Quit our jobs, sold our home and everything in it, gone riding...

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/202.html

Let's go to Portugal!

We're very excited because we've never been to Portugal before. Ever since arriving in Europe last summer, we've basically ridden through a bunch of countries that we've visited before, just exploring them in more depth. But Portugal is uncharted territory for us. A friend of ours told us that it's really inexpensive compared to Spain, so after losing our cost-sharing friends from Pula, this might suit our budget a bit better.

Lunch on the road, Neda prepares some parking lot cusine!

We're doubling back through Seville to head west to the southern coast of Portugal. Before leaving, Iva told us that she had been to Faro and that the whole area was very nice. Then we looked at the prices on AirBnB and decided to go to nearby Albufeira, which was cheaper...

It was mostly highway on the way to Portugal. We battled the same strong winds that plagued us in Southern Spain and we crossed the border with very little fanfare. This whole Eurozone thing really takes the pomp and circumstance out of arriving in a new country! Gimme a stamp on my passport, dammit!

Albufeira and the sky is darkening overhead...

Our first day without the Pula Girls and it looks like it's going to rain. I'm not a superstitious person, but this might just make me believe in hexes and curses, rain dances and black magic. Because it really seems like someone has placed a permanent rain cloud over our bikes...

We're changing the logo on our website, BTW:

Our first task before bunkering down is to hit the grocery store. That's when we realized that for the first time in two and half years, neither of us speaks the local language! I did some work in Brazil many years ago, and Neda joined me for a week as we visited a few places in the country, but the only words we remembered from back then is, "Obrigado" (thank you).

We both feel so ashamed for not checking on the Internet beforehand for some basic Portuguese phrases. We feel like such clueless North American tourists....

The check-out girl at the grocery store spoke English, and she gave us a quick language lesson on how to say, "hello", "please", "good day", etc. Surprisingly close to Spanish...

 

[Lightcycle]

So it did rain.... we are definitely cursed.

We watched the rain fall on our bikes from our AirBnB apartment. Neda's cold has migrated down to her chest and she's developed a really bad cough, one that keeps her up at night so she's not getting much sleep. She's feeling a bit low because she's been having a lot of health issues lately, with her stomach before and now with this cold. And she's also sensitive to the weather and the rains have also added to those feelings.

Neda is basically bedridden, as any attempt to leave the apartment seems to exacerbate the cold and her fever returns as well. We had originally planned to spend some time riding around the southern coast of Portugal, but now we've had to delay that and extend our stay in Albufeira to help poor Neda recuperate. I feel so bad for her!

Riding into Albufeira to do some exploring

After four days of intensive rest and relaxation, Neda shows signs of improvement. We can see the touristy town of Albufeira from our apartment window and it's been beckoning to us all this time, so on one sunny day we decide to ride into town to do a bit of sightseeing.

As always, we gravitate to the historic old town

We met the mayor. This little guy was walking around like he owned the place.

Checking out the pedestrian traffic below

Peruvian pan flutes in Portugal? We had a flashback to the last place we were in South America!

 

[Lightcycle]

Old town in Albufeira

Albufeira used to be a fishing village until the '60s when the tourism industry turned it into a beach-side resort town for European vacationers. The remnants of the original village can still be seen amongst all the souvenir shops and swanky restaurants.

One of the shops had this nice painted tile of what the Algarve is famous for

They call Albufeira the Gateway to the Algarve. It's one of the eastern-most points of entry into the region that's known for beach-side tourism.

The shoreline is rife with all sorts of hotels and vacation rentals

Every year, Albufeira hosts a sand-sculpture competition. This was off-season, but there were still a couple of artists honing their craft

"Come on, you haven't eaten all day. Just one bite..."

 

[Lightcycle]

Further proof that we are here in the off-season - empty beaches

So those leaves that Neda was collecting in her tankbag? Disintegrated. She's going back to seashells...

Playing tag with the waves

"The um... wind... knocked it over..."

Seriously though, what is up with the wind in Southern Spain/Portugal?

We've run out of time in Agarve and have to leave the region because we have an appointment to keep! We'll just have to come back later to explore more of the area.

 

[l84toff]

We trip the abnormal usage algos all the time now. Our card is always getting blocked every time we're in a new city or country. You can call them to put a note on your file letting them know your travel plans, but that buffer is only two months long, so every two months, the card gets blocked again. :dontknow:

We had this happen a few times in the same month coming down the Pacific coast. First time I think the timer ran out. The second time we got locked out was because we made several attempts to use the card at a gas station. The transaction at the pump didn't go through the first time, so I tried it again, it failed the second time so I tried paying inside, unsuccessfully. Called them up and they claimed it was due to the multiple attempts at the same gas station. So why did the first attempt fail? They couldn't say.

A couple of weeks later I had the same issue at another gas station. The 1st transaction didn't go through at the pump, I tried again but knew they had locked me out again when that failed. When I called they couldn't explain why I was locked out this time.

Of course it's half an hour on the phone with them every time, so it's a bit frustrating.

