Portugal part 2 – all about friends

One of the many things I love about traveling is realizing how small the world is. You hop on a plane and a few hours later you’re in a new country with a foreign language, bustling traffic and strange smells but you can walk around the corner and run into something, or someone, familiar. My last week in Portugal was full of these wonderful surprises!

 

Three years ago, I went to Bali for a Create A Life You Love retreat (amazing – highly recommend!) and met a lady named Carol. She lives in Hawaii (lucky girl!) and owns a home décor store. We stayed in touch through social media and I noticed a recent post saying she was traveling in Amsterdam, Prague, Lisbon and Barcelona. I messaged her right away to see if her dates might overlap with mine. And they did – she was going to be in Lisbon while I was still there!

 

We made plans to meet up and take a tapas tour, giving us a chance to talk and let someone else pick the restaurants. It was amazing! Not only did we get to sample a variety of Portuguese food and wine, we got to reconnect, share memories and catch up on the last three years.

 

Carol has fabulous stories and is also a great listener, she’s generous and curious and simply fun to hang out with. I was happy we had to a chance to see each other and we laughed at the beautiful journey of life that brought us together again.

 

One of my dearest friends and colleagues wrote to me and said she had another girlfriend traveling alone and happened to be coming to Lisbon in a few days. Would I like to meet her? Absolutely! I love meeting friends of my friends (I already know they have great taste!)

 

Tanya and I met up for a glass of sangria and instantly felt like we’d known each other forever. She’s been traveling since November and had been to southeast Asia and India and now found herself in Portugal. We shared stories and quickly made plans to meet again.

 

Lisbon is an expensive city, especially coming from Asia or India, so Tanya headed north and rented an apartment in Leiria. She invited me to come visit so off I went!

 

We started in the fishing village of Nazare, known in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest wave ever surfed (78 feet!) The high waves are due to the presence of an underwater canyon, which creates interference between incoming waves and tends to make them much larger.

 

The beach was one of the longest and widest I’ve ever seen, with hardly any people despite the 30+ degree day. (We later learned that people avoid the beach when the waves are too high.) We strolled along looking at the boat museum and the fish drying racks – a centuries old tradition that women continue today.

 

The city team in Lisbon had recommended a restaurant, Casalinho, so we headed there for lunch. It was absolutely the best meal I had in Portugal! We asked the waiter for recommendations and he said: “I’ll tell you what NOT to have.” Intrigued why a waiter wouldn’t recommend something, I asked him why. “These were not caught today so I recommend what is fresh.” Great advice! Even the lettuce for the salad had been picked fresh from their garden. Delicious!

 

Back in Leiria, Tanya showed me the best feature of her apartment – a rooftop terrace with comfy chairs, lots of plants and a stunning backdrop of a castle. Hours past, chimed by the church bells, as we sat under the stars sipping port, eating cheese, sharing travel and work stories and feeling grateful for our mutual friend who connected two B.C. girls in Portugal.

 

My Remote Year friend Adrienne had gone home for a week and was flying back into Faro, in the Algarve region of Portugal, so Patricia and I decided to take the train and join her for a road trip back to Lisbon! I always love renting a car and seeing the countryside.

 

My favourite city was Sagres, the southernmost point of Portugal. It’s a town that isn’t accessible by train or bus so there aren’t many tourists. It has dramatic cliff views, as it juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Lagos is a bustling city with many beaches and is known for water activities taking you out to see the grottos and caves. I was really looking forward to kayaking out to the caves but both days we were told the waves were too high – not even boats were going out! We had to settle with another day of relaxing on the beach under an umbrella (a tough back-up plan!)

 

We had a pontoon boat tour in Faro, with an avid birdwatcher as our captain, checked out the pousada palace in Estoi with it’s beautiful gardens, and caught the sunset at the lighthouse in Sagres. We took the coastal road back to Lisbon, stopping at several beaches along the way.

 

Like every road trip with good friends, there was laughter, music, naps, navigation challenges, crazy U-turns and fun memories. I’m so happy and grateful to share this adventure with friends!

 

Up next, Sofia, Bulgaria! Have you been? I’d love your tips or suggestions and questions.