Life's a Stitch

The world gets smaller. On our last night at sea, admiring the moon on the water, the group of four next to us were talking about their post cruise plans. They were a Czech family, mom and dad and two grown daughters. We had the same plans and the conversation progressed. We were from Canada, all having lived on Vancouver’s North Shore at the same time. Turns out we knew their close friends from the Czech Republic who lived in our neighbourhood, directly across the street. We took a photo together to send to our former neighbours.

After six days we landed on the island of St.Maarten. Our goal was a good long walk on land, which was achieved despite the oppressive heat and humidity. We got a decent anniversary photo on the beach.

I spent the afternoon painting in air conditioned comfort. I can’t show my work as it’s a Christmas gift.

We celebrated 43 years at the onboard French restaurant with our official marriage witnesses, Ellen & Greg. It was the first time we’ve been together on the actual date.

The next day we docked at St.Thomas, V.I. that reignited childhood memories. Visiting my grandparents in Puerto Rico many years ago, my grandfather would take my cousins and sister on day trips to St.Thomas so he could stock up on duty free rum. 

I clearly remember at least four trips. The airfare was $26 on Eastern Airlines from San Juan. We also travelled on Prinair, where the seats resembled webbed patio chairs bolted to the floor. The worst trip I remember was on a ferry when the seas were rough. My cousins and I thought it would be fun to run back and forth on the bow as the boat rocked in the sea. I got seriously seasick, not a good memory.

Today was a beautiful day in St.Thomas. It was still recognizable despite the areas of development on the hills. 

We walked to the old town where a few familiar spots remain in between a crazy amount of jewelry stores. 

There used to be camera stores, one where my grandfather bought me a 35mm Minolta for my university graduation.

I am happy to say I didn’t spend a penny until we got to the Pueblo grocery store, the Puerto Rican  grocery chain where my family shopped. I bought two kinds of bouillon cubes with traditional spices.

Leaving felt quite sentimental. 

The next three days we’ll visit ports in the Dominican and Jamaica. Stay tuned.

1983 nautical mikes from Lisbon in the middle of the North Atlantic. No birds, no land, just ocean and sky. The sea depth is 5000m! I’ve done this route a few times in the past so I know the routine. Heading to the Caribbean, each day gets warmer. Soon we’ll see flying fish and an exhausted flock of birds might land on deck for a much needed rest on their long trip across the ocean. 

I find the routine quite relaxing, meeting new people, participating in activities as if it were camp for grown ups, watching the sea and the sky. 

E and I tried the Drop, a “ten story free-fall” dry slide. Reality was way better than it sounds. You are positioned enclosed in a clear tube, wrapped in a plastic padded mat, standing on a small platform. You hear the countdown and the platform drops from underneath you, leading along the first steep part of the slide. It never really feels like a free fall Halfway down you come to a stop. That’s what I thought would be the scariest as if you’d be stuck in a tube. You have to wiggle a bit to get moving again. It’s like a regular curvy slide until near the end when you come to a dead stop inside the tube with the end in clear sight a few feet away where there’s an attendant to help pull you out. I talked to a staff member whose work commute from the top floor to the eighth would be by slide. How cool is that?

The person who introduced me to audiobooks many years ago was inspired while on a cruise where she saw people engrossed in reading and missing the view. That’s when she began listening to books and shared her advice when she heard I was going on a cruise. What appealed to me was the ability to do two things at once: walking, cooking, knitting while reading. So that’s what I do when walking laps around the promenade deck. 

This cruise’s full length theatrical production was Beetlejuice. It went off without a sea induced hitch (it happens) and was quite impressive. 

On this, the last long stretch of sea days, following my usual routine I was walking on the promenade deck without my book. It’s interesting what you overhear. Tone of voice is everything. A much younger couple comes toward me. He says “You have ice cream on your shoulder.” She replies with a sneer, “well you can just lick it off then,” not a hint of come hither. Probably an unfortunate ice cream accident, but the story could have been a romcom moment at sea. She was unhappy about something. At our first dinner we unfortunately heard two adult brothers angrily debating their American politics throughout the meal. E politely asked them to tone it down, the request was not well received, and G sprang up to avert a near brawl. Those aside, you hear plenty of laughter and happy holiday sounds, punctuated by the excited screams of those brave enough to attempt the Drop. 

