We are now about half way through our trip and just beginning our adventure in Europe, starting in Portugal. It doesn’t take long to realize how much different everything is, it almost feels like we are beginning a new trip. We knew how to communicate, what and when to eat, and some of the nuances of South America – - and now . . . we don’t. We are in Portugal and have to figure it all out again – what a great way to start Part II!

Our plan was to spend a little over 2 weeks in Portugal. Since we rented a car, and everything is fairly close, we have a lot of flexibility on where to go, but where should we start? We didn’t do much research on Portugal prior to arriving, but we knew a few things: the beaches in the South are supposed to be fantastic (but can we get a tan in March?) and they are known for the Port wine in the North. Since we have visitors (Karen’s sister Lisa and our friends Bryan & Rachel) our second week who want to see the beaches, we headed North to Porto and the Douro Valley.

Our first few days in Portugal helped set the expectations for our time here. Summer dresses and short skirts are replaced with long black jackets, blue jeans, and a warm scarf. Bars packed with people dining outside at 11:00pm are replaced with dinner at 8pm in a mostly empty restaurant. Say goodbye to summer, and hello to low season in Portugal. Even though it is a little colder the best part of low season is: better prices, booking lodging the day before or same day, and enjoying tourists spots without fighting the crowds for a picture.

First stop, Porto! Porto is the second largest city in the country and on the mouth of a river that feeds into the Atlantic ocean lending for a beautiful waterfront complete with  cobblestone streets, cafes, and whitewashed buildings with red roofs. Looking across the river is the Vila de Gaia, where the traditional port wineries house their  wine caves (picture wine cellars, but packed almost one ontop of another sloping up the hillside, in the middle of a city).

After enjoying a café con leite on the water, we walked across the river to check out the wine caves and try our first taste of Port! Not knowing much about it, we thought of Port like dessert wine, overly sweet and reserved for post dinner enjoyment. What we found out during our tasting was that locals treat it more like a cocktail and it’s best drank alone or with cheese, nuts, or chocolate.  The origination is pretty interesting: many years ago the British were at war with France; since France was their main supplier of wine they needed an alternate source. They went to their ally, Portugal, and asked for wine. The only problem is that the wine sent from Portugal to Britain wasn’t very good, so the British added about 1/5 Brandy to the wine, thus creating the first Port wine.

Second stop, the Douro Valley! The 2 hour drive from Porto to the Douro Valley was up and down curved roads and hairpin turns. We were amazed at how beautiful the scenery and couldn’t help but pull over for a few pictures and even to pick some fresh oranges off the trees.

Thanks to Lonely Planet’s recommendation we were able to spend 2 days in Casa Cimiera; a 200year old family run B&B in a hilltop village and one of the best stops on the trip. Our favorites at the house were the homebrewed Porto wine, the full breakfast, and the family style dinners. Although the hosts spoke only Portugese  they were the life of the party and kept the group of 8 engaged; even with 4 different languages spoken at the dinner table. We left the Douro happy and well-fed and were ready to head South and get some much needed exercise.

 

 

After 2 weeks in Buenos Aires we felt like we knew the city well and were ready to move onto a new adventure. But since our flight from BA to Portugal didn’t leave for another week, we decided to head across the river to Uruguay, not only to punch our passports (Argentina has become notorious for putting as many stamps as possible in our passports each time we went in or out of the country), but to spend a few days in a beach town and hopefully try some surfing.

The destination in Uruguay was Punta del Diablo, a small beach town known to be less touristy and more laid back then the more well known Punta del Este. Once we arrived we knew why, dirt roads only and locals walking around with no shoes or shirts and plenty of dreadlocks.

This place was a great change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires. We finally got to enjoy some running in open space, our favorite spot was Playa Grande, a mostly vacant beach North of town with miles of sand. Running and watching the waves roll in while breathing in the fresh Atlantic ocean air is the right way to start the day. Dinner consisted of fresh cooked fish and shrimp from the local pescaderia (fish market) on the beach, a welcome change from 2 months of eating carne and pan.

The water was warm enough for swimming and playing in the waves. But after looking at the waves for long enough, and assessing how good they were for surfing, we rented surf-boards on the beach and went for it.  Arlen has been surfing a few times before but it was Karen’s first time. She was surprised at how fun surfing is, even if you don’t really ever catch a wave! Arlen taught her plenty of surf lingo like what it means to get “pitted in the green room”. Unfortunately there was no getting pitted in the green room, just getting pounded by wave after wave and drinking enough saltwater for a lifetime, nonetheless a great time.

4 countries in 3 days?! After leaving Punta del Diablo, Uruguay we traveled by bus and boat back to Buenos Aires  and stayed the night (which by our count completed over 90 hours on buses in South America). The next day we went to the airport to catch our flight to Lisbon. We strategically chose a flight with a 9 hour layover in London – the perfect chance to see a new country, right?! We got into London at 6am (1am our time), and groggily worked our way off of the plane, through customs, out of the airport, and into downtown London all by 8am. If you ever have a layover in London, it is really easy to get into the city. They have an express train that takes you right into the center of town in 20 minutes. It was drizzling in London (not unexpected), but since we only had 5 hours to explore the city, we started walking. We had a chance to see a few sites and even fell in love with how clean and “green” the city seems.

