking on a Catholic pilgrimage is definitely not for me, but I do wonder if I could do a 45+ day trek. That's a totally different type of travel and the idea is intriguing. I haven't done anything like that since I hiked around the Annapurna mountains in Nepal for 2 1/2 weeks in 1995. I'm not sure I could still do it.
After checking in, we went grocery shopping. I like to sample the local liquers in different countries. At the neighborhood store we found, there was a selection of Galician wines and liquors. I asked a random guy which of the 3 herbal liquers was the best, and he pointed one out. So I bought it. I'm starting to use my Spanish again, but here in Galicia, they speak Galego (their spelling) or Gallego (Spanish), or Galician (English spelling). It seems to be a cross between Castillian (Spanish) and Portuguese. They also speak Spanish, but I'm hearing a lot of words that sound like Portuguese to me. So in the store when I was talking to the guy about the liquers, he could understand me at least.
Later that night we saw a poster for a concert series of American bands we like and have seen: Pokey LaFarge, Sarah Shook, and Nikki Hill in particular. We've seen Nikki Hilll twice in Madison and were surprised to see live music in town that we knew. She happened to be playing two hours later at a place just down the street at Sala Capitol. Well, she sold out two weeks earlier, so we couldn't see her. Instead,, we walked around our hood and stopped in a nice tapas bar that was too packed. We left and went in a divey bar and had 2 glasses of the local Alborinho wine (one of our favorites) and watched the antics of the local old guys watching a futbol game. Then we left and walked by another small joint. I looked in the window to see what it looked like, and this guy inside gave me the weirdest look like "Get in here" kinda look. It was the same guy I talked to at the grocery store about 2 hours earlier! He was the owner/manager. We both laughed as we walked in and he poured us a shot. It was his homeade liquer that tasted like the one I bought at the store. Small world. We had some more Albarinho there and called it a night.
The next day we booked a 9 hour tour of the Galician coast. Earlier, we bought tickets at the Sala Capitol to see a Swedish ska band called The Beat From Palookaville. Weird, I know, but it was a fun, packed show with about 700 or so people. A duo from Madrid called Kamikaze Helmets opened up. We even made it to a rock bar afterwards for a nightcap. I was a tad skeptical about going in a club called "O Cum" but it was a friendly, packed club with a DJ spinning R&B and early rock classics. I give the clubs here bonus points since I can now find gluten free beer. Mahou and Estrella Galicia both make GF versions and they're good. That was a super long day, and the first time we could find live music on this trip, so we collapsed when we got home.
On our last full day, we took a train to A Corunya, a large Galician city on the north coast. We now have some time to kill on our last day. Luckily, we can check out late to make our 4 pm bus to Oviedo, about 4 1/2 hours east in Asturias.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TJtUH9D4Z1YgwFsw7Baca selengkapnya
Porto, Portugal
21–24 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ 🌙 50 °F
From the people who put the "Portu" in Portugal, it's Porto. Known locally as Oporto, we're in Portugal's second largest city. It's changed a bit since our first visit over 15 years ago. The tourism industry is thriving, even in November. We like to get out of the Ribeira district, the area at the bottom of a big hill along the river. That's a wonderful area to stroll and get lost. But there are a fair amount of touts and tourist traps that go along with it.
We got an apartment for 3 nights near the Trindade station. It's a metro station where all the 5 metro lines intersect. It turns out we hardly used the metro. But an all day pass cost only 5 Euros apiece, so why not? We did end up using buses several times. They're great for getting up those hills! There are lots and lots of hills.
We've been here twice, so we had no agenda. Porto is not known for its museums. The city itself is a living museum. It lies on the Douro river, and that valley is famous for it's Douro wines and the namesake Port wine. The Brits were the ones who mixed brandy and sugar with the (then) astringent local red wine, producing the famous port wine. Across the Douro is the town of Vila Nova de Gaia, where there are dozens or port wine warehouses and Adegas (wine cellars). And with that are lots and lots of tasting rooms.
On our first full day, we walked and walked and walked. We told ourselves we wouldn't use our phones, but I cheated :) It was a nice sunny day and we decided on an impulse to take a river tour. We have been here 3 times and never have taken the full river and wine region tour, mostly because it's been in the off-season. But also because that famous tour is done by bus at least half of the way. So we jumped on a large boat with 5 other people for an hour tour up and down the vicinity of the city.
We reminisced about how we took a local train following the river up to Paso de Regua in 2007 and from there took a rickety narrow gauge train up to Vila Real. We naively bought a dusty bottle of wine in Regua at a workman's lunch place, not knowing it was decorative and had turned. No wonder the owners looked at us so strangely as we paid a few bucks for it. We wanted to drink wine on a romantic, almost obsolete narrow-gauge train line. The wine was vinegar, but we loved that moment. Two years later, they closed that train line that hugged the valley full of vineyards.
After the boat ride, we caught a bus to a neighborhood away from tourist areas. I was hoping to find a local place with a set meal. You get a real feel for a city in these type of places. I found one with Google Maps with reviews and the bus we took plopped us off in front of it. There was no messing around in here. We squeezed into a table and had 4 choices of entrees from the set menu for 8 Euro each. That included a carafe of wine, soup, bread, and espressos. We ordered a pork dish with sausage chunks and pasta. I couldn't eat the pasta, but it was good and filling. At one point Deanne noticed she was the only woman in the place. Other customers were construction workers and laborers. But the boss was an older waitress who took no shit and ran a tight ship. I just read somewhere online that the Portuguese drink more than any other Europeans. I don't doubt it. Seriously, people drink 2/3 of a bottle of wine for lunch here daily. And then go off to wire electricty in houses, or whatever they do. But over an hour, with lots of food, and an espresso (bica) to end it, that's a nice lunch break.
With lunches like that and walking all day, we don't go clubbing anymore :) So it was an early night for us with snacks, olives, and cheese for dinner. On the way home at night, we saw a group of female university students walking and singing. They were wearing all black, with capes. I thought "They look like Hogwarts." And then I remembered that J.K. Rowling used to live in Porto. I had the epiphany that she used this tradition of Portuguese university students when developing Hogwart attire. She actually wrote the first few books while living here, so prove me wrong.
The next day, we set out again without an agenda, other than the fact that we wanted to go to Vila Nova de Gaia again. We didn't need to do any more Port tasting, but it's a great area to stroll across and along the Douro River. It was Thanksgiving and Deanne made a reservation at a nice restaurant on the 3rd floor with views of the river and the Ribeira neighborhood of Porto. To get there, we walked on the lower level of the "Eiffel" bridge. It was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel and looks like the Eiffel tower on it's side. Just upstream is the original "Eiffel" bridge that he designed, but it is now defunct and no trains use it. This Luis I bridge in the center of the city is still well used by trams on top and tourists walking on the lower level and the upper level next to the trams.
The lunch at DeCastro Gaia was fantastic. I got Bacalhau for my last time in Portugal. It's the classic cod dish. It's dried, salted, and then reconstituted with several days of washes and rinses. Sounds horrible, but it tastes like fresh fish, especially when soaking in olive oil, garlic, and onions. I love it. And, it's the protein that sustained ancient Portuguese mariners, so it's good enough for me. We sampled some port with lunch, ordered a Douro white bottle, and sprung for dessert. A meal like this in the states would have set us back 3-4 times as much.
There's a Teleferico, or tram that runs along the river. It leads from river level up to the higher walkway on the bridge. So we opted for that instead of a taxi or a long uphill walk to the bridge. We knew we wanted to walk on the upper level for the amazing views. For 7 Euros each, we were on our way. It's a short ride, but well worth it. And that walk back across the Douro is worth it too. We've been so lucky with the weather -only one day of rain so far after 2 1/2 weeks. It hit 16 C today, or about 61 F and sunny.