Tomorrow, our 43rd anniversary, we land on the Dutch side of the island of St. Marten.

The first night was a roughish night at sea. Not too bad, but not great. It wasn’t enough to interfere with breakfast.

I attended the knit and stitch meetup at 8:45 a.m. We were a group of six women from five countries. It went so well we stayed on to knit and participate in the morning trivia session.

The afternoon was dedicated to painting. I have a commission I need to work on, but started with something easier to get back into the rhythm. What a spectacular setting for painting.

I managed not to dip my brush in the glass of Diet Coke nor the wine. When we’re closer to land maybe there will be some plein air time.

We attended a comedy show – Rob Little – someone Ellen had seen on a ship six years ago. This one was rated G and not as raunchy as last night’s adult comedy show. And in the it’s a small world department, we were seated next to a couple who lives five minutes from us.

Day 2 of the 6 sea days was remarkably calm. Before I opened my eyes I thought I was in bed at home. The mattresses feel the same and the ship felt still.

Same routine as yesterday, knit and stitch group with a few more members, trivia, painting, walking. I walked 11 days in Portugal with no problem, but today my foot is sore. Probably a combination of the lack of variety in terrain plus all the city cobblestones the past few days.

I finished the little watercolour of the view from E&G’s recently sold lake property.

In addition to the main dining rooms, the upcharge specialty restaurants, and the buffet, the Viva has the “Indulge Food Hall” with seven open kitchens representing different food styles from tapas to Indian food with a commercial tandoor. The latter was our choice for tonight.

We indulged in our pastel nata (Portuguese egg tarts, literal translation = cream pastry) breakfast.

Afterwards we Ubered to Lisbon’s cruise ship terminal. We are sailing on a budget line (NCL) and every step of the process is slow compared to other companies. It took 90 minutes to check in with preferred access. 

It’s a brand new ship with an elegant modern feel. The cabins are quite nice.

Greg and I did significant city walking including a bit of shopping, a visit to the Christmas Market and a trek uphill to a viewpoint.

Day 2 started with a magnificent sunrise.

C woke up with a significantly swollen ankle from a slip at our previous hotel. There was no twist, or fall, just a hard knock against the wall so he was out for the count today. The room steward brought him a bag of ice and C spent the day with his foot up.

Walking to the train station we passed two art installations in progress, one of sand one of stone.

Taking the train to the suburb of Belem, Ellen, Greg and I went on a pastel nata crawl. First stop was Pasteis de Belem, one of the originals, using the same recipe since 1837. 

We crossed the street to try them at Manteigaria.

They may look similar, but the clear winner was Pasteis de Belem. A step above any I’ve had in the past. The crust was extra crispy, even the bottom, and the custard was less sweet, a relief from several desserts we’ve had here that contain sweetened condensed milk. With added cinnamon it tasted just like my grandmother’s custard.

Our mission accomplished, we boarded the train back to the center of Lisbon. It’s hard to believe this city has a population of 545,000, it feels much larger. 

E and G headed back to the ship and I had my own adventure, first stopping in an exceptional art supply shop. Willpower prevailed and I didn’t buy a thing. As if I need anything anyway. 

Next stop was Rei do Bachalao (Bacalao King) for a delicious Pastéis de Bacalhau, a potato and salt cod fritter.

I was not expecting to like it as my past experience was the fishy smelling salt cod my grandmother would cook in Puerto Rican and an overly salty, also fishy version we had on a previous trip to Portugal. A friend explained that neither had been soaked properly. I found it interesting the Romans preserved cod through salt drying in the 3rd and 4th centuries.

