Portugal

Portugal was another amazing adventure. We had extra time to spend so we rented a car and traveled north along the coast. On a future trip we will travel south of Lisbon and visit the Algarve. We are also putting the Azores on our bucket list for a future trip.

We spent the first day in Lisbon and hired a Tuk Tuk to tour us around the city and to learn its history and see all the host spots. This included having Pastel de Belen (custard and egg) pastries, bifanana (pork sandwiches) and amazing squid and oysters for dinner. Lisbon is an interesting city with super rich history in navigation and global trade. Lots of museums and monuments to explore that are more about their empire and sailing skills.

On the second day we rented a 6 speed Renault and headed for the coast. We spent the first day and night in Cascais which is super nice. Thanks to our sister in law we stayed at the Albatroz Hotel. Unbelievable views! We visited the local sail club then drove north and hiked in a preserve above Cabo de Rock which is the western most part of Europe. We then drove north along the beautiful coast to Penichie to catch the tail end of a pro surfing competition. The next day we drove an hour north to Nazare to see the largest waves in the world. While we only saw the regular wave sets it was clear this place is ground zero for monster waves. If you have never heard of Nizare you should search for a video.

After Nizare we continued north to Porto the second largest city in Portugal and home to Port wine. We did a half day port tour, visiting 3 “houses” to learn about production, history and tastings. Our favorite stop was a Churchill. Mary Jo likes the white port, I am torn between tawny and ruby. Porto is a cool town with amazing views, music and food.

We drove back to Lisbon (3 hours) in the Renault singing Jerry Jeff, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet and Van Morrison songs. Once back in Lisbon Mary Jo did a day hike and I did a river boat ride.

The war is becoming more of an issue and we saw large Ukrainian flags and people disgusted with Putin. Our ship has 2 Ukrainian crew. One was able to get his wife and 2 kids out of Ukraine and on the ship. They are great little kids who speak no English and have no idea what is going on.

It appears we are headed to France today although there is a big storm on the way up. We all know the war could cause major changes. We really hope things can settle down and this does not become a full NATO war.もっと詳しく