Portugal on a time budget. The weather in Portugal was not kind to us. From our pre departure weather speculating where temperatures where in the high 20;s we are barely hitting mid tens with showers every hours or so to keep us on our toes.
We wander in the wet, find a laundromat and do the washing. I know it’s only been a couple of days but it’s right there and it’s raining. We then head underground and ride the subway to checkout the subway art.
Truth be told I am writing this four days (now five)after the fact and I have so many photos and pieces of yesterday and the day before that and especially today that I want to put down. They are indeed rocking chair moments.
Lisbon was lovely and we then got a transfer to Porto where on the way we stopped at Obidos. It was a cute little walled town and the lanes were full of lavender and some other fragrant plant. At first we thought someone had been weeding but they were tied to the door knobs and around the edges. It smelled wonderful as more and more people walked over them. Evidently there had been a couple of weddings the day before and that is how the village decorates for the occasion, then outside a little church were the initials S&P in a heart. Cute.
Next stop was Nazare. Home of the big waves. We arrive in a downpour and scramble for cover, then walk down the hill to the lighthouse. It is hard to imagine the 100ft waves as tall as the lighthouse (check out the photos on you tube or just google big waves). The exhibition of photos and memorabilia of surfers who have conquered the coast was fascinating. Then the sky once again turned to drama as we raced the impending hail storm back up the hill. We won, only just.