After a bit of Christmas shopping it was time to return to the ship. One hour after the end of the port strike tonight we will start our six days at sea.

The trekking party is over for now. It was an exhausting day although no walking was involved. It was time to return to Lisbon to return the car and spend a night prior to boarding the ship. The drive was nerve wracking on Portugal’s version of the autobahn. Our brains having been used to travelling at the speed of snails on the trail were assaulted with cars in the fast lane some passing at 145+kph. We passed an unfortunate accident in the opposite direction involving a bus and a rolled over car, no doubt travelling at high speed.

The landscape didn’t change much over the course of the trip, fields and hills dotted with groves of low trees,  but we passed an area of stork nests on power poles. It looked like a stork condo – each of those dark spots being a nest.

I, as navigator, was frustrated when we got to the city and exit names/numbers did not match what the gps was telling us. We made it back to our cheap and cheerful Ibis Hotel after many twists and turns in hilly Lisbon. 

E and I indulged in lunch with white wine while the guys re-entered the fray to return the car. We relaxed by booking a daylong tour to Sines for our unexpected extra day in Lisbon, but at dinner we learned that it too, was cancelled due to issues around the port strike.

We walked to a nearby take away chiaroscuro for dinner. While it cooked we had drinks and appies at a restaurant down the block while watching junior football on the ever present sports TV that accompanies dining in Portugal. The owner/chef recommended fresh goat cheese (mild as boccancini) with pumpkin jam and bread to go with our olives, that in Portugal are served in sufficient quantities to count as a serving of veggies. We were burned again by ordering a bottle of the house wine, forgetting that it doesn’t mean the least expensive.

Our main course was half a chicken, a rack of ribs (called a piano of meat) and two large sausages to share. Sold by weight it came to e15.50, a delicious bargain.

We were all ready for bed at an early hour, with visions of the Ibis’s breakfast hot pastel nata towers dancing in our heads. Stay tuned for our impromptu adventure in Lisbon.

OK, I lied. Greg and I added more to the total by walking to and joining the trail close to where the rain stopped C and I the day of our arrival in Lagos.

What a pleasant walk it was, primarily on boardwalk that took us past the lighthouse and all the way to our Air b&b.

The four of us drove to Silves for an adequate, but carb filled menu do dia lunch and a visit to the castle. Parking was sparse. We walked from the base of the town way up to the castle, located at a high point for defensive advantage, making it difficult to attack. The position also provides a wide view of the surrounding area and approaching enemies.

Tomorrow we’re off to Lisbon, one night in a hotel and two on the ship as there is a rotating port strike that requires us to stay an extra night for lack of pilot availability.

A photo from yesterday, last minute pack adjustments on the beach, typical of every day.

We were falling short of our 100k goal so this morning’s mission was to wrap it up by walking to the beginning/ending point of the Fisherman’s Trail of the Rota Vicentina. We found the official location at the Lagos train station. Greg took our photo as we pointed to our starting and finishing points. 

Ours wasn’t a straight line, though. We did 3 circular routes, 1 segment on the Historic Trail and the rest on the Fisherman’s Trail. Today we hit the 100k mark and more, so I’m happy.

We had a quiet afternoon doing laundry and relaxing, then walked most of it again. We had our second dinner at Pinao Restaurant and Bar. The best Cataplana so far. The restaurant has a Nepalese bent with spice level options. The medium was perfect for us. They keep comping us port after dinner.

Good strategy to keep us coming back. That and excellent food and service.

I can stop counting our distance now, but there will be plenty of walking to come on this trip and I will be posting, especially since we were notified of a change in our ship’s itinerary that puts us in Lisbon for three nights. Looking at day hikes right now.

We checked out of the pensao and drove through the countryside to Burgau. If you know me, you know I like tree tunnel pictures as much as I like lone tree photos. 

Burgau had a small beach nestled between two rocky cliffs.

Up we went in cobblestones to the clay then rock trails above the village.

