Portugal
A month spent hiking down Portugal's Rota Vicentina,
and traveling around the country.
...except we sat on the tarmac for 2+ hours, and I missed my flight. So this is where I was for another solid hour trying to figure out what to do next, as my COVID test was actually going to expire before the next available flight. >_>
I actually ended up needing to fly back to the US (I chose NYC because of proximity) to get re-tested, but a series of (very much not) hilarious snafus resulted in me staying in that Toronto airport for a good 14 hours longer than I'd planned.
Lines like this were all over the airport, as flights were being canceled and delayed constantly.
Aaaaand to top it all off, my bag (which contained everything I needed for a month) managed to not arrive in NYC with me.
This was all the luggage that had somehow gotten separated from their owners and ended up at NYC. Don't ask me how that happens. Things were pretty crazy at the time (Omicron, winter storms, etc).
Luckily, my very gracious friend (and her wonderful dog Bailey) allowed me to crash at her apartment while I dealt with the lost baggage issue and figured out what to do next.
After officially arriving in Lisbon, I started making my way to the bus terminal that was going to take me to my first leg of the hike. I was able to walk the whole way from the airport, and passed through this lovely nearby park.
Alright, one bus ride from Lisbon to Sines, and a quick taxi from Sines to Porto Covo, and we are officially on the trail!
(Side note: my original plan was to walk from Sines to Porto Covo as a short first day, but given that I arrived effectively two days late, I cut that initial leg)
Finally arrived at my camping destination. I set up my tent quickly, and went off to find a quick meal somewhere that might still be open.
If there's one thing I can say about Portugal, it's that they loooove their pastelarias. Especially in the larger cities, it's basically impossible to not run into them.
Honestly some really impressive and beautiful artwork for being on the side of an abandoned building along the edge of a field.
Most of the hostels I stayed at while hiking down the western coast were pretty empty, given I was going through tiny towns which are pretty sleepy during the winter.
I came to really enjoy the pared-down breakfasts (compared to the U.S.) offered at hostels in Portugal.
Honestly, at this point I was already craving trees, mostly because it would mean a brief respite from the ubiquitous sand along the coasts. Also, I just like trees.
The west coast of Portugal had some of the most violent waves I've seen on perfectly fair-weather days. The wind was pretty intense at times.
This was the view from the restaurant I stopped at. Definitely one of the perks of the Rota Vicentina as compared to something like the PCT.
Whoever decided that a symbol-only design was a good one should be fired and banned from ever designing anything again.
This is the castle I visited the next day. I had dinner this night with a very friendly Italian man. Hello Nikola!
This cat was walking around greeting all the restaurant patrons, while avoiding a little girl chasing him.
My lunch spot for the day. It was so damn windy that day though, I had to chase some stuff across the beach.
Europe is really in love with their bottled water. This was after I requested just a glass of water...
This was my destination for the day - the most southwesterly point in Portugal, and I think Europe as well.
This was one of the best hostels I stayed at - if you happen to be in Sagres, check out the Pura Vida Divehouse. Very cozy, great people!
On my way to Lagos, I passed through the city of Burgau - I stopped here for lunch, and it felt like a really friendly city :)
This was a monument of sorts to all of the stone workers who build and maintain the cobblestone streets in Portuguese cities.
This was one of the older local tinned fish shops in Lisbon. I got a few to take back home - they were good!
This was some of the best Indian food I've ever had - India Gate is the restaurant. This meal in particular was paneer jalfrezi.
Ginjinha is a portuguese liqueur made with ginja berries - honestly not my favorite thing, but I'm glad I gave it a shot (literally)!
Sooo around this time, I actually ended up getting COVID, so I had to isolate for a week in some tiny studio I found on the other side of Lisbon. So I lost several days chillin' there, but near the end walked around some outdoor parks in the city.
I never did figure out what happened here, but something was burning for about 30 minutes across the river.
This was a night of traditional Fado music at Sr. Fado in Lisbon - I recommend you look into the history of Fado, it's pretty interesting.
These pics were all taken at the National Coach Musuem in Lisbon. Some really old, reall cool stuff here! Crazy how intricately detailed these were.