A Last Bit on Portugal

By now I have usually written some final thoughts about my summer travels, sensations will still linger and I am often still recovering from the grime and chaos for a few days after returning home.  It's not like that with Portugal, which has me feeling sort of meh.  I not necessarily complaining, although I probably sound ungrateful.  People ask how was Portugal and I just want to shrug my shoulders and say it was pretty good, I guess.  That's just how I feel about it.  It mostly struck me as calm, clean, and crowded.

I might have already said it, but I bet all of Europe was vacationing in Portugal this summer.  I was a white person in a sea of white people.  Normally I am the only foreigner for days, in Portugal I was with nothing but foreigners.  The Portugese people I did meet were helpful and kind, as I stumbled through the language, in which  I could barely say thank you, and even giving us a ride to a bus stop when we got lost.  

It's Eurpoe so it's mostly churches,museums, and walking around.  Lots and lots of walking around looking at stuff, contemplating the roots of colonization and the cult of Christianity.   We had perfectly amazing weather, 75 and sunny every day, except for that day in Evora.  Lucky for us we got out just as the Iberian Penninsula was starting to have a heat wave where temperatures were going to top 113 degrees.  During our stay the temps were so nice we slept with screenless windows wide open all night, which also meant the night was punctuated with racous and drunken street noise.  Since all of Euope was on vacation in Portugal that would explain the daily wafts of pot in the air and the constant presence of cigarette smokers.  So much smoking of all kinds.  We found ourselves getting up and moving a lot.  

I'll admit it was nice to just be able to drink tap water and not have to keep my lips tightly pressed together while in the shower to avoid even a micro drop of bad water getting in my mouth.  I also appreciated being able to just put used toiled paper in the toilet instead of a trash bag.  Good plumbing and sewer systems are a nice perk of going to a developed country.  

I'm not completely  displeased  with the daily costs for the two of us.  We spent $120 per day for the both of us which included accomodation, food, all transportation, treats, admissions and activities, souvenirs, small gifts for friends, and a 6 piece wardrobe splurge for Maya.  Actually, that's  pretty good considering all we got for the money.  We even had daily gelato and sometimes twice daily cafe outings too.  It helped that we only ate one meal out each day where we shared the more than enough for two people entree.  We prepared very simple meals in our accomodation.  Beans and rice, pasta and vegetables, always a salad, but most days we just  bread, cheese, and fruit for dinner and felt perfectly happy about it. Breakfasts were a simple boiled egg and toast or an apple with peanut butter.  We just loved renting that apartment in Guimaraes and the price was great which helped keep the costs down. 

I'm glad we changed things up a bit, got out of our comfort zone and relaxed a little!  I tested Maya to see how quickly she would answer when I asked her about a trip for next summer, I was curious to see how much she enjoyed an easy and sedate travel experience.  Given a choice, I said, would you rather hike to small villages in the Andes Mountains in Ecuador or go to Amstredam and Berlin?  Honestly, I thought she wouldn't even hesitate and say definitely Ecuador, this Euopre thing is too darn easy! There's no challenge, no hardship, no unknowns! But she didn't do that.  She paused, thought it over for a minute  and said "I've always wanted to go to Amsterdam!"  

Portugal is about the only European country we can afford so it's not likely that we will be back on this side of the world any time soon.  I'm happy to have had such an enchanting and easy going experience this summer with my daughter, a truly marvelous and delightful travel companion.