Off to Lisboa!

After our initial week in La Roda, we bid farewell to Teeny and Christoph as they climbed into their "Tiny" little Hyundai to spend one more day in Spain before returning to Belgium. For us it was off to Lisboa (Lisbon) for the Rotary International Convention. Our plans were to travel via train to Huelva (through Sevilla), overnight there and take a bus into the town of Faro in Portugal. Then we would board a train and get to Lisbon a day prior to the beginning of the convention.

Teeny, Christoph, and "Tiny" prepare to leave.

Viola took us to the little train station about 15 minutes out of La Roda, and the train pulled up exactly on time! She was pretty proud about that. We boarded and found our seats, and settled in for the ride to our first stop: Sevilla.

Viola assured me the train would be on time.....and it was!

It was a fast train, and the scenery out the window was beautiful and interesting. Lots of agriculture, as the train went through mostly rural areas prior to approaching Sevilla.

Sunflower fields on the way to Sevilla

It was a nice, modern, and pretty fast train.

Santa Justa station in Sevilla was our first stop.

In Sevilla, we debarked to search for a good spot to relax for the 2 hour layover. A Spanish McDonald's looked good, and we had burgers and papas fritas with our cervesa. Yes, you can buy beer at McDonald's here. We left McD's for a little cafe where we enjoyed some cafe con leche while we waited. Finally, we boarded the train to Huelva, and settled into our assigned seats.

It was another interesting ride, with beautiful scenery. Upon our arrival in Huelva, we headed to our pensione from the train station on foot. It was a short walk and we found it with no difficulty. Viola had helped us locate the place online, and make reservations. The cost was 28 euros for the night very reasonable. It was a little run down, with the bathroom down the hall, but for a place to crash between trains and buses, it was perfect.

Our pensione in Huelva.

It was on the second floor, but there were 5 flights of stairs and
four floors to get there. Go figure!

The view from our room down the hall. The bathroom and
shower were just to the right of that mirror.

We tossed our bags on the bed, and left to explore the town. As usual there was lots to see. We finally selected a restaurante/bar that advertised Paella. Unfortunately, after we got settled in we found out that they we all out!. It was good food anyway. In fact I can safely say that we never had a bad meal anywhere in Spain or Portugal our entire trip. Some meals were fantastic, and the poorest were just good, very good!

After our cena (dinner) we headed out again in search of a place to get internet, and coffee (of course). We found a little place called the "New York City Bar". We never could get the internet to connect properly, but we did get to see Spain beat Tahiti 9 - 0 in a soccer mis-match in the Continental Cup Tournament. Spain eventually lost to Brazil in the final 3- 0, but that is for another post.

We saw some very pretty apartments on our evening stroll.

This beautifully restored church was a central
focus in town.

No evening stroll in Spain would be complete without
tapas and vino!

At the New York City Bar. Kim left her inside glasses in La
Roda and Viola mailed them to us in Lisbon. They arrived there
10 minutes ahead of us!

We had scouted the bus station earlier, so we went for another stroll. I gave Kim her head, and we wound our way through the city streets. By the time we were ready to return, it was a little confusing just where our hotel was. I was pretty confident that I could find it, and kept reassuring Kim. She wasn't quite as confident as I was, and finally she told me we were lost, and we should find the bus station to get our bearings. I told her I thought we were only a block or two away from the Hotel, and I wanted check it out before making the long back track to the bus station. Luckily my hunch was right on, and there was our room right where I thought it should be. The proprietor checked us back into the building (he was waiting up for us), and we climbed into bed.

We got an early start next day to buy our bus tickets and catch the 9:00 bus to Faro. Things went smoothly, and we boarded without incident. Kim found me a seat in the back of the bus on the center isle with unlimited leg room. I was crammed in the middle of about 12 teenagers heading to Portugal for some sort of vacation I think. It was interesting. They acted just like you would expect American teens to act. Rowdy, clowning around, constant cell phone usage, and ear buds/head phones stuffed in tight. It was fun observing them, and I was able to piece together some of the conversation based on body language and my very limited Spanish.

The view from my seat in the back of the bus to Faro.

Crossing the border into Portugal

At the border, we had to stop at a check point and show our passports to the Portuguese Border guards. They were very friendly, and the whole thing took only about a half hour. Soon we were back on the road, and after about an hour we pulled into Faro.

My hat is off to European bus drivers. It is amazing how the navigate these ancient and narrow streets in these huge machines. They don't do it at a leisurely pace either! I kept closing my eyes as we wound our way through the streets of Faro, expecting the crunch of metal on metal, and the shock of impact any moment. Before I new it, the bus whipped into a building with a hard right turn, then a quick 180 to the left, and we were parked in the Faro bus station!

There was a distinct difference in the streets of Portugal. Besides the subtly different architecture, many buildings were in advanced states of decay. Peeling paint, crumbling plaster, graffiti, it just seemed to be a significantly more rundown area. Later we saw the same conditions in all the Portuguese cities we visited. It reminded me of my first visit to old East Berlin about ten years after the Wall came down. Vacant decaying structures, some decaying, but not vacant. We were amazed at the difference in the smaller, more rural towns of Portugal. Here things were well kept and neat.

Some of the urban blight.

These areas were actually nicer than some we saw in the
bigger cities like Lisboa and Porto

Graffiti is a plague in Portuguese cities.

We had a great lunch at a sidewalk cafe, and Kim discovered her new favorite "Octopus Salad" or "Ensalada do Pulvo". It was delicious, as I did get a small taste. It was a portent of things to come, as we had the best seafood we have ever encountered on our trip in Portugal and Northern and Western Spain. More on that later.

Kim's new favorite "Ensalada do Pulvo" (Octopus salad). 

Our last train connection to Lisboa was uneventful with the exception of the ever changing countryside, and the beautiful scenery. It was a little long however. 4 and one half hours! We probably could have gotten on one of the super fast trains, but didn't know we had to ask. Anyway, we enjoyed the ride, and were glad to see Lisbon as we crossed the Rio Tejo (Taugas River). This river was the launching point of all of the ships from the Portuguese age of discovery. Vasco De Gama, Magellan and others left from here into the vast unknown world.

A farm on the way to Lisboa

It began to get more urbanized as we approached Lisboa.

Crossing the Rio Tejo (Taugas River). Lisbon is visible
on the left bank.

More brightly colored paints are used on buildings in Portugal.
The buildings in the distance could stand any paint, period.

At first we thought this was a bridge, but it is an
aqueduct, probably dating from Roman times.

As we entered Lisboa, I began to wonder how were were going to get to our hotel. I had neglected to take a look at Google maps for a little navigation advice of my own. But, if Magellan could find his way around the world, I figured I could find the Trype Oriente Hotel. I did remember that the hotel was near the harbor-front convention center, and adjacent to railroad tracks, but that was about it.

To make a long post shorter, after asking a few questions in a combination of Spanish and English, we discovered that the hotel was two blocks from the train station!! Woooo Hooooo navigate THIS Magellan!

This was not our hotel. However it was only two blocks
away. Note the  "Sail at the top of the tower. It really
gave a nautical feel to the building.

The Portuguese flag and the flag of this year's convention.

Arriving at the convention was truly a milestone. This
represented the end of our DG journey. A place in time and
space that we needed to get to. It was essentially,
the "finish line".

 As with the early Portuguese explorers, a fine mixture of skill, determination, and pure dumb luck is hard to beat.

That's All!