In the distance we saw where a slide had taken out part of the cliff (blue arrow). Next to it dirt paths laced their way up (green arrow). There’s no way that’s the path so close to an unstable area, I thought. Think again. Those dirt paths were in our immediate future. 

Tre trail became more rocky and this was our descent. We didn’t notice the blue and green “x” symbol at the bottom indicating we had taken the wrong way. 

We stopped for lunch in the town of Luz.

Then the weather shifted to cold, grey and windy, looking like rain. We looked up the Google maps walking directions that would avoid the possibility of wet clay cliff paths and started up the cobblestones. 

By the time we made it to the top the weather cleared and there was a trail entrance. More steep rocky terrain requiring calculating each step. We looked back from whence we came.

The scenery completely changed at the top with a pine grove then peppercorn shrubs growing off a reasonable dirt trail. 

Descending into Lagos was reasonable, but it started raining. We gave up with 40 minutes to go and was rescued by Greg. 

We had requested early check-in at our air b&b, which was granted, however we waited in the car for over an hour and a half for the code to arrive. Just as we turned it into a party with a drink of choice for each, of course the code came.

The apartment is a bit dated, but a good size for the four of us. The only drawback being a heavy vanilla/floral scent.

We walked to a burger and fish bar, five minutes away: Pinhao. Entering we weren’t optimistic, but whoa, it was amazing. Staff and food were right up there. Dinner for four came to e80.

The rest of our schedule is to be decided before we head to Lisbon on the 27th for our transatlantic cruise.

Followed our usual routine: breakfast at 8:15 on the trail at 9:00. Walking out of the village, we heard a metallic sound thinking it was related to the natural springs we were passing. The volume increased and I thought we were heading right into a stampede of cattle with cowbells. We saw the source to our right, feeding cows. Our morning symphony, dubbed by C, “The Cowrol of the Bells.”

It was uphill from there. I still don’t understand the reality of the elevation gain as opposed to the trail guides.

It was a magical walk in the cork tree forest.

There were still remnants from last week’s storm and flooding.

Back down on level land we encountered the largest cork tree yet, with an interesting sky.

After 5k we were approaching Bordeira again to head to the second circular routes.

Crossing the highway, a short distance down the trail we heard more cowbells, described by SIL KC, when he saw the video, as haunting and happy. He knows as he worked making cheese in the Swiss Alps.

The route edged along the pasture for quite awhile, then rounded a corner for an uphill climb. We walked through eucalyptus forest, some still in bloom.

There were a couple of spots where the trail markers were hard to find. It was helpful having three sets of eyes at three heights to spot them.

These goats escaped their fence:

The sheep not so brave:

None of us remembers going downhill enough to justify the steep long shale incline toward the end of hike.

We’re staying in one bedroom apartments at Pensao das Dunas in Carrapateira. Pretty on the outside, a little tired inside.

At e80 per night it was the most expensive accommodation on the trail. The apartment was advertised as having a kitchen and we bought groceries accordingly, but we found the kitchens didn’t have ovens or a toaster and nothing more than salt. And they came with an overwhelming supply of ants. One staff member told us it was a first while the other told us it can be expected in a country house. I did manage to make dinner, Pork piccata, broccoli, and mashed potatoes, using the microwave rack as a masher.

If you are planning on staying here also note there are no bathroom amenities other than hand soap and although no hairdryer in our unit, I borrowed one from E’s.

Looking forward to moving on to Lagos tomorrow.

Greg joined us today on our circular route trek.

It was a morning of varied walking surfaces:

Deep sand:

Uneven rocks:

Boardwalk:

And dirt roads:

The scenery lived up to its reputation:

Rounding the final curve we saw our trail marker in the right place to guide us back to our village of Carrapateira in the distance:

We had a relaxing  afternoon doing not much of anything followed by dinner at O Pontal (translates to The Point). Yesterday’s lunch there was reasonable and impressive so we decided to give it a go for dinner.

We had tomahawk steak for four, a great choice.

Tomorrow we have one more day of circular trekking before moving on toward Lagos.