Stay dry my friends...stay dry!

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/203.html

A couple of our friends in Toronto PMed us to tell us that they were going to spend a week in Portugal for a last-minute vacation. Since we were in the area, we're hopping on our bikes and heading to Lisbon to meet up with them!It's mainly a boring, straight road ride from the Algarve region north. Checking the forecast, it's going to be a wet ride. What else is new? Couple the cold rain with continuing high winds and it made for a very miserable ride. Since we had left later in the day, we rode through stretches of rural southern Portugal in complete darkness with no streetlights for miles. The raindrops collecting on our visors refracted the headlights of oncoming traffic into a starry mess of road blindness and I had to focus on the red taillights of the car in front of me to help us stay between the ditch and cars and trucks hurtling towards us.We miss the Pula Girls! Come back and travel with us full-time!!!

Arriving at our hotel in downtown Lisbon in the pouring rain. The only plus: Free Moto Parking!

Wet, cold and miserable. The RideDOT.com curse continues.Neda is still suffering from the ravages of her chest cold. It's pretty serious and we are thinking it might be bronchitis. Her hacking at night is getting worse and she finds it painful to breathe. Plus she is horking up this thick green phlegm on a regular basis. I know this because she took a picture of it and showed it to me. That's gross, Neda! She said she took a picture because she was concerned and wanted to show a doctor. Most guys would have taken a picture just so they could show their friends...The cold and wet ride to Lisbon did not help her get well, so I put her back on bedrest. We've been in Portugal for over a week now and haven't really seen much, but Neda's health is a priority at this point and touring and sightseeing in cold weather is the last thing she needs.

We decide to splurge and treat ourselves to a nice dinner for a changeI figured maybe a hot meal would do us some good, so we tried some of the bacalhau, the salted cod that Portugal is so famous for. Delicious! Our appetizers in the picture above are cod fritters (pastéis de bacalhau) and chorizos set on fire! So yummy!!!

 

[Lightcycle]

We did go into town for a grocery run:

We visited the Expo '98 site. Every World Fair has to have a flying saucer shaped building. It's in the rulebook.

This is not an Expo building, it's a shopping mall. We went grocery shopping here.

Friends! Marco and Lori arrived the next day!Marco was born in Portugal and lived in Lisbon for the first part of his life. It was great having a local guide to the city and he showed us to all of his favorite spots - which were all cafes, restaurants and bakeries! He only visits once a year and he really misses all the foods here, so everytime he comes back he gorges himself. We were going to witness gluttony on an epic scale tonight!

€1000+ bottles of port. Most of them covered in dust. At €1000 I can see why...!

Picture by MarcoIt was so nice seeing friends from back home, we had lots to catch up on! We used to go riding on our sportbikes to random sushi restaurants with them all the time. Marco is an avid photographer, so he showed me the latest in mirrorless camera technology, and we talked motorcycles with the both of them. Our time in Europe so far has been very social. We've spent so much time with family and friends, new and old, in the last six months! We love it!

 

[Lightcycle]

We weren't that hungry ourselves, so we bookmarked several places for later with our camera! I love listening to Marco talk Portuguese with his fellow countrymen! It really makes me wish I had learned a second or third language when I was a child. The Portuguese language sounds very curious. It's got a Latin root, so it's very similar to Spanish, but it sounds like there's bit of Russian thrown in there.But unlike Spain, most people in Portugal speak English as a second language. There were very few times when we couldn't communicate here. I think there must be a lot of British tourists that come down here for vacation, they speak more English here than Spanish.

Statue of King Jose, near the beach

Just cannot get enough of these pastéis de bacalhau. These ones were filled with melted cheese. *drooling* just typing this blog entry out.

Sharing a glass of port after dinner! Very sweet! I like it!During the evening, we saw Marco devour cups of coffee, pastries, dinner, port. And he was just geting started! He reminded of the time we went back to Toronto and I filled myself with all the food I missed. And it's not even Canadian food, it's the fact that you can get so many different cuisines from all over the world in the same city. I have a list of restaurants I want to hit the next time we visit our old home town!I'll also need to shop for pair of draw-string pants in Toronto...

Double rainbow outside our hotel the next day

 

[Lightcycle]

Marco and Lori were on a whirlwind tour of Portugal for the next few days, we originally thinking about joining them later on, but since Neda was still sick, we stayed in Lisbon for a while longer to help her recuperate. It's been ten days now and she's still being kept up at night with all the coughing and the chest pains. I'll also need to shop for pair of draw-string pants in Toronto... If it doesn't get better in a few days, we are going to go to a doctor and show him all the pictures of Neda's green loogies...

Staring out our window, we check the weather once in a while. Just as well Neda is sick, it's raining everyday, anyway...

One evening, the rains stopped briefly and we ventured out to try some of the food places Marco showed us

We are staying in an older part of Lisbon called AlfamaFado, is the traditional Portuguese music that's played with a classical guitar. The Alfama district is the place to be to catch a show, but unfortunately, it was too early for that and we didn't want to stay out too late.

