I’m not one to have a “bucket list” nor do I proclaim New Year’s resolutions. I’m finding the older more experienced I get the less I worry about long-term planning, or pretty much making any plans at all.  Perhaps it has something to do with retirement and the level of flexibility and freedom it offers.  Or, maybe, it’s just because I’ve stopped worrying about what might happen, opting instead to live in the here and now.

To say the least it’s been a rough start to the new year, the new decade.  I’m not sure anything more could happen to make the headlines around the world any worse, but I shouldn’t jinx it.  The images and reports coming out of Australia are heartbreaking.  Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency after a series of earthquakes, and hundreds of thousands protesters, led by the courage of a seventeen-year-old girl, are taking to the streets every Friday around the world, to bring awareness to climate change.  And, of course, the contentious conflict between the US and Iran, which has me thinking of our travels through Iran.

It’s no secret that Porto, Portugal is our most favorite city in Europe.  Well, at least of the cities we’ve actually visited.  We think of the city as our home-away-from-home and we spend as much time as we can in Porto.  So when a friend asked for a few suggestions (aside from the obvious tourist sites) for spending time in the city, I pulled together a list of our favorite insider tips.  Then I thought, why not share the adventure?  So, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Although we didn’t know very much about Sintra, before our 3-day visit, we did know that Pena Palace was the attraction that visitors flock to by the millions.  And, that the views from the hilltops were reportedly breathtaking.  It was with those notions in mind, and the forecast of a clear day, we chose to visit Pena Palace on our last day in Sintra.  Here’s how we did it.

As we rode the local train from Lisbon to Sintra, I had flashbacks of our arrival, by train, in to Marseille, France. At the time of our visit, my expectations for Marseille were high, but reality was a cold splash of water in my face.  I think Marseille is one of those cities that one either loves, or doesn’t.  I was on the side of doesn’t and I was hoping Sintra would not disappoint in the same fashion.

I had been saying from day one that when we reached Padron, Spain, I wanted to sit down and relax with a pitcher of Sangria and a plate of roasted Padron peppers.  I got the Sangria, but not the peppers.

Camino Portuguese. I’m not sure if it was the alarm chirping or the splattering of the rain pelting our hotel room window that awakened us to day nine, but either way both of us thought the same thing at the same moment.  OMG!  It’s still raining!

Before leaving Porto we bought two travel umbrellas for three euros each.  It would prove to be the best six euros we spent while walking the Camino Portuguese.  As I mentioned in our last post we made it to Valenca before the rain rolled in and several hours later when it did, it did so with a vengeance.  Dressed in full rain gear and with umbrellas open, we started day seven walking in the rain and crossing the Minho River to Tui, Spain.

Valenca. According to our Portugal Green Walks road book, our walk from Ponte de Lima to Cossourado would prove to be the most challenging.  At just shy of 14 miles it wasn’t our longest walk on the Camino Portuguese but it was indeed a strenuous and somewhat relentless day.  It was also the day I received the first of two backhanded compliments and it was the day we were forced to remember why it’s so important to live the life you want to live.

The oldest city in Portugal, Ponte de Lima, is named after the medieval bridge that crosses the Lima River.  I swear any time a city has a river that flows through the city center you know it’s going to be a special place and Ponte de Lima did not disappoint.  What is it about a river anyway? As it turned out, the city proved to be a welcome respite while walking the Camino Portuguese.