- Thursday 28 June sat on runway for 5 hours, made it to NY but missed the connection to Lisbon so therefore had to wait in Newark for a Day. Slept in the meditation room and soiled the islamic rug.
- Friday 29 June Called mom in the morning and went to NY, ate and slept, then went for a quick walk with the family & tux around little dam lake, ana liked the area alot, said it was super beautiful. Dad read my grant and said that i need to more clearly define Miguel's rights as a client/purchaser. Went back to newark, found the black ipod, got on the standby flight to lisbon, sat next to a really angsty portuguese.
- Saturday 30 June Tired, picked up at airport by ana's parents, slept uncomfortably on the highway from Lisbon to Coimbra (ana's father drives very quickly). took a nap. went into Coimbra to go shopping at the big mall and later went to a oliveira family party where I spoke with Pedro (the elder).. too much portuguese, did not interact very much. Later went to Coimbra's republican square, to meet some of ana's friends, but i didn't have a great time - was too exhausted!
- Sunday 1 July Went with the oliveira family to lunch in Figuiera de Foz, saw the ultralights, walked on the beach after a very long lunch & otherwise saw the town (pretty nice beachisde resort, Antonio went there frequently as a kid). Then went up to the Serra Boa Viagem, where it was damp, then to Praia de Mira where we rented paddle boats, walked along the boardwalk, and ate dinner after a long trip through the coastal wilderness. Went back and slept, slept, slept.
- Monday 2 July - woke up late and went shopping for the stuff for our trip to the mountains (tent, sleeping mat, food). Left rather late, and traveled past Porto to Esposende where we had a long walk along the beach, coffee at the Bar de Praia. This eventually left us out of time, so we went to the orbitur camp site nearby, checked in late, then ate octopus black beans and flan at a nice local restaurant.. went to bed late, slept well.
- Tuesday 3 July - Woke up late arg to a gray and rainy day. Discovered that we had put up the tent incorrectly late that night. spent a long time seaking out internet back in Esposende because ana wanted to meet up with her friends & tell them about the party she was planning for Friday. Eventually we were on our way to this area near the boarder of Portugal and Spain -- but then we ran out of gas! tried pushing the car up the slope, but it was too hard, too heavy, and ana called the road-rescue-crew then later we went into a absolutely beautiful farmhouse to locate some diesel. The people inside were rather affable, and gave us 5 liters of petrol, which was enough to get us to the next gas pump or 'bomba'. I managed to spill diesel on my shorts - not good because I only had two! Later we went to the beautiful village of Ponte Da Barca (I think) where we walked along the river , visited the public pool (absolutely gorgeous!), walked through the city, and eventually got hungry and started looking for somewhere to eat. We found a very nice place - Kibom i think - and i had steak and mushrooms. Left after yet another desultory meal, and went to the Dois Rios campismo, where we set up the tent (correctly, this time) and got some rest!
- Wednesday 4 July - Awoke to a bright and clear day in the mountains; the campismo was much more interesting and nice during the day. Ate cereal and iogurte for breakfast, then traveled to Lindoso. Along the way we stopped to try a trail, but it turned out to be very overgrown and ana was afraid of vipers, so we did not go very far. In lindoso we visited a small ancient castle where ana's parents called to say that they were coming (this annoyed ana a bit), then went across the river up the hills , where we climbed pig hill and saw cows , horses, and feral dogs . it was really super incredible up there - wild, like scotland. I love that type of place. It was a clear day, too, so you could see at least 50km. we took the road further past many small vilages, winding through the hills, and saw many locals. Stopped for lunch by Lamas de Mouro, then continued to the small road by Castro Laboreiro, where we hiked for some 5 hours in the dazzling sunlight along the high plains of that region. It was truly incredible! I'll have to add photos: , , , , On the way there we had to go around a bunch of bulls and later we passed by a set of horses.. still later we crossed into Spain, as indicated by the Spanish no-trespassing sign (without needing to worry about border guards!). At the turnaround point we found a geyser of water .. in the middle of nowhere .. and ana called her parents to find out where they were. They had traveled all day & got stuck in the traffic around Porto, and eventually met us at the end of the trail in the high mountain pass. Ana and I then followed her parents through spain to a small restaurant in Campo do Geres (??), whence the subsequently left for Coimbra (Antonio had the day off - it was Coimbra day. Eventually got back to porto, found a campismo by Matosinhos. Got in too late to check in officially, so asked to pay later.
- Thursday 5 July - Awoke early, too early, to take a bus to Porto to take the train to the boat trip down the river. Spent the little extra time in porto drinking cafe (of course!) and going to the river. Slept most of the trainride; ana slept almost all! The boatride was rather chill ; I liked the forest and ana liked the vineyards; we both liked to the small beaches along the way, some of which had people, especially as the day wore on. Stopped in Gaia to ride a small pedal kart (kinda the highlight of the day), and eat some spicy thai food (thank god - portuguese do not believe much in spices!). Then it was late, and we had to wait for the bus back to Matozinhos (10pm); eventually got back, but again too late to pay, but fortunately ana called ahead and the conta was filled out already. Drove back to Coimbra, once again at very high velocity ;)
- Friday 6 July - woke up really late, like 1pm, and went shopping for the party, then later played in the pool and read calmly by the poolside, the waters of which had warmed up appreciably. Met Rita and Luisa (i think), who we met with Justin in NYC, then later Paulo and Vitor & their namoradas for dinner. This lasted until 3 in the morning, mostly because Paulos gf wouldn't shutup.
- Saturday 7 July - Ana visited her grandfather whilest I fitzed with the computer; later Denisa and another Rita came over for lunch, after which we went into Coimbra. returned home @ 6, then went out again to see the graduation ceremony for 3 students in Pharmacy, after which we spent some time shopping and walking around the area near the university in Coimbra. Ate dinner and were too tired for further escapades in the city.
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