Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
We left Paris in a huff... But we looked ahead to our time in Portugal as a place for rest and relaxation on the beach.
We paid the supplement at the train station so that we would have what they called a "couchette" which is basically a twin bed that folds off the wall of the train for you to sleep on. Once we we were herded into the train that would take us 16 hours away to Lisbon, we soon realized that the couchette was not going to happen. What had happened was the train operators decided to merge two trains into one, and it became a free-for-all with respect to accomodations.
As a result, this trip has been forever imprinted in my mind. I spent 16 hours on the dirty floor of a train, directly in front of the door to a bathroom and the door to disembark. The result, constant interruption to my persistent efforts to sleep through the trip. I got stepped on, kicked at, and cursed at for being in the way, and finally, I just didn't care and let people walk over me.
I remember the hunger we felt because we had bought sandwiches on the train that ended up having some sort of cold cuts that were well... greenish?! so we threw away the meat and pulled out our peanut butter and nutella to spread on the bread.
I remember vividly, how distraught I was over the duration of this trip, and how I hung my head outside of the train crying out of sheer frustration and exhaustion, asking myself why I travelled this way, when I could afford a flight and hotel anywhere... The answer ? Because it is a learning experience, and today, I reflect on it with pride.
16 hours of pain to reach Lisbon.
Lisbon, Portugal.... This ancient port city was once the European centre. The people are so friendly, but yet I found it rather unimpressive. Perhaps this had more todo with the fact that I had a throat infection and fever for the three days we were there.
Lagos, Portugal
The Algarve
We took a boat tour of the grottos of the area. Great tour (if you understand Portuguese)!
Leaving Portugal and its beaches behind was a tough departure, but we did it, and at 7 am no less !