Marco's favorite bakery

Just the thing to lift Neda's spirits!

Walking around downtown Lisbon at night

Time to leave, still a bit rainy in Lisbon. I know we're not really doing Portugal justice, only venturing out a couple of times for food runs. But we've got to get Neda back up on her feet first.

 

[meme]

Aww poor Neda, and you too Gene - must be worrisome.

Take care and get well soon. Healing thoughts sent out!

 

[Face]

Get well soon Neda. Find some place warm & sunny to recuperate. I hear that Brandy is good for bronchitis!

 

[viper84737]

What, no photos of the loogies? I got my hopes up for nothing

 

[Thom]

Peruvian pan flutes in Portugal? We had a flashback to the last place we were in South America![/QUOTE]

The guy is still here, still blowing, still wearing the same shirt! This was yesterday. Sorry we couldn't hook up with you when you were here.

 

[Riceburner]

Get Well Soon!!!!

 

[Roadghost]

Best to bed down for awhile if it's bronchitis. It can get really serious really fast. Drink lots of hot soup. Looking forward to more of your pics when you get up and running again.

 

[Lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/204.html

We originally wanted to head further north into Portugal to visit Coimbra and Porto. Marco had given us a list of all the touristy sights that they were going to see and we wanted to follow in their footsteps (albeit a bit more slowly) and possibly meet them as they made their way back to Lisbon.

They were our advance reconnaissance team, and when they reached Porto, Lori PMed us and told us to stay in Lisbon. It was cold and rainy where they were - still too early in the season to take motorcycles up there. They also tell us that this is unseasonably frigid and wet for Portugal this time of year. I replied, "Yep, RideDOT.com in da house".

So we're off to someplace warmer and drier. Not north.

Bye bye, Lisbon!

In addition to the crappy weather and Neda's lingering chest cold/bronchitis/pneumonia/ebola (thanks ADV doctors), we're also a bit down because all of our gear is slowly disintegrating around us. In the space of a couple of weeks, we've lost bike covers, various zippers on our luggage liners have come apart, my riding jacket zipper unzips by itself from the bottom-up turning itself into a cape, Neda's tankbag has holes in it and so does her motorcycle seat so the foam inside is waterlogged all the time, her sidecases are cracked at the bottom and leaking, my indestructible yellow dry bag has a tear in it. All of these problems are made worse because it's constantly raining here and water is getting in and soaking everything.

It's as if the warranty for everything we own just expired all at the same time.

Normally, I'd be serving cheese with all of this whine, but Neda is lactose intolerant... Add *that* to the list!

Dropped into Touratech to check out their bags and see if they have a replacement seat for Neda's bike.
No luck, but we did get our picture taken for their Facebook page.

Visted the Ducati dealership in the pouring rain.
Not to buy anything, just to look at bikes because that makes me happy...

 

[Lightcycle]

So we didn't manage to get anything replaced or fixed in Lisbon... kthxbye.

The town of Évora is only an hour away and is where we are meeting Marco and Lori as they finish up their tour of Portugal

Azulejos, which are these ceramic tiles, are commonplace all over Portugal

Azulejos are tin-glazed ceramic tiles which are used to decorate the outsides of buildings, walls, floors and even ceilings. They're not only ornamental, but also serve double-duty as a sort of insulation for temperature control.

Church of Bones! Well, not the entire church, just a Wing of Bones...

The Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) is one of the most well-known tourists sights in Portugal. It's not built from bones, just the interior of one of the wings is lined with human skeletons. It was quite creepy to think how many dead people were being used as wallpaper here. And probably not serving double-duty as insulation...

Skull protrudes from a pillar. This was somebody's head attached to a body at some point.

 

[Lightcycle]

More human skulls lining the ceiling

Thousands upon thousands of bones stacked up againt the wall.

The Chapel of Bones was built in the 16th century by a monk who wanted to bring home the point that life is transitory. The bones are the remains of his fellow monks. Perhaps there could have been a less creepy way of making his point?

At the entrance of the chapel there's a sign that reads, "We bones, lying here, for yours we wait".

AHHHHHH!!!!

Walking around the historic centre of Evora

Abstract sculpture overlooking the town

Clothes being hung out. To dry?
No, it's raining so much here, this is the wash cycle...

 

[Lightcycle]

Ruins of a Roman temple in Portugal, beautiful churches and castles surround it.

We found out that Évora is a UNESCO town, ie. total GringoTrail Town. Main economy: tourism.

Marco took us to his favorite restaurant in Évora. It was so well hidden, we worked up an appetite trying to find it!

For dinner, the restaurant served Black Iberian Pig, which was indigenous to the Évora region, and it was all-you-could-eat. Marco's gluttony was contagious and we all gorged ourselves silly on all this delicious food! It was a great way to end a fantastic time with our old hometown-friends.

But now with our plans to explore northern Portugal stymied, we had to figure out where to go to escape the cold weather.

 

[Lightcycle]

Thanks for all your well wishes, guys! Neda is feeling a lot better now.