Explore, Discover and Get Lost

Wednesday, October 24th

Fully rested and ready to see the sights, the whole group (my dad, Toni, myself and the girls) woke up about 9am. We enjoyed my father’s famous breakfast once again. After pouring over some maps and guide tour options we had somewhat of a plan.
We decided to spend this day in old town Albuferia and perhaps if it were available, take a bus tour the next.
I gathered up my things as best I could, not wanting to leave anything important to me in the room. Before I left America, I had made a special trip up to the house to retrieve a backpack purse from my belongings, thinking it would be just the right bag for such a day as this. However, on the plane I discovered that the zipper was broken. Now it was to late. I ended up using Kaytee’s blue cloth backpack, which had many rips and was dirty. I didn’t want to use it, but it was all I had available to me. I thanked Kaytee for letting me borrow it since sharing doesn’t come easy for her.
At the resort lobby, we purchased tickets for the bus tour that would take us on a daylong excursion tomorrow and requested a taxi. My dad wanted to first stop at the train station for a schedule.
When the taxi arrived, we quickly learned that there weren’t enough seat belts and we wouldn’t all be able to fit. Instead of calling another cab or getting split up and going different directions, we decided to forgo the train stop and just walk to the bus stop that we hoped would take us into the old town area.
We walked quite a ways and wasn’t sure which bus would take us there. We asked anyone who could speak English and couldn’t have looked more like the stereotypical tourist with our maps out and pointing in all directions.
Finally we got on a bus and I said to the driver, “Tresh bilhetes por favor.” Three tickets please. Then I handed him 3 gold and silver coins that were worth 1 euro each.
I had learned a few phrases and words before leaving America, but saying them in a real situation was an odd feeling. It was both fun and scary at the same time. In the back of my mind I’m wondering…did I say it right? What if he says something back to me and I can’t understand him?
He kept his head down, busy with his job. Not suspecting a thing, he repeated “tresh” and handed me 3 ticket stubs. I sat down with a sense of victory that I had fooled the driver into believing I was not a tourist.
After a few more stops, we got off at what promised to be tourist shoppers galore. We took a few pictures and noticed a cute little tourist train that stopped behind us. We bought tickets and got on. After a while, we got off and started our souvenir hunt. The first thing I found was a new backpack purse for only 2 euro! Good buy. I wish everything else could have been so cheap.
I didn’t buy that much more…a mug, a magnet and some post cards. I’m not a big shopper. I usually like to buy a t-shirt, but these were kinda ugly and expensive. Why buy that?
I had more fun soaking in all the differences. Even the bathrooms (banos) were different. No seat covers on most and you push a button on the tank to flush. Back in the resort, you had to pull up on a lever to flush, but at least it had a seat cover. Bidays are widely used here, but I wasn’t brave enough to try one. Yikes!
Another thing that is different is the food. Portuguese don’t use dairy products like we do. Except for cheese. They swear that it doesn’t come from a cow. Which is easy to believe since they use very little beef. Pork and lamb are #1. I was brave enough to try their ice cream. The banana was awesome! I only had a lick for fear of getting sick. I am happy to report that I did not get one single stomach pain while in Portugal. ☺
We walked and walked and walked… my dad and Toni in the lead. We were trying to find the town square. We never found it. I have a pretty good sense of direction, but I didn’t want to be rude acting like I knew where I was going in a foreign country. Once everyone started complaining of sore feet and being hungry, I took control and got us back to the little train.
We ate dinner at a place that looked like it wanted so much to be an American fast food chain. The place was dressed in bright bold colors of yellow, blue and red with big pictures of fries, hamburgers and hot dogs hanging on every wall. Inside you could watch VH1 on a flat screen TV. The menu was interesting. Meals came with a cheeseburger, fries and a BEER! Or you can order pizza and a beer. Luckily the beer could be substituted for soda. I gave my beer to dad and had a real drink…vodka, cherry rum and pineapple juice. They called it a San Francisco.
I had a hamburger that tasted nothing like a hamburger. What the heck was it? I don’t think I want to know.
It was getting late, but there was still so many shops left to explore. Kaytee bought a pair of boxer shorts at a store called “Funky Fish” and Megan bought bubble bath and a necklace.
By the time we got back on the bus it was dark. My dad told the driver we wanted to go to Balagia Village.
The driver took us to the entrance to a resort that said “Balagia” but we all knew it wasn’t the right place. When my dad tried to ask the driver about it, he was greeted with annoyance and told to get off! Arguing with this driver who spoke very little English was pointless. We stepped off the bus not knowing where the heck we were.
Time to get out the map and look at street signs. Nothing. We wondered around a bit. I wasn’t about to ask anyone for help since we were standing in front of a bar and the people walking out were scary looking and mostly drunk.
I tried to flag down a cab, but it doesn’t work that way. They won’t stop on the road like that…you have to call them.
We decided to find the receptions desk at the resort that wasn’t ours. It took forever to find it! My dad and Toni went in and spoke with the receptionist.
“We have good news and bad news.” Toni said when she came back out.
“The bad news is, we can’t get a cab to come here. The good news is it’s only about a mile or so back to our resort.”
I knew it! I knew that billboard we walked past looked familiar! O’well. I smiled and said, “Hey, it’s all part of the adventure!” Kaytee and Megan didn’t see it that way.
We arrived back to the room at about 9pm and went right to sleep. We would be getting up early the next day for a guided tour to the end of the world.