Sam's Eurotrip

Greetings, everyone! It's been about a week since I last updated and, yet again, I'm in another country - Portugal! I've seen a LOT since Málaga, so I'll do my best to catch up to the present once again...

We left Málaga early on the morning of the 15th en route to La Línea, the Spanish town that borders the self-governing British territory of Gibraltar. Creative name ("The Line") for a border town, huh? We put our stuff in storage at the bus station and headed out for the town and the rock of Gibraltar. To get to the rock you have to cross the border - a simple flash of the passport is enough to get you through, and I've still yet to get any passport stamps except for upon landing in Frankfurt - and then walk across the airport runway. That's right, there's an airport in Gibraltar, it runs perpendicular to the spit that connects the town to La Linea, and all traffic in and out of the town goes straight across the tarmac. We actually saw two or three jets take off once we were up on the rock which was pretty neat.

Anyway, once in the town, we decided to take the funicular up to the top of the mountain. Some of you may be aware that Gibraltar is famous for its monkeys, the last wild primates in continental Europe. Legend has it that when British explorers returned to Gibraltar from exploring Africa they brought a couple of them back, soon multiplying, and inhabiting the rock to this day. Speaking of Africa, it was a super clear day, and we could easily see Morrocco across the Strait of Gibraltar - so cool! As soon as we got to the top of the lift there were monkeys waiting for us. They're incredibly humanized and will grab at anything that looks like food. Some of them were seemingly smart enough to set up roadblocks on the stairs and walkways, reaching out and grabbing at people (even biting one guy!) as they walked by. We even saw an intense monkey fight between two gangs of monkeys - no joke - and watched as they screamed, jumped, clawed, and ran amok across the observation platforms and their railings. Kind of intense!

We explored the rock for a while, eventually walking back down into the town - we ran into a bunch of monkeys on the way, a few of which started following us and seeming really agitated. We caught a bus to Europa Point, Gibraltar's claim as the southernmost point in Europe which isn't exactly true, but more on that later. The view was, nonetheless, inspiring, as to the left we could see boats navegating the Mediterranean while, to the right, we could see the waters open up into the Atlantic Ocean. Still straight across the water were the mountains of northern Africa standing guard across the Strait. It was a really powerful feeling to be in such a place, especially feeling surrounded by such a pivotal point in history.

We made our way back through the town of Gibraltar (which was, disappointingly, very touristy, though unique seeing/hearing English and even noticing a few red telephone booths) and got on the bus in La Línea to head to Tarifa. Tarifa is the REAL southernmost point in Europe, and is physically closer to Africa to Gibraltar - the Strait is only about 15km wide just east of Tarifa! Tarifa is also known as the wind capital of the world and the kite surfing capital of the world due to the intense (35+ kmh) offshore wind that is nearly constant, blowing out into the Atlantic. We got in around 5pm and settled into the hostel before heading to the beach for the first of many times. The wind was sending a lot of sand flying on the beach and the water was definitely a little chilly, but I really enjoyed just sitting on the beach.

And, conveniently enough, sitting on the beach is about all I did for the 4 days we were there! The daily routine was something along the lines of wake up, eat breakfast, go to the beach, go back to the hostel for lunch, go back to the beach, walk around town, make dinner, go to the beach, and go to bed. The town itself is full of white-washed buildings and lots of neat shops - including about five times as many surf shops as Atlantic Beach has, ha! There isn't much more to write home about because it was such a chill place... turquoise water, picturesque beaches, good and cheap food and wine, and plenty of sun. It was great to be somewhere for more than just a night or two and I felt really recharged by the time we left on the 19th for Lisbon by way of Sevilla.

What a shock it was to arrive in Sevilla after the perfect weather (30-35C and sunny) in Tarifa - the heat was a blistering 45C, about 115F for those of you at home, and nothing like North Carolina summer as it was DRY. Despite the low humidity it was nothing short of stifling and we took it easy for our afternoon in the city along the Guadalquivir River, checking out the Alcazar, the cathedral, the University, and the riverside parks before catching the overnight bus to Lisbon. The Alcazar, essentially a huge complex of royal palaces and gardens in the city center, rivaled la Alhambra in its splendor (especially the gardens), and provided lots of cool and shady places to escape the heat as the sun began to set. We also checked out the Plaza de España, a beautiful oval-shaped court in the city that was built for the Spanish-American Exposition. The outer edge of the plaza is lined with tile mosaics of each of the major cities in Spain, and though part of it was closed for work (and the canals were all drained) it was a great place to enjoy the sunset and the finally-relaxing temperatures. We slowly made our way to the bus station, walking along the river, and hopped our bus to Lisbon a little after midnight!

The bus was not the most comfortable ride and we arrived to a sleepy, Saturday morning Lisbon about 6AM local time (7AM in Sevilla). Fortunately we found our hostel pretty easy and the place is really nice! Called "Home" (as in, "there's no place like home"), it's located in the Baixa/Chiado (old city) of Lisbon and was a great place to rest up before heading out.

All we really did today was walk around the central part of the city, checking out the Alfama, which is one of the original neighborhoods that was left relatively unscathed during the earthquake of 1755 that destroyed most of the city. Its winding streets lead up to the Castillo de San Jorge which sits atop a hill on the western side of the old city. On the opposite side is the Bairro Alto ("high neighborhood"), with lots of restaurants and shops, plus great views across to the Castillo. One disappointment is the lack of access to the waterfront (the mouth of the Tagus/Tajo/Tejo River), which has the potential to be beautiful yet is relatively underutilized as a public space.

Nonetheless, the first day in Lisbon was beautiful and I'm excited to check out a few other places farther outside the city tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday, including a fairytale-esque castle at Sintra, the westernmost point of Europe at Cabo da Roca, and the beaches of Cascais. Before I forget - not sure how I could - I should mention that I visited probably my favorite place so far on my trip today in Lisbon. The Carmo Ruins at the site of the ancient Church of Our Lady of the Carmo Hill are what still stands of what used to be the primary cathedral in Lisbon before it was destroyed in the 1755 earthquake. What remains is the stone skeleton of the building, including huge arches and buttresses open to the sky above, and it was absolutely spectacular!

Expect more soon about the rest of Lisbon before I head back to Spain on Monday night - an overnight train to the other end of the Tajo River in Toledo! I'll post a few separate bursts of pictures from each of the last few cities - Gibraltar, Tarifa, Sevilla, & Lisboa - so be sure to check them out! I can't believe that this adventure is already more than half over and that, in just about 2.5 weeks I'll be back stateside.

Cheers from Portugal,

Sam