Next up, Portugal and Spain! We decided to wing it on this trip, unlike our South Africa trip, where every single detail was planned. We left with only a round trip plane ticket, and a ticket for a flight to Mallorca from southern Spain. That’s it. Three days before we left, Dick hurt his back working on our log house. He got some good pain killers from his doctor and we were on our way!
Our first two days were in Lisbon eating fish and touring the city. We then rented a car to drive the length of Portugal through the country. After driving all day we came upon a toll booth. Not sure what this was for, the attendant asked for our “ticket”. Then it clicked, we drove right though the entrance to the highway at the red bridge leaving Lisbon. Because we had no ticket, we were charged double the longest distance, EIGHTY euro. Neither one of us had that much cash. They took us inside the transportation office, recorded our passport numbers, and instructed us to purchase an International money order when we got to Spain to pay the toll. Of course we agreed. Enough said. Guess we will not be traveling to Portugal again.
Seville, Spain was one of our favorite cities on this trip. Eating paella at outdoor cafes in the Old Town was great! As our luck would have it, there was a bullfight scheduled while we were there, a “treat” as the locals explained to us as the matadors were fighting the bulls on horses. Geez. Attending a bullfight is not for the faint of heart, but something you should do ONCE in your lifetime. The locals seemed to enjoy watching this massacre quite immensely, while we got drunk on local beer to be able to even sit in the place.
Next day after our hangover wore off, we drove the coast of Spain (Costa del Sol) to Malaga, with a stop in Gibraltar (known as The Rock). Since it is a separate country owned by the British, our passports were stamped on entry. The main road into Gibraltar is actually part of the airport runway, planes will not stop for you. We all know who will win that confrontation. It didn’t take long to drive the entire country since it is so small.
Upon our arrival in Malaga, we went to purchase a ticket for the overnight train to Valencia, where we would spend the day and fly to Mallorca that evening. SOLD OUT. Yikes! This winging it is sure working out, isn’t it? We hopped on a flight to Mallorca from Malaga, skipped Valencia, and lost our plane ticket from Valencia. Our arrival was 2am in Palma de Mallorca and guess what? No hotel reservation. Thankfully no one sleeps on that island and we were able to book a hotel through airport personnel. It actually was pretty nice so we stayed our entire time there.
Mallorca pleasantly surprised us, a very clean, pretty island. We traveled the island, taking the train to Soller and Alcudia. The hotel was one block off the beach, and across the street from our MOST favorite outdoor restaurant for breakfast, The Tango Bar. Cappuccino and eggs for breakfast every morning! We hated leaving, definitely on our list to return one day. On to our last stop before heading home, Barcelona.
Walking to the hotel from the airport train was a joke. Dick’s back was acting up, and he could not help carry any luggage. You can imagine what the locals thought seeing a woman struggling carrying two suitcases, following a man carrying nothing. The looks he got were priceless. All we could really do to tour the city was take the Hop On Hop Off double decker bus. The Temple Sagrada Familia, designed by Antoni Gaudi was the highlight of the city tour. Now we understand where the term “gaudy” came from, it was gaudy! The Olympic torch was strange looking too.
Lesson learned from this trip. Planning every detail of a trip, down to the last nano second, does not work. Neither does “winging” it. Meet somewhere in the middle.
