The End of a Beautiful Trip

The road trip is over. The boys are gone. Looking back at the time we spent together and the places that we say I really had an amazing time, and I definitely learnt a lot, both about myself and about guys.

Final Part of the Itinerary:

Day 13 Lisboa to Setubal
Day 14 Setubal to Vila Nova de Milfontes
Day 15 Milfontes to Sagres
Day 16 Sagres
Day 17 Sagres
Day 18 Sagres to Sevilla


I left off talking about arriving in Lisboa. That night Brett’s friend (with whom we were staying the night) drove us into the center and showed us around the town. It was a Monday night and yet there were so many people still out and about drinking, talking, and generally enjoying life. He took us to the Barrio Alta, where he said that on a Friday or Saturday night the small side streets are so packed with people that you have to force your way through the crowds. For this I was quite happy that we were going out on a Monday night. We bought beers at a local bar and then left, beers in hand, to wander the streets. Nowhere in Vancouver, nor Canada, can you calmly walk around with a beer; it actually felt very civilized. There weren’t people stumbling or throwing up everywhere, but were gathered in groups, talking and laughing, generally having a good, respectful, time.



The next morning we had a bit of a late start, but eventually made it onto the bus and back to the center, to discover it in the light of day. Like many cities in Portugal and Spain small streets and alleyways split off one way or the next, giving you the option to take the same general route in a variety of ways. I was quite impressed with how long the guys actually did continue sightseeing, as they have made it very clear many times before that they are not interested in seeing big cities. Surprisingly enough I actually got them to take a tourist tram car up to a view point of the city.



The visit to Lisboa ended that evening at around 10pm, as we once again set off to a new destination. Why we didn’t just stay the night and go the next morning, I’m not quite sure, probably due to the fact that they were badly itching to get out of the city and closer to a beach. That night was spent in a natural park just outside of Setubal, and situated right on the ocean. That being said we didn’t even enjoy the park as we left early the next morning to travel to South Portugal to a small town called Vila Nova de Milfontes.

Vila Nova de Milfontes was supposedly known for having good waves and you could see the guys excitement as we drew closer and closer to the waves. Once again Brett had a contact there and so after getting the general direction of an obscure surfing beach we went off in search for the waves. Due to the misunderstanding of the directions we ended up going for a bit of an off-roading experience in the sand dunces, which was quite stressful due to the fact that we definitely did not have a 4X4 vehicle. Luckily we never got too stuck and in the meantime found some beautiful spots where we thought it would be great to camp. But like everything on this trip, things changed, and instead of having a rustic night on the beach we ended up meeting with Brett’s friend, Hena, and having a big dinner and party at the surf camp that she worked at.

Though we had been drinking wine and beer every night since we left San Sebastian we had rarely gone out with the attention to drink and party, therefore the guys definitely took this opportunity to let loose and have a good time. Walking back to the campgrounds in the pitch black with only a hand-drawn map in hand, proved to be an experience of its own. Enough said.

The next day was spent entirely on the beach (as per usual), but this time I actually went surfing. Brett’s friend had an extra board and wetsuit that she lent me and so I finally took the opportunity to do what I’ve been meaning to do the whole trip, and went surfing. I had such a good time that I started to regret that I hadn’t been surfing the whole time, but then again if I had gone surfing the whole time I wouldn’t have had the opportunities to explore all the little towns along the way.

This seems to have turned out to be quite the boring blog. I guess though we did see a lot, we didn’t actually do all that much. We spent a lot of time on the beach. It really has been a fun and wonderful time and I guess it’s difficult to describe the sights and views from the cliffs that tend to tower over the little beaches; better to see for yourself in the pictures.

Our final destination ended up being the town of Sagres, which I believe is the most southwestern point in Europe (we have down many ‘points’ along this journey.) We didn’t actually end up seeing much of the town but did visit el Cabo de San Vincente, which is where the actual point is located, and a beach about 10km north of the town.

Spent the days on the beach, nights eating and drinking a lot, blah, blah, blah.

The last day we were going to hang out on the beach during the day and then move on to another town to sleep. That didn’t end up happening. The guys got word of a surf party on the beach and were really excited about spending their last night hanging out with surf girls, drinking lots, and sleeping on the beach. And so that’s what we did. Well, we hung out more together than with surf girls and ended up setting up our tent at 2am right next to our car in the parking lot, but that was right next to the beach so I believe that it counted.



We woke up the next day (the boys feeling a bit sore and hungover) and I drove us to Sevilla and our separation point. It’s sad to think that I probably won’t see them ever again. After having spent the past 19 continuous days I had become quite used to, and attached, to them I was a bit nervous to set out on my own once again. But I suppose that is life and I know that I now am much more prepared to travel alone then I was at the beginning of the journey. The next post will be exactly this, talking about my experience traveling by myself and the difference from when I first started out 4 months ago, in June.

Day 13 of the Spain/Portugal Trip

It has been 13 days since we’ve been on the road and we have covered A LOT of land and at the beginning barely stopped. We were staying somewhere different every night and driving 4-6 hours every day. That being said we have seen a lot. We’ve discovered hidden towns and beaches along the way and have gone through some large and famous cities such as Santiago de Compostela in Galacia in Spain and Porto in Portugal.

Here’s what the itinerary looks like so far:

Day 1: San Sebastian to Mundaka
Day 2: Mundaka; lunch in Bermeo; Sopelana
Day 3: Sopelana; lunch in San Vincente de Burques; Cudillero
Day 4: Cudillero to Fisterre
Day 5: Fisterre; lunch and walk in Santiago de Compostela; Viana do Castelo (Portugal)
Day 6: Viana do Castelo; lunch and walk in Porto; Figuera do Foz; Pedrogao
Day 7: Pedrogao to Peniche
Day 8: Visit to Ilhas de Berlenga (islands off of Peniche)
Day 9: Peniche
Day 10/11: Peniche to Ericeira
Day 12: Ericeira; lunch and walk in Sintra; Lisboa

I had been to Mundaka before so that wasn’t anything to exciting and Sopelana was really close by and just a beach and a modern town nearby, so again not that interesting. It was when we arrived in Cudillero that it got really exciting for me.

Cudillero is this small picturesque town that is described as being ‘airlifted out of Greek Island. ’ It hugs the cliffs as these incredibly small streets wind their way down to the coast. There the street turns and you can see a cascade of coloured houses coming down a steep hill. Unfortunately we didn’t stay long there at all as the guys were itching to get to the beach to surf and I only got one blurry photo as we drove through the town.


Fisterre is an ugly town that seems quite confused about what it is trying to look like. It has both modern and old parts but they don’t meld in any way. Translated it is called ‘the end of the world because when it was discovered the explorer walked to the end of a point and from the tip could not see any land on any side; this is the western most point of Spain. It was true, at the tip you couldn’t see any land straight ahead or to your right, but when there was no fog, you could see the beginning of Portugal on your left.



There is a trek/pilgrimage that starts as far north as Paris down the coast of Spain, almost to the top of Portugal. This passes through Santiago de Compostela in southern Spain which is filled with churches and religious icons. There is one very famous cathedral there which on the