After a few more hours on the plane we finally made it to Lisbon. So Uruguay, Argentina, England, and Portugal – 3 days. Time to recharge the batteries from the travel and get ready for the second half of our trip in Europe!

 

On our previous trips abroad, neither of us have really loved spending time in bigger cities. This is probably partly due to not giving the city enough time, how much can you really get to know and enjoy a city in two days? But you can’t travel through Argentina without visiting Buenos Aires, the country’s biggest and most well known city. We wanted to give the city a fair chance and decided to rent an apartment and stay for 2 weeks.

Heading into our stay here is what we knew:  It is BIG (~ 13 million people including suburbs), it is the home of tango, there is a black market for American dollars (but we weren’t sure if it was true, and if so what does it mean for us?), watch your wallet at all times, pickpocketing is a profession, and they love their futbol (but do they play in February and are tickets available for Gringo tourists?).

After two weeks in the city we had such a variety of experiences that we think the best way to share with you is to just jump in. Here is what we will remember the most about Buenos Aires, in no particular order . . .

It IS BIG. It is Really Really Big. Even with its massive size, what makes the city unique is the barrios, or neighborhoods (there is something like 48 official barrios). Walking the streets of the city we found European inspired buildings, French like cafes, street markets, and bustling business suits.

Getting Around. The road system makes no sense and the drivers are crazy. There are intersections with no stoplights, stopsigns, or sense of right away. Since over half the cars are taxis, its your safest bet to assume they always have the right away and would happily run you over.  If ever you ride in a taxi, best to just close your eyes and hope you get there.

The Pick-Pockets. BA has a great metro system that you can get most anywhere in the city, just hold on to your wallet and always wear your pack on the front. Everyone had a story to share about being pickpocketed, or witnessing it at some point on public transport. For example, a Scottish couple we met considered themselves lucky for only losing 200 Euro on the subway after it was his fault for putting his wallet in his backpocket. (Note: We came out of BA with all our stuff – as far as we know!)

The Blue Dollar. From what we were told, the President recognizes inflation of the peso at 10%, however, actual inflation is closer to 26%. As a result, the locals lost faith in the peso and starting making runs on the banks to get US dollars, as they viewed this as a more consistent and transferrable currency. The government put a stop to this and restricted access to US dollars through the banks, resulting in the creation of a black market. When we were there, the black market for US dollars (or blue dollar) was trading at close to 8 pesos to 1 dollar; whereas the bank exchanged at 5 pesos to 1 dollar. The black market wasn’t just back alley trading, most shops and restaurants would happily offer us 7 pesos to the dollar (about a 30% discount on whatever you buy with U$). If you want a cheap vacation, be sure to come to BA with plenty of cash (just don’t bring it on the subway)!

Futbol! Since everyone loves Futbol in Argentina, we made a point to get tickets with fellow travel and Cougar Alum, Caitlin Bonney, to the River Plate v. Tigre match. River Plate is the winningest team in Argentina, and the stadium held over 65,000 people, so we suspected that the game would be fun. The enthusiasm of every person in the crowd was unbelievable. From warm-ups throughout the entire game the crowd was on their feet, singing, chanting, and playing music. As a matter of fact, the fans are so enthusiastic that the visitors section in the stadium is divided by a 10 foot high barb wire fence to keep the peace. After the game, the home fans are locked inside the stadium to allow the visiting team and fans to leave the area on prearranged buses. We realized this when we were trying to beat the crowds and rush out of the stadium only to find all the exits guarded by police officers, keeping us inside for the next 30minutes. As for the game itself, it couldn’t have been more exciting. The home team was down 0-1 with 10 minutes left in the game and then managed to score 3 goals before the final whistle, each one making the crowd louder and louder!

 

Tango! Sure we joined a walking tour to see the house of Carlos Gardel (the famous tango singer), and saw plenty of tango shoes and dresses for sale, but it didn’t seem like the locals were  that interested in tango, or even knew the dance. At times it even felt like tango was used to draw in tourists. But since we ARE tourists, what the heck, we signed up for 3 tango lessons. It actually is a really fun dance to learn! We think we have down at the basics, but we still haven’t figured out where we can practice back home. Ideas? The comedic highlight was when our tango instructor, Cristian, gently layed his head on Arlen’s shoulder as he played the role of the woman teaching Arlen how to lead Tango.

Dining. The locals start dinner between 10:00pm – 12:00pm. The great thing is its easier to get a table and if your lucky you can catch an early bird special if you show up before 8:30pm (we saved 15% at a Steakhouse in San Martin de los Andes)! Also, Parillas (steakhouses) are like Starbucks in Seattle, sometimes you can see 3 or 4 on one street corner. To learn more about the local cuisine we signed up for the “Argentine Experience” which was a mix between a cooking class and a dinner; if you ever make it to BA this is a must!

Man’s best friend? BA needs Bob Barker (from Price is Right) to remind them to spay and neuter their pets. Dogs are everywhere leaving landmines on the sidewalks and making dog walking a popular profession. We counted a dog walker with 12 large dogs at one time!

Summertime. One of the many perks of visiting BA during the summer is the fruit markets. There was one on almost ever corner and we even had one we could see from our balcony. Arlen couldn’t have been happier and you have never seen him learn Spanish so quickly, he loves his uvas (grapes).

Next post, surfing in Uruguay and 4 countries in 3 days.