This is the end of our stay in Portugal. Tomorrow, we take a bus to Santiago de Campostela, Spain. The train was sold out, but luckily the bus stations are next to the train stations, so it's about the same cost in time and money for a bus vs. train. Portugal has been a blast. The food, weather, wine, and sights never disappoint. And we had the added bonus of hanging out with friends from different corners of the world.
The Portuguese language is my nemesis. I know enough Spanish to make me dangerous. And we have studied Portuguese in the past with a Brazilian, and have visited Brazil. And that means massive confusion! But more and more Portuguese people speak English, so it hasn't been too bad. I'm looking forward to getting to Spain, where I'll do better with my language skills.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ks4UVnL1wQwXWULR6Baca selengkapnya
As always, nice writing and photos. I look forward to following your trip across Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, etc. Buen viaje. [Matthew Gallo]
Love your narrative, Dave! Fun epiphany about Rowling and Hogwarts. It all sounds enchanting! [Beth Price]
PelancongI just love following your adventures. Beautiful pics. (Linda Bauer)
Aveiro, Portugal
20–21 Nov 2023, Portugal
I dropped off the car in Lisbon after 10 days. It was well worth it because we saw so much more outside of cities than we normally do when traveling. Tolls are high and so are gas prices, but we had a fuel efficient Ford Focus and the daily rental was cheap. For $35/day, that's a great bargain and it's about what we paid for two first class rail passes on average for 2 people on Eurail last year. Driving in cities here can be stressful though. The streets are narrow and you sometimes can barely turn a corner since peple park just about anywhere. I don't regret it, but it felt good to leave it behind for awhile.
We took a metro to Lisbon's Oriente station and grabbed an Alfa Pendula, their high speed train, up to Aveiro (ah VAY roo). It's the last stop before Porto. I'd heard good things about Aveiro, and it's a place many expats are settling in. It used to be a place where seaweed and sea salt was harvested. Canals were built in the 18th century for this, but they silted up later. Now, everything is cleaned up and it's like a little Venice, with brick-lined canals sporting long tourist boats zipping about.
We got a super cheap room above a bakery near the train station ($40?). It was newly remodeled, but the private bathroom was down the hall. We used our room key to get in and out of it. We had no complaints about it, as it was very convenient when arriving after dark. Besides canals, Aveiro is also known for their little pastries, the Ovos Moles. Centuries ago, local nuns used egg whites to clean and starch their habits. Not wanting the egg yolks to go to waste, they added lots of sugar to them and put them in little crimped layers of dough, and voila, ovos moles. We tried one at the bakery below and they're pretty good.
I must say, France has nothing on Portugal when it comes to pastry shops. Pastelarias seem to be on every corner in Portugal. Everywhere you go, you'll see locals of all ages sitting in cafes, eating a pastry and making an espresso (cafe, or bica) last forever. Oddly, they seem to be in pretty good shape. That's probably because walking culture is alive and well here. Walking to and from a bus/metro/tram station adds up. We're averaging 5 miles a day so far, and that's even with the car rental.
We allotted one night only here since we're on a bit of a tight schedule. Too bad, because it really is a lovely city. You sometimes get an immediate like or dislike for a town. Portimao, a tourist beach city in the Algarve is one of those cities I immediately hated. It's full of soulless highrises for short term rentals to families on a beach vacation. The beaches were amazing, but there was no old town and it was an urban hellscape. Aveiro on the other hand has a wide boulevard leading down to the center from the train station. It's lined with lots of locally owned shops selling all the stuff we rarely sell in individual shops in the US: baby shoe stores, hat stores, lots and lots of clothing stores, etc. There are small restaurants and bars everywhere in the center. And the canals and small bridges add a romantic touch.
As we approached the center, we'd see some high end chain stores and there's even a nice new multi-story outdoor mall next to a canal. They're really made some great improvements to the city, you can tell. And they're refurbishing a new park near the main canal bridge, which is undergoing a restoration. We hit the Art Nouveau museum first. We read that it's really just an empty house. No furniture, glass, collectibles, jewelry, etc. But for $3 each, it was worth it to see the house inside and out. Then we walked all over town looking for more of these architectural masterpieces. It was sunny and warm and we grabbed the requisite espresso before finding a nice local seafood place for a late lunch.
We made our way across the town to a large central park with huge steps leading down to a pond. We only had about 6 hours to spend on our one day in town, but it was a nice change from beach culture towns or big cities. At dinner the night before, we met an American expat couple and their daughter/son in law. They love living there and mentioned they just celebrated a Thanksgiving meal party with all expats in town from all over the world. Over 60 people showed up from a dozen or so countries.
In the early afternoon, we bought the inexpensive train tickets to Porto. We're close enough to be on a commuter "Urbano" line. It makes frequent stops, but it's a new metro style train that takes just over an hour to get to Porto. We've got a room waiting for us there for 3 nights.
More photos and videos are here https://photos.app.goo.gl/uaYbMhoWJ9wJ8vrg7 and here https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wtj2Sxdfef4jChdA6Baca selengkapnya
Monchique, Portugal
19 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
Madli used to live in the area, so she took us on a tour of the mountainous area of the Algarve near here. Monchique is famous for the local firewater, Medronho. It's like Raki or Rakia if you've ever been to Eastern Europe. It's made from a local berry. We tried it in Lagos, and once was enough!
Once again, I found myself driving on very windy roads to get to Monchique. It was a Sunday and the motorcycles were out in force. We walked around the hilly city for awhile and then drove to the mountain top nearby to see views of the sea. Afterwards we stopped at a beach on the West coast called Praia de Monte Clerigo. It was totally different weather than Lagos or Sagres. It was overcast, much cooler and pretty foggy. We had a picnic on the beach and I took some photos of Madli and Louie who have an inside joke about a future wedding at a pink church in that beach town in about 15 years.
We said our goodbyes to Madli and Naiara. Madli will do some work for a friend there and we'll leave at 6:30 am the next day from Lagos to Lisbon. All in all it was a blast to have the company of old friends in a beautiful shared house with a pool.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ojXZniVE7ZbjkZ6RABaca selengkapnya
Sagres, Portugal
18 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
This is the SW most point of Portual and of Europe. There's a fort at the tip and a lighthouse there. You can see the sea on both sides of the peninsula. It's normally a wind-swept place but we must have gotten lucky today. It was warm with a slight breeze. We were high on the cliffs where we parked near the fort and fisherman were trying their luck with long poles and even longer lines. We were probably about 20 stories up from the sea.
After trekking around there, we found a nice local (you guessed it) seafood restaurant and opted for the Cataplana, the local seafood specialty. On the way out of town, we stopped at a ceramic shop that was closed for the season. But the reason we stopped was because the outer walls of the building were covered with colorful ceramic dishes and plates. That made for some great photos.
More photos and videos are here https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNoSzGUCugNdCYHJ7 and here https://photos.app.goo.gl/bxmcYWWTZvhG3Rz77Baca selengkapnya
Salema, Portugal
18 November 2023, Portugal
Salema is a nice resort beach town west of Lagos. We stopped here for a walk through the town full of white-washed houses. And we sat on the beach for a little bit before heading to Sagres.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/mSS9yxrCozdZN1DV8Baca selengkapnya
Lagos, Portugal
16–20 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
We're meeting our friend Madli and her daughter Naiara in Lagos and will share a house for 4 days with Louie. Madli is from near Talinn, Estonia and unfortunately, she lost her phone in a taxi in Lisbon on the way here. So we were getting worried when we didn't hear from her in 2 days. She didn't have our info memorized, but she contacted her mom, who contacted Peter, the owner of Izhcayluma in Ecuador (where we met), who contacted Deanne to let us know where to meet her in Lagos. We did that and went out for a celebratory dinner that night.
It took another day to get her phone, which was no small miracle. By borrowing phones, she managed to contact the taxi company, who agreed to drop it off at a bus station in Lisbon and then they would deliver it to Lagos' bus station. We made 2 trips to the station and she made a few phone calls, but it arrived in the early afternoon the next day for 6 Euros. I can't believe it. It took at least 4 honest people in that transaction.
Madli used to live in Portugal and knows Lagos. So she took us to a beach in the city. At low tide, you can walk through some tunnels in the sandstone cliffs to go to farther beaches. The weather is unseasonably warm and dry. It hit about 76 that day. I went swimming in the Atlantic for the first time in a long time. After lunch in the old town and some gelato, we went grocery shopping and back to our luxurious house. For under $100/night for a 3 BR house with a pool, it's a steal. It's the off-season but the weather trends may be changing the defintion of off-season.
There's a BBQ grill by the pool, so we decided to grill some fish and enjoy the house. The nearby grocery store, Intermarche, has a great selection of fresh seafood and the bonus of the day was that the woman working the counter gutted, cleaned, and split the 2 Dourada for us. We had a feast and I didn't burn the fish! We plan on doing it again. Already, I'm getting tired of eating out all the time, so cooking in is nice.
The next day, we headed west to the charming resort and beach town of Salema. We walked around the town, which was quite dead, but you could tell it gets busy in the high season. It hit 21C or about 70. Then we drove to the SW point of the Algarve, which happens to be the most SW point of Europe: Sagres. It's the namesake of the most popular Portuguese beer. It's also where Henry the Navigator's ships left to sail around Africa, the world, and to Brazil. We walked through an old fort to a lighthouse and enjoyed the steep cliffs and blue seas on both sides of the peninsula. In the distance we spotted a nice beach.
We found a highly rated local seafood restaurant and tried the classic dish called Cataplana. It's like French Bouillabaisse, chock full of fresh seafood (including a lobster) in a tomato and onion sauce. Yum. Then we headed to that beach, Praia do Martinhal for a couple of hours. The temperature was warm, the sand was soft, and it made a great spot to rest after the large lunch. Back in Lagos, we bought more fish and groceries and we BBQ'd again, this time with more Dourada and a couple of Robalo (Bass). We wiled away the hours with charades, a strange kazoo game, and a fun game Louie had on is phone that resembled the TV show, Password.
Then it was time to say goodbye to Madli and Naiara and drive the car back to Lisbon with Louie, who would catch a flight from there. We'd kill some time after turning the car in and catch a train north to Aveiro.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/niRhE3qAYX3ExrNp6Baca selengkapnya
Faro, Portugal
16 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F
We picked up Louie at the Faro airport. He flew from NYC the night before. Tavira is in the far SE corner of Portugal and now we'd head west along the Algarve coast. An hour later, after picking him up, we parked near the old city of Faro and walked through the center for a bit. We found a nice restaurant, had a meal, and then headed to Lagos, where Deanne rented a great looking house with a pool.Baca selengkapnya
Tavira, Portual
14–17 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
That drive from Setubal to Tavira through the Alentejo region was fun. There are some good wines from that region, but we saw mostly rural areas with cork trees as far as the eye could see. It was foggy at first, but as we approached the SE Algarve town of Tavira, the roads were hilly and winding. I was wondering why so many people were tailgating me though. The speed limit signs are only posted when you have to slow down. You're supposed to know that the default is 90 KPH unless posted otherwise. I was going a bit slower until Deanne looked it up. Oh well, at least I didn't get a ticket.
We were in Tavira in 2007 and had a great 2 nights. We didn't really get out of the center then, except to take a boat to the nearby island beach. This time we got a condo a few kilometers away. That included free parking and a pool. The weather got up to 23 C, or about 73F.
It seems much bigger than before and that may be due to all of the expats moving here, mostly from the UK. We started seeing and hearing them on the route here. We stopped in a small town called Alte for lunch and we heard the accents in the restaurant and on the streets. Alte is known for it's natuarl springs and pools. We walked to them and both of the main ones were dry! Looks like a bad drought year in this region. And that was horrible for the olive harvest in Portugal and Spain. Look for prices of olive oil to possibly double in the next year or so. Or in America, look for it to be blended with other oils.
Tavira has grown a bit. We walked through the old streets and along the estuary river. It was a chill trip with no expectations. We had wine in cafes and we ate out a few times. We veered off the path of Portuguese food for the first time and had an amazing Indian meal. Portuguese food isn't spicy at all, so that was a nice change. We hiked up to a former Moorish castle on the hill and explored back alleys. It's totally safe here. There are tons more restaurants and shops catering to tourists and expats. I literally saw as many Brits as Portuguese in the center.
The Gilao River in town is that estuary that ebbs and flows with the tide. And that leaves the banks of it outside of town muddy half the day. And that brings flies. Lots and lots of flies. If we had an inkling of an idea that this might be a place we could live, the flies changed our minds. Maybe it's just this time of year, but I doubt it.
We're off this morning to pick up Louie at the airport in Faro. It's just 45 minutes west by car. Then we'll head to a place we rented in Lagos, another 45 minutes west of there. Later we'll hook up with friends Madli and Naiara for a mini reunion. Madli used to live in the area, so we're hoping she'll be our guide to the Algarve.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/PPo6pyXgGxtRjtn8ABaca selengkapnya
Pelancong
Ha ha. No. We got a 5 seater because we're with friends now. But this was in a lot near us.
Setubal, Portugal
11–14 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
It's pronounced SHTOO ball. I would never have guessed. It's only an hour away from Lisbon by car or public transportation, including a ferry if you want. And that's why it's appealing to us. We're not going back to Lisbon, but this might be a good place to hunker down eventually.
We are staying in an apartment for 3 days in the old part of town, not far from the port. I've got a good felling about this place. It's at times gritty, but it's also charming. I feel like our neighborhood is what the New Orleans French Quarter used to be like in the 50's. The streets in our hood are narrow and cobbled. There are a few apartments for rent, but it's mostly locals. You can barely drive a car down the street, but it's allowed. Clothes hang on lines. If we walk out on our balcony, the neighbor doing laundry is about 20 feet away. Small shops line the graffiti'd streets. A few blocks East is the Praca de Bocage, the central plaza. I'm writing this now at a sunny cafe with the requisite glass of wine. It's surrounded by pedestrian streets and shops that sell one thing only: shoes or purses or men's clothes, etc.
Or maybe Setubal is the poor man's San Diego. It's an active port, there are lots of beaches nearby, cafes are abundant, and there's a beautiful national park just down the coast. Parque Natural da Arrabida is the hilly area that hugs the coast and goes up, up, up from it. We drove around it yesterday, on a Sunday. That's motorcycle day apparently. It was a perfect day and place for them because the roads are narrow and winding. It was fun for me to drive a stick shift on those roads too. We stopped for the amazing views of the Atlantic and the city of Setubal. And we relaxed at a beach for a few hours. It hit 70 that day, so that's beach weather for us.
Another thing that reminds me of San Diego is the Troia peninsula across the bay. It seems like Coronado, which is also accessed by a ferry and has expensive hotels, a golf course, and nice beaches. Maybe it's just because I was just in San Diego that it seems like a cheaper SD.
