Portugal

 4/19/25

We took an early bus to Faro, Portugal. We went to the airport there and rented a tiny little stick shift car. We stopped at a supermarket to get supplies and then drove to Albufeira, a cute, but touristy beach town were we walked the beach, climbed up on the cliffs and had some lunch. Our plan was to rent the car to have freedom to explore the beautiful Algarve coast. 

After Albufeira, we hopped into the car and drove to Praia (beach) Marinha where we hiked the Sete Vales Suspensos (7 hanging valleys) trail which followed along the beautiful coast for many miles, coming across hidden beaches, lots of natural arches, and sinkholes. It was super gorgeous as the cliffs are a bright yellow and th water a pretty jade. The coast is also very rugged. To get to some of the beaches, you have to take secret passageways cut into the rock. We also peered, from above, into the Benagil cave and beach. After the hike, we found a hostal in Portimão and ate dinner (Chinese) there near the Praia (beach) do Rocha.

4/20/25 Happy Easter!

It was an off and on raining, clouds, and sun day, but we spent a lot of time at the stunning Ponta de Piedade near Lagos. Ponta de Piedade is full of cliffs, hidden beaches, and nooks and crannies in the cliffs. It has some similarities to Utah geology (like Bryce Canyon), but right next to the ocean. We hiked out to a lot of cliff points to explore the rugged coastline. We enjoyed our chocolate easter bunny and then I went for a swim at Praia do Camilo. Cold! 

We then drove out to Sagres to visit Cabo de São Vicente, which is the most Southwestern point in Europe. There is a lighthouse and really high cliffs that we walked along. We visited Praia do Beliche where we watched the surfers. 

Next we drove to the Alfanzina lighthouse and hiked a bit along the cliffs there before driving to Carvoeiro to see the beach and have dinner (Indian). It's a cute little beach town with the white buildings. We then drove to Faro to stay at our beachside hostel.

4/21/25

Enjoyed sunrise over the beach and ocean from the terrace on our hostel. We then dropped the car off early in the am and caught a bus to rainy Lisbon (Lisboa). We took the subway to near our hostel and checked in. The hostel was a really well-designed hostel (Avenue Hostel) that had unlimited FREE Hot Cocoa!

We waited for the rain to stop and then headed out to the city. We took a cool free walking tour of the old Alfama district checking out churches, squares, the castle, the famous cable cars (including cable car 28), and viewpoints of the 7-hilled city. We tried the famous Pastéis de Nata custard pastry (eh, so, so). After the tour we hiked up to several more viewpoints where we had a bucket of Sangria and a shot of the cherry liqueur Ginjinha in a chocolate shot glass and enjoyed the sunset. We then went to have a traditional Portuguese seafood meal at a food market. Then it was back to the hostel for cocoa!

4/22/25

We got up early to walk to some viewpoints in the Alfama district. It was a nice sunny day, and we had great views of the old city with its redd roofs, the river, ocean, San Francisco style bridge, and mini Christ the Redeemer statue. 

We then walked to the train station and took a train to the cute and charming town of Sintra where we hiked through a cool boulder-filled forest to reach the whimsical palaces and Moorish castle. We walked by the National Palace of Sintra, then climbed steeply up the forest to go by the Moorish castle. We then visited the Pena palace, a multi-colored palace atop a hill, with a cool architectural style that could be straight out of a fairy tale. We then hiked on the trails around the palace to viewpoints (including one that required some rock climbing) and past little lakes filled with salamanders and ducklings. We then visited the Quinta da Regaleira where we toured the inside of the palace, visited a waterfall, climbed some cool towers, then descended deep into the bowels of the earth by taking the stairs down the initiation well and then walking through cool underground passageways. 

The Quinta da Regaleira has some fascinating history and is worth a google search. It was owned by Carvalho Monteiro who had a love for the natural sciences by was also fascinated by (and probably a member of) the Freemasons and Knights Templar. He was also interested in lyrical poetry. These combination of interests, mixed with his spirituality gave rise to the magical Quinta da Regaleira. As one person put it: "But what drew me to the place, most of all, was how it seemed to have been conjured up by magic from the stones of the mountain of Sintra itself. Its towers and bridges seemed not to be man made, but created by the spirits of nature. The Quinta da Regaleira is a place half in the real, and half in an imagined world. WIth clever architecture, tapping into a multitude of mystical beliefs through time and many different cultures, the palace has managed to conjure up an atmosphere of enchantment. The genius is apparent throughout the site. THere are many structures that seem perfectly natural, but are not."

The Initiation Well which descends 27 meters into the ground, is, perhaps, one of the most famous attractions in all of Sintra. It is more or less an inverted tower. It was built for spiritual reasons. It was designed, so it is said, to represent the nine circles of Dante's inferno. It was used for initiation rites for the Knights Templar where the candidates for initiation would descend blindfolded, holding a sword close to their heart potentially representing a symbolic journey to the center of the Earth.

After visiting the sights of Sintra, we hopped a train back to Lisbon and ate at a small, cheap, and delicious restaurant (seafood). We had some Ginjinha shots, got a $2 bottle of wined and then went back to relax at the hostel.

4/23

Very early flight, so we took a bolt rideshare (like uber) to the airport. Then a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt and then Lufthansa flight to Denver (watched 4 movies!). Mom picked us up and drove us to Estes