We had a bit of a problem with checkin. The maid hired by our host was a no-show and the room wasn't ready. Petra, the hostess, was aghast, as this had never happened before. She offered us 40 Euro and walked us to a free parking area. We really didn't mind that much, but it was a nice gesture. She said we're the first guests she's met in person in over a year! Lucky us, because she pointed our her 2 favorite restaurants in town. She's half Portuguese/ half German and lives in Estoril, a western suburb of Lisbon. Places here are so cheap in the offseason, her discount was basically 20% off. We'll definitely give her a good review. Oh, and those restaurants? Both were fantastic. One waitress spoke English, the other place had 3 staff that alternated working our table, but between smiles, pointing, my poor Spanish and poorer Portuguese, we got by.
On Monday, we drove out to a different Bacalhoa winery museum and tour. It was just out of town. But the website didn't state which tours were in English and we were a little late and besides, the English tour wasn't until 3 pm and we were there at 10. Scratch that. We went back to town to just walk around and soak up the sun and sites. It was cafe culture day.
We ate lunch at a tiny restaurant across our street/alley. It got good reviews for its set lunches. We weren't disappointed. I had Peixe Espada (Swordfish) and Deanne had the Dourada (Bream). Again, these set lunches include a half liter of wine (2/3 bottle), olives, bread, the seafood entree, potatoes, a dessert, and espressos. It's really too much for us, but it's not acceptable to split a set menu meal. The cost is slightly more than a fast food meal in the states. Actually, I walked by a restaurant here serving a burger and coke for about the same price! We're starting to skip meals because of this. We shop for groceries first thing in a town to get breakfast food. And with meals like this, we tend to just eat one late lunch out and then we eat snacks for dinner. We're still full at 8 at night because the portions are so big. But man, that chocolate mousse alone was worth the cost of lunch.
Tomorrow we set off for Tavira in the Algarve, the southern coastal region. It's right next to the SW corner of Spain. We were there on our first trip in 2007 and want to go back. We have a couple days to kill before meeting up with friends. Madli and her daughter Naiara are from Estonia. We were quarantined with them and a motley crew from around the world in Ecuador during the Covid crisis. And Louie is meeting us again. He's a pilot from NYC with the ability to take trips on a whim. We all met up in Ecuador last winter and now we're meeting again in Lagos in a few days. We can't wait.
Photos and videos are here! https://photos.app.goo.gl/DrRR8vposBDYP2Ns5
And if anyone wants to learn about Portuguese seafood, there was this amazing display on this street we found on our first night. I'm studying this before we go to restaurants. It's awesome. Choco Frito is the local specialty here. That's fried cuttlefish.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9ftcCKghyyrTFzYZA
A walk through the local market is here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XnYY1h3McAnAaSmZ8Baca selengkapnya
Mafra, Portugal
11 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
It was only another 20 minutes or so from Ericeira to Mafra. The palace here is Portugal's "Versailles." At one point or another, every European monarch had to try to build a matching palace. This attempt about bankrupt the kingdom. It's a museum now, but it needs a bit of work, judging from the looks of it. It's got 1200 rooms, so that's a lot of upkeep. We weren't in a museum mood, so we skipped it and will hit it the next time we're in Portugal :)
Instead, we walked around town, drank capuccinos, took pictures and watched a scout troop march by singing songs. Then it was about an hour drive south to Setubal, our home for the next 3 days.Baca selengkapnya
Ericeira, Portugal
11 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
After Peniche, we drove down the coast to the wonderful beach town of Ericeira. We stayed here a few nights in 2017 and just loved it. This time we're only stopping for a few hours and lunch. We stumbled on a flea market by the coast and perused that before walking a bit on a paved path on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. We saw lots of foreigners, but it was a chill spot and it seemed like many of them were living here instead of just visiting for the day.
We walked through the narrow streets after parking and reminisced a bit. We never could find the amazing restaurant we ate at years ago. I'm sure it's been 2 establishments since the last visit. But we did get a nice lunch place with a sea view. What timing though. There was one table occupied inside and one outside when we sat down. Within 15 minutes, every table was full. Sometimes when people see others sitting at a restaurant,, they decide "Well, that must be good." Nobody wants to eat at an empty restaurant.
After lunch, we drove 20 minutes to the nearby town of Mafra. On a busride 6 years ago, I looked up and was amazed at the massive palace in Mafra, just outside my window. We thought we might check it out.
Other photos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/HH4dkNqSZeQfHhtR7Baca selengkapnya
Pelancong
Ohmygosh. You know how I love my colored glass. I need all of these 😊
Peniche, Portugal
11 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
Peniche is a small coastal town just west of Obidos. It's a surfer haven, even in November. It was a balmy 70 degrees the morning we were there. We beachcombed a bit right as a few surfers started showing up. Then we went to the tip of a rocky peninsula for another hike. It's a rocky coast out here and the views were amazing. I could definitely see coming back here for a longer stay than 3 hours! Deanne got some Oregon vibes here, so that was a plus.Baca selengkapnya
Caldas da Rainha and Obidos, Portugal
10–11 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
We decided to rent a car for the next 10 days. I usually don't like to do that because I'm not that into driving and because public transportation is so awesome in Europe. But, car rentals are so damn cheap here I couldn't pass it up. It will also allow us to do more trips outside of cities and to nearby parks. The average cost for a rental with a stick shift is going to be $34/day including tolls and gas. The base rate was about $18/day! That's cheaper than if we took buses, trains, and taxis.
So I picked up the car after checking out of Lisbon and we headed north to a touristy castle town called Obidos. It's about an hour north if driving. First, we stopped in the nearby town of Caldas da Rainha to check it out. There's a beautiful central park with a pond and a palace that makes for great pictures. Sadly, the palace is falling to ruins and we're starting to see a lot of that in Portugal. They just don't have the money to maintain all of the mansions in the country and are probably waiting for EU funds to fix them up.
We walked for about an hour in town. We're keeping our eyes open for places we may want to retire to, and this town was recommended. It's about 50,000 people but cities that size always seem so much bigger because everyone walks! There are blocks after blocks after blocks of shops selling anything you want and lots of knicknacks you don't. It' s not a tourist town, but it is a ceramic center. We liked it and it's got a good vibe.
Then it was a short drive south to Obidos. It's a walled medieval city on a steep hill and the center is for pedestrians and local cars only. We parked at a free lot and made our way up to a charming little hotel in the center. For off season, there were a fair amount of day trippers and bus groups. Along the 200 or so meters from the castle gate to our hotel, we passed lots of tourist shops. Most of them were selling Ginjinha in the street, the local cherry liquer. Except here, you could get a shot served in a small chocolate cup. Delicious, but one will do.
The town prescribes that the buildings are whitewashed with a blue stripe of paint at the base. It makes for great photos. We walked the streets and saw the sights in probably an hour. It's a good thing we only stayed one night and there's a reason most people do it on a day trip. But we have time and spending the night allowed us a chance to see the castle and ramparts at night and also again in the morning before anyone else was up.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/TFuJkC61ePZiVzSTABaca selengkapnya
Buddha Eden Garden of Peace
10 November 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F
Having a car is such a treat for us. We'd never have seen this treasure otherwise. Bacalhoa is a huge company that owns multiple wineries across Portugal. Don't confuse it with the national dish, Bacalao. They're big and rich but the owner was pretty upset when the Taliban destroyed Buddhist temples in Afghanistan. So he built this amazing sculpture garden with not just giant Buddhas, but lots of other intersting statues, ponds, and art. There's even a re-creation of the Chinese terracotta soldiers for some reason. It's located just south of Obidos, so it was right on the way for us.
For $6, it's a steal. We loved it and spent a few hours walking over 2 miles to enjoy all of the outdoor art. There are at least 3 large ponds/lakes with walking bridges. There's a veritable zoo of animals done in metal, dozens of other African themed statues in stone, and the piece de resistance is a massive reclining Buddha not unlike the one I saw in the Thai Royal Palace in Bangkok years ago. We had the place practically to ourselves, even though the parking lot is huge and you can see they get loads of buses here.
On the way out, we noticed there was a buffet restaurant. We usually say no to those, but it was so convenient. The price was right and the food was delicious. As we drove off, it seemed as if the smiliing Buddha waved goodby. Next up, the walled city of Obidos.
More photos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6z6SK4DZHKWKqLMGABaca selengkapnya
Lisbon
7–10 Nov 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F
We made good time to Lisbon, what with a 127 mph tailwind. We showed up a half hour early and took a cab to our apartment in the Alcantara neighborhood near the huge bridge crossing the Tagus River. The host let us check in early at 11 am. Neither of us got much sleep on the plane, but with only 3 days scheduled for Lisbon, we set out right away.
After a bit of confusion, we bought some transportation cards at a train station and added money. For some reason, Lisbon doesn't offer an "all you can travel" 72 hour card like most cities. We just added 10 Euros to each card so we can pay as we go, then grabbed a bus to the center. Buses, trams, the Metro, and ferries cost less than $2 a ride, so it's great value, but we got conflicting info on prices and whether the ferries are included. Luckily, they are and later we took a short ferry trip to the suburb of Almada right across the Tagus River after walking around the Praca do Comercio for a bit.
That main plaza was devoid of tourists the first time we visited Lisbon in 2007. It was almost like an eerie ghosttown. Now, even in the "off-season" it's fairly full of tourists and those that make a living off of us. That's when we decided to cross the river for lunch. We found a row of nice restaurants a few hundred meters away from the port and ate outside in the sun. Portuguese food is based on lots of seafood, so we dove right in. I had 6 huge roasted sardines and Deanne had a skewer of fresh prawns and Monkfish. Those dishes with a salad, potatoes, olives, a bottle of wine, espressos and a small tip cost about 40 Euros, or $43 US.
After that, we definitely needed some sleep and called it a day and a night. We shopped at the nearby Doce Pingo grocery store chain and bought snacks for dinner later. We'd save our energy for some sightseeing the next day.
That included the amazing Gulbenkian Art Museum. That name didn't sound Portuguese to me and I found out it's named for an Armenian/British oil magnate who left a fortune for the arts in his foundation and this museum was his personal collection of famous art. He apparently helped found a couple of oil companines including Shell Oil. Although he was an Armenian born in Constantinople with British citizenship. he spent his last years in Lisbon and left behind an amazing sampling of the world's greatest art. We were quite impressed.
Later, we went to the National Tile Museum, housed in a former convent. Portugal is famous for it's blue ceramic tiles, called Azulejos. While it wasn't as interesting as the Gulbenkian, it was interesting and the gilded chapel inside was pretty amazing. Taking the bus back to our neighborhood was a challenge. It's a vibrant neighborhood outside of the tourist zone and there are lots of bus connections, but no metro stop nearby. The buses get caught in traffic and don't sync up throughout the day, so a bus that should come every 10 minutes might not come for 25 minutes and then the same bus will be right behind it. After 3 days, we got a bit tired of that.
The next day we toured the trendy LX Factory, a series of refurbished factories that is now an art center, restaurants, bars, and work spaces. We were there during the day, so it was relatively quiet, but you could tell it would be a great nightspot. Then we walked to the nearby BMAD Art Deco and Art Nouveau museum. It's in a mansion and the collection of glassware, furniture, statues, and art were impressive. Art Nouveau is our favorite art style, so this was a real treat. Museums in Portugal cost 1/4 to 1/2 of what they cost in the US. And a surpise bonus after the guided tour was an included wine tasting of a Merlot and a Muscatel from Bacalhoa winery. Muscatel is too sweet for us, but the Merlot was good.
We had a couple amazing meals in the city. Seafood is king, so there is no end to high quality fresh seafood. We're enjoing sampling my favorite, Bacalao (cod) and a lot of other fish we've never heard of. And of course the wine is amazing. We usually get a bottle or half liter of house wine and it's always been good.
At night, we wandered the city streets and even made it into the oldest boostore in the world, Bertrand's. It's standing tall since 1732. And we had to stop at a Ginjinha bar to sample the delicious cherry liquer, a Portuguese favorite. After 3 days and nights, we were ready to move on. Lisbon is great but we are ready for some smaller cities and villages now.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4CAGcs2HCGeTo9mv7
The BMAD Art Deco and Art Nouveau musum pictures are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/rXuZraTt76hxxL2p8Baca selengkapnya
Madison to Philly To Lisbon
6–7 Nov 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F
We found a great connection from Madison to Philly to Lisbon. It was the shortest and cheapest option. Sweet! This will be our third time in Portugal and we can't wait.
Cuenca
2 Maret 2023, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☁️ 36 °F
We took the direct van from Vilcabamba to Cuenca in the morning and arrived right after 1 pm. It was full of mostly retired Americans and Canadians. Peter was one of the Canadians sitting near me and mentioned he was renting an apartment in Cuenca for the winter.
After we arrived, we ate a quick lunch, and took a cab to the nearby town of Banos and tried a new spa. This one was a little more upscale, and by that I mean it cost $16 but included a robe, towel, free tea, and nicer facilities than the place we've visited next door. In the contrasto pool we met a Belgian guy. Contrasto is a room with a very hot pool next to a very cold one. Switching back and forth is a great feeling. I call it a free buzz.
While talking to Gregory, I asked him if he knew Francoise, our Belgian friend in town who's partners with Nathan and whom we had a drink with a month earlier. He said "She's my mom." As if that isn't a small enough world, he mentioned that he's a landlord in town and I said "Do you know a Canadian guy named Peter?" and he said, "Yeah, I'm renting to him right now." Crazy. This is a town of about 500,000 but the gringo network seems pretty tight.
Gregory gave us a ride back to town, which was quite gracious. He mentioned that Yaku Mama was having an open mic tonight, since it's a Wednesday. We walked over there later (it was only 2 doors down from our hotel) and grabbed a table for dinner. As we were starting to sit down, there was Peter from the van, and his wife Sharon. We joined them and mentioned the whole dealio with Gregory and shared a laugh.
Peter's a pretty good blues guitarist and took his turn on the stage. He was pretty impressive, considering he started at age 50. We saw about 8 acts. Each got about 10 - 15 minutes and most were great, playing a variety of music. There was a family act of parents singing and on guitar and a teenage daughter playing beatbox, a local rock duo, and a weird American guy playing songs on just a bass, but at least he convinced the beatbox girl to join in. But the big surprise of the night was a woman who had dinner alone near our table. When it was her turn, she tuned up briefly with an acoustic guitar and proceeded to blow everybody away. Her song started as a Spanish Flamenco style and she had this amazing voice. Then she changed to an Operatic style of singing and at the end of one song she pursed her lips and made it sound like she was playing the trumpet. It's hard to explain, but was a fantastic display of talent. After she was done, about half of the audience went up to her and asked for her name or just to tell her how amazing she was. Rumor has it she was from France, but living in San Francisco.
The next day was just a time-killing day for us. Our flight to Quito was scheduled at 6, so we walked around town and at the 10 de Agusto market, we ran into a German woman named Claudia we met at the open mic. She had lived in many cities in the US. lived briefly in Vilcabamba (hated it) and lived in Cuenca now. She played the harmonica and had sat in with Peter and a few others. We invited her to lunch at Tiesto's, our favorite restaurant in Ecuador, but she was a no-show. The meal there was amazing as always. I suppose we should order something other than their signature dish, Langostinos Tiesto, but for an inexpensive feast of delicious seafood swimming in butter with about 10 salsas is hard to pass up.
After more walking around, we spotted Peter and Sharon drinking coffee at a cafe and laughed at the coincidence and chatted a bit. When I told Peter that Claudia was a no-show, he said "Musicians. What are you gonna do?" Granted that we pretty only much hang out in the historic center of town, as many gringos do, but we were still surprised at how small-town homey Cuenca felt to us, even though there is a hustle and bustle vibe here. In Ecuador, everyone is out and about and walking around. A city of 20,000 here seems much larger than a city of 200,000 in the states because of that.
Given the vibe we got on this short trip to Cuenca, I emailed Nate and Francoise to get Gregory's contact info. He rents for $350-$550/month and we just might try out Cuenca for a bit longer next time. We've never liked the weather here as much as many others. It's not horrible, but you never know if it's going to rain or not. The good news is that after a cool rain, it might get hot and sunny right away. So weather isn't a real reason to not give Cuenca a real try.
Back at the room, I saw 2 texts in a row that our 6 pm flight on Latam is delayed, and then cancelled. Crap! We're flying from Quito at 1:30 am on a different airline and this is all happening a few hours from the scheduled flight. While I'm starting to panic and search for another flight, they sent another text saying we're booked on the 10 pm flight to Quito. It's only an hour flight and it's plenty of time for the later flight to Quito. Whew.
I paid the front desk at our hotel $15 more to keep the room until 8 pm. That's half of the room rate for a basic room in the historic center. That worked out great since we were planning on spending several hours at the Quito airport. It all worked out, as usual, and 4 flights later we landed in Madison at about noon. It's the end of another great trip. No wonder we can't wait for our next adventure.Baca selengkapnya
Vilcabamba and Izcayluma
27 Februari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
This is our third time back to Vilcabamba and the Eco Resort of Izhcayluma (ISH ka looma). It's our happy place. As many of you know, a 3 day reservation here in March of 2020 turned into a 3 month stay during the Covid pandemic. So it's a bit of a reunion of sorts for us. The German owners Peter and Dieter are still here running the show, along with Raik, the manager. Vanessa, from Argentina is still in charge of the Yoga program. All guests get free yoga at 7:30 in the morning. Dennis, a local, is still tending bar here, along with Steve the Canadian, as a backup.
Madli and her young daughter came back from Estonia. Her bestie Emma, from Holland, lives in a mountain paradise she's built with husband Rob, a retired American soldier. Their daughter Ayan is good friends with Madli's daughter Nayara. Carolyn is back for the winter from Florida. Funny that she comes here for the winter when everyone else in the states is going to Florida. We were quarantined with all of these people and more and picked right up where we left off. And so it's not just the rest and relaxation of a temperate climate that brings us back. It's all the friends and the yoga and the amazing hikes also.
Compared to my other posts of other places, there's not a lot of interest to mention. I'm doing yoga about 5-6 times a week and hiking over 7 miles a day. I've worn the soles off my shoes. I estimate that I put over 2000 miles on them in 14 months.
We rented the same amazing apartment that we rented before and we have a kitchen. We eat breakfast here about half the time and the other times we go up to the main restaurant to eat fresh granola, fruit, and drink coffee from beans grown onsite. There's always someone new checking in and it's easy to make friends here. For dinner, sometimes we eat at the restaurant on site, or walk to town for local options.
Many people come to Izcayluma before or after Shaman ceremonies at neighboring places. That seems to be pretty popular with Americans. It involves a week or so of taking San Pedro, a mescaline hallucinogenic cactus. They then alternate that with Ayuhuasca, a jungle vine hallucinogen and then maybe another day is for Kambo treatments. That's a frog poison that's administered into the skin in small doses. No thanks! Except for the San Pedro that is.
We visited Rob and Emma's place for 2 nights for a San Pedro ceremony with them and Madli. They finished the house that was just starting construction 2 years ago and we stayed in their casita near the river. It was a mellow and relazing day where we just hiked up a mountain, relaxed on the rocky mountain river that runs through their property, toured the garden, and later ate a delicious meal with items from their garden. It's a great "back to nature" drug. For anyone that thinks that's crazy, I have to say alcohol is a much worse drug :)
Vilcabamba is the village down the hill from Izcayluma. It's growing still and there are several more restaurants now. Our favorite is a Korean place with homemade kimchi. I'm also eating a lot of the almuerzos for lunch at various restaurants. They're the set meals for about $3. All in all, we're eating healthy and exercising a lot and enjoying time in the evenings with friends. We even organized a game of Werewolf, a role playing game. I think we had about 14 people show up for that.
Our friend Louie joined us for about a week. He's a like-minded traveler without kids and has met us in Barcelona, Salzburg, Madison, and now here. He's a pilot for United so is more able than most to just pick up and go. We had some great times on our hikes and at the bar with him.
And we finally made it to the nearby Podocarpus National Park, named after the tree that is supposed to be abundant there. It was closed for Covid the first time we were here and closed for trail repairs the second time. We shared a taxi with Mercedes and Don, whom we met at the restaurant. We also met another couple, Claudia and John, and they hired another taxi to the park situated about 45 minutes north. It was an amazing hiking day. The trails are lined with mossy trees, ferns, and lots and lots of orchids. None of us was sure what a Podocarpus looks like, but I don't think we saw any. It seems to be a pine. We also met a German guy on the trail and together enjoyed the views of distant Loja and all of the amazing flora.
We've got 2 more nights here before heading to Cuenca for a night. Then we fly to Quito and will head towards home. We've had a full month here in Vilcabamba, and it's not enough for us, but it's time to go home. I can't say enough about Izhcayluma. It's so easy to meet new friends and reunite with old ones. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be back.
More photos and videos are here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/CiDo2nBJUvddj3K47Baca selengkapnya
Cuenca, Ecuador
31 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Cuenca is quite a change from the beaches on the coast. It's at elevation and in the heart of Andean culture. It's a lovely city that most people love and it has drawn a lot of expat retirees. We thought about moving here but the weather is a little too cool for us. But it's a great place to visit. We spent a few days here seeing the sites again. A few years ago, we met Nathan and Francois in Vilcabamba and looked them up in Cuenca. He's from the Chicago area and she's from Belgium. They invited us to a party at their place and to a dinner and music show in that visit.
So we looked them up again and had a drink or two and caught up on things. Maybe we'll meet them in Argentina someday? It's on all of our lists of places to go. Besides that, we just sampled some of the fine restaurants in town and I had to get my Almuerzos in. They're the basic set meals at many restaurants and market food stalls. The soups are very hearty and worth the price alone. But with that you get a juice, a main dish, and rice/plantains/potatos for about $3.
We took a morning to go to a balneario, or hot spring bath spa. There are quite a few in the neighboring village of Banos, not to be confused with the much larger hot spring city of the same name. The water was warm, there were Turkish saunas, and a super hot and super cold pool to get the full treatment in. The next day, we went to a lab and got blood draws and ordered some basic tests. It's super cheap here and for about $100 each, we did about 9 or so tests each. We did this because you need prescriptons for many, or can't even get them done unless there's an indication of a problem, like knowing your Vitamin D or A1C levels. Everything checked out OK, especially the Cholesterol, which strangely seem to drop for me here :)
After a couple nights we were raring to go south to Vilcabamba. The eco resort we stay at has a daily shuttle bus that lets us get there a few hours faster for only a few bucks more. We can't wait to get back to the area and have a mini-reunion with friends we were quarantined with during the height of the Covid epidemic.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7y9J34DqNQi1uW8C8Baca selengkapnya
Olon, Ecuador
22 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
You're never alone in Olon. It's our version of a beach paradise, or close to it at least. We spent a month here 2 years ago but this time we found it harder to find reasonable long term lodging and settled for 10 days. We actually booked the same apartment even though it had been sold last year.
Our friends from Madison, Marc and Jo Brand are regulars and happened to be here at the same time as us. They met a few other Wisconsin couples and we were invited to a dinner party consisting of 8 people from the Madison area. Such a small world.
On weekends, Olon bustles with Ecuadorian working class families enjoying a weekend at the beach. Also the rich families form the Guyayquil area enjoy their beachfront mansions, and a few of those have private security.
During the week, it's pretty quiet and beachcombing gringos is the most exciting thing around. That's fine by me. Deanne and I picked up an almost daily yoga routine on our morning beach walks. We also sampled the many restaurants and enjoyed nightly sunsets.
The beach is about 8 miles long and runs north to south, so everyone gets a sunset view from the beach. Our favorite restaurant is now a South Indian restaurant with friendly staff.
We cooked dinner twice and made our own breakfast every day. The fresh seafood market is a bunch of people selling the daily catch on a side street. You can choose between farm raised shrimp or Ocean shrimp for between $2 and $4 per pound depending on the type and the size. There's plenty of tuna, Mahi Mahi and a few other species of fish.
The word is out on Olon for retirees as there seems to be even more that have settled here in the last 2 years. There's a new sportsbar in town and duing an NFL playoff game, we met antother guy from Wisconsin and there was a couple nearby from Wausau. It's Cheesheads everywhere here!
Counting our 10 days in Olon, we spent a total of 3 weeks on Ecuador's fine beaches. It was great but it's time to head to the mountains. We will stop for a few days in Cuenca before heading south to our favorite spot of Vilcabamba.
More photos and videos are here.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ABHef1q6VQKsqrX68Baca selengkapnya
Montanita
18 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ⛅ 82 °F
Montanita is a surfer beach town in South West Ecuador. It's got a party vibe and lots of loud discos. We wanted to spend the rest of our beach time in nearby Olon, but couldn't find a place for more than 10 days. So we booked 3 days here in a nice place on the quieter side of the beach. It was actually pretty nice and not too loud. There's lots of international restaurants and the backpacker set. We had a balcony with table, chairs and hammock right on the ocean. That was a nice splurge. Other than beachcombing, reading, and watching sunsets, there wasn't much left to do except enjoy the food and a few cervezas.
Next stop is Olon, just north of town and around a rocky outcrop known as the "point" to the surfers.Baca selengkapnya
Puerto Lopez
14 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F
We were in Puerto Lopez two years ago and stayed at the wonderful Hosteria Mandala again. It's a Swiss/Italian owned garden of Eden. For more than 20 years, they've maintained a garden paradise across the street from the beach, far away from the center with the food stalls and hawkers. It's reason enough to visit this little beach town. There's a great breakfast included, a large library of biology books in multple languages, a small musical instrument museum, games galore, billiards, garden paths, bird watching, and much more. Too bad the restaurant isn't open yet. Because of Covid, they're not fully staffed yet.
There's not much to say about hanging around on a beach and beach combing. It's been a wonderful week of eating great seafood, getting sun, doing yoga on the beach, and reading in hammocks. We went on a day trip to Isla de la Plata, sometimes called the "Poor Man's Galapagos." That's because for onlly $40, you can take a boat an hour and a half away to the small island and see Blue Footed Boobies, which are found also on the Galapagos. There's also crabs, sea lions, Frigate birds, Perigrine Falcons, and a few other species of Boobies. At the end of the tour, we got to snorkel for a half hour and saw lots of fish, incuding a large Puffer Fish.
The main drama this week was when Deanne got bit by a wild dog on the beach. I decided to jog home and Deanne was bitten right after that. And so was another guest at our hosteria. The same dog bit them within minutes! Georg was Edith's friend, and he took all of us to the health clinic in his car. We got right in and they fixed Deanne and Edith up and gave tetanus shots. It had been 9 years for Deanne and luckily, she's had Rabies shots. We were out of there within an hour with meds and no bill!
Apparently, tourists get free emergency medical care with the visa. On a down side, the doctor didn't ask Deanne if she was allergic to Penicillin, so we got home and realized that's the med she got. We went back and got a script since they were out of other antibiotics. So it cost us $4.50 at the pharmacy across the street. What would that have cost in the US?
We'll stay here for a total of a week and then move south down the beach to the party and surf town of Montanita. We booked a nice room with a private balcony on the beach.
More photos and videos are here. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ppe4A27QkjsrgjV28Baca selengkapnya
Good to see that Deanne is going to be OK. It's also amazing (I really try not to overuse that word) that you didn't have to spend anything for all of that. Like you said, God only knows what that would have cost at home. I'm going to stock up on blood pressure medication before I leave, and I'll save several hundred dollars. Our for profit system sucks. [Matt]
Mindo
4 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
If Quito is purgatory, then Mindo must be heaven. Lying just 2 hours west of Quito, but halfway down towards the coast, Mindo is a birder's heaven at least. Quito's elevation is 9,300 feet. It's the 2nd highest capital in the world, after La Paz, Bolivia. But Mindo is at about 4,000 feet, or 1300 meters. The warm and moist air from the Pacific make the Mindo area a cloud forest and that means lots of birds and warmer temperatures. We're not huge birders, mostly because we can't see them that well. But we're willing to give it the old college try again. We've seen some great birds in South Africa, Costa Rica, and Panama.
We immediately liked Mindo. It's warmer, it's easier to breathe with the lower elevation, and it has clean air. It's a typical small Ecuadorian town with a main street and a Plaza. But it's a tourist town offering bird tours, ziplines, waterfalls, horse-riding, etc. Given that, it still is quite charming. Our neighbors in McFarland have been here, along with a few other friends. We got a recommendation for the "Yellow House" on the edge of the village and we couldn't be happier. We rented a 2 story "cabin" on a rocky river with a full kitchen for $44/night or $54 with an amazing breakfast.
But it's the property that is the really amazing part. The lot is huge and boasts 5 long hiking trails with varied, lush terrain and lots and lots of birds and flowers. They charge people to hike if they're not staying here.
After checking in, we went on a 2 hour afternoon hike and within 15 minutes saw a juvenile Capybara, leafcutter ants on the march, Toucans, Tanagers, and many other birds we couldn't identify. It's lovely. Halfway through, a neighbor on a white horse rode by saying "Buenas."
The pleasant town has lots of local and foreign owned restaurants. We opted for an "almuerzo" or set lunch for $3 which is a hearty soup, main course of meat or seafood, 2-3 starches, and a juice. We both got the trout, because who the hell would pass up fresh caught trout for that amount? The soup alone was worth the price. That night we had a set dinner meal at a Persian place and the spices were amazing. Ecuador isn't known for it's cuisine and sometimes the food can be basic, so we tend to eat at the exotic places when we find them. We'll be eating lots of rice, chicken, and plantains soon enough.
The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast at the main house on the property. It's perched on a hill looking over many large treetops at eye level. There's 3 hummingbird feeders right in front of us, so we enjoyed seeing dozens of them feasting while we did the same.
Then, it was off to the nearby waterfalls and some freaky and creaky cable cars. A short taxi ride up the mountain is the "teleferico" an old ski resort cable car. This thing must be 50+ years old. I assume they bought the equipment from a ski resort in Chile or maybe even the States. But it worked. It had open air ski lift seats and they whisked up and over a large valley. The views of the trees from above were amazing, and to top it off, we saw another Toucan from up there.
At the other end, we started a trail that led to about 6 waterfalls. We met a couple from Holland that was on our bus and we did the hike together. It was their 2nd day of a 6 month trip and we gave them some good advice. They'd never heard of the Almuerzo, so I just saved them $200 on their trip at least.
Later, we took the "Tarabita" lift, which is kind of like a big basket that holds 4 people. We met a young couple from LA and shared the ride down with them. The funny thing about that lift is that it's powered by an old Nissan truck engine that sits in a concrete shelter. We walked back to town and grabbed some Venezuelan Arepas and a couple beers for dinner. What a great day. And we're just starting.
On our last 2 days in Mindo, we explored the trails on the property and paid for a night tour guide through the cloud forest. We did this once in Costa Rica and it's fun. We saw tarantulas, a scorpion, lots of small frogs, some sleeping motmots, and the only mammal, a Kinkajou.
The trails on our property are amazing and better than many trails I've been on in national parks in various countries. We didn't see a whole lot of birds, but the lush cloud forest starts about 35 minutes from our cabin. There are lots of mossy trees, grasses, and bamboo lining the trails. Right near the end I did get to see the fabled Cock of the Rock for about 2 seconds. It was raining pretty hard and he landed on a branch near us. They have a huge round red head.
Our next stop is Puerto Lopez on the coast. It will be a long travel day. To shorten it, we're hiring a driver to take us to Santo Domingo 2 hours away. That saves us a few hours of waiting for 2 buses. From Santo Domingo, it's an 8 hour bus ride. But Puerto Lopez is worth it. We were there 2 years ago and will stay at Hosteria Mandala again, where a quaint cabin awaits us in a lush garden setting across the street from the beach.
- Breakfast with the Colibri (hummingbirds) https://photos.app.goo.gl/h2Ps1rPJ1mJTdc1R9
- If you're into Orchids, check out this album https://photos.app.goo.gl/gYAanG523MoTY7j5A
- More photos and videos are here https://photos.app.goo.gl/73Y4V1oE49VMSzwc7Baca selengkapnya
Latacunga
3 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
Latacunga is a mid size colonial city in the "Avenue of the Volcanoes" south of Quito. That's the nickname give to the PanAm highway that runs south of Quito through a series of cities and near many volcanoes. We needed to do something since museums were closed and I though it would be nice to visit a town I had visited in 1995. I went there for the Mama Negra festival and had a great time. Too good of a time perhaps.
The Mama Negra festival occurs each November. While having a white man dressed in blackface is not too cool, the story behind this festival is. The story I heard is that the indiginous were treated so poorly by the Spaniards that they thought that God must be a black woman. Spaniards were the devil, and they were all white men. Therefore, god must be the opposite. So the story goes. They only select prominent white men in Latacunga to be the Mama Negra each year to be the parade host. I guess it's quite an honor.
All I know is that the cook and cleaners at my Spanish Language school exchange family talked a few of us into going to the party and parade. It was pretty crazy, kind of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The parade is huge and featured costumed dancing troupes, marching bands, and some floats. One guy walked around with a humongous BBQ pig hoisted above his head, wearing it on a harness. I asked someone nearby what that was all about. She just said "we like pork." As the float went by, people screamed "Senor Chancho!" or "Mr. Pork!" I almost forgot to mention that it's good luck to be squirted with milk from Mama Negra's baster. She's on the main float. I know. Weird, right? Oh, and there were lots and lots of guys in drag, a la Monty Python style.
I was offered many, many shots of some unnamed booze by mostly older women in costumes who thought it would be funny to get the gringos drunk. They did and I barely remember getting back to the Pan Am highway to get on a northbound bus.
Anyway, going to Latacunga seemed like a fun day trip. It took us 45 minutes to get to the main bus station, Quitumbe, on the trole (tram). Then it took almost 2 hours on the bus. The city is only about 100,000 but it was so busy with pedestrians, cars stuck in traffic, and vendors of all types selling all manner of wares on the streets. We walked about 10 blocks to the central plaza and grabbed some cash at an ATM. Then it was off to find a traditional Chugchucaras restaurant.
It's a mouthful to say, and more of a mouthful to eat. Chugchucaras is a pork lover's paradise. It consists of pork rinds on top of big chunks of pork, a side of hominy, a side of deep fried corn that doesn't pop (more hominy?) some potatoes, popcorn, and a deep fried little donut thingy. When we walked in, we were handed a huge pork rind as an appetizer. I made sure we only ordered one of the dishes. I saw how big the plates were. And thankfully, the waitress asked if we wanted the small or large portion. "Small, please!" We finished it, but barely. It was good, but probably a one-time deal for us. Our arteries are thankful.
After that we walked around the traffic clogged streets and finally found a nice area with few cars. There were LOTS of high school kids walking around. Apparenly school hours are 7-12:30 in Ecuador and kids don't eat lunch at school. They just got out. They all have uniforms and most of them are pretty cool, like track suits. I probably saw 5-6 different uniforms and over a hundred kids eating, walking around, practicing dancing, flirting, etc.
We went to a small museum that described the Mama Negra Festival and it had some costumed manequins. I totally forgot to take pics of the nice areas, so the street scenes below aren't going to sell Latacunga on anyone. Unless of course, you make it to the festival. At the end, I'm adding a few photos I took at the festival, including Sr. Chancho.Baca selengkapnya
Quito
1 Januari 2023, Ekuador ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
Ahhh Quito. This is my 6th time in Ecuador and 4th time in Quito. I fell in love with traveling because of this city and country. It was my first time out of the US when I first visited in 1992 and I got bit pretty hard by the travel bug. But now I'm a bit of a weary traveler and the city has lost some of it's charm on me. The old town where we stayed is in much better shape than ever and there are police everywhere protecting tourists and locals alike. But it's still a huge Latin American city, and that means traffic and air polution.
It's cleaner than ever with its system of trolleys and a brand new underground Metro system should start service any month now. It's 3 years late and probably millions over budget, but building a subway system in a city this big and in the mountains was no easy task. I was amazed at how clean the Centro Historico, or old town is compared to my first time here. Man, it was grotty and the streets were full of buses spewing blue-black smoke. The pollution is better, but at this altitude, we still felt it. And I did notice that the "electric" trolleys were mostly gone and replaced by large diesel buses. The massive infrastructure spent on putting up the electrical lines seems to be wasted.
We landed just after midnight on New Years eve to save some cash and arrived at our hotel at about 2 am. Having a driver pick us up at the airport was a great idea. But most things were closed on New Years Day and then the day after that was a Monday. Most museums are closed on Mondays and/or Tuesday so we missed out on the Museo Nacional, an amazing museum with lots of Inca artifacts, incuding the famous Gold Mask. I've seen it twice, but wanted Deanne to see it.
It wasn't like we had a bad time, but we probably stayed a day too long. We found good restaurants and felt totally safe but there wasn't too much to do. At one point, I took a picture of a street corner plaza and counted 17 different types of cops from 3 different agencies! Two types were official police and the other group were like tourist police without arms. But still, that seems like overkill. Especially since most were just talking to themselves or were on their phones instead of looking for the myriad of pickpockets.
The old town is much safer than the Mariscal neighborhood in the new city. I know 2 people who were victims there of the old "mustard" trick where someone squirts mustard on you and another person shows up to clean it off. And in the process, they clean you out. We avoided that area except for a lovely New Year's Day stroll in the empty streets. The thieves and everyone else were sleeping.
I talked Deanne into taking a day trip to Latacunga, just for something to do. We didn't need to take a bus to the Equator for a photo and we didn't need to go to Otavalo, a wonderful market town. Who wants to buy souveniers at the beginning of a 2 month trip? After 4 nights, we headed to Mindo, an amazing bird watching paradise in a cloud forest. Now we're talking.Baca selengkapnya
Dapatkan profil perjalanan Anda sendiri
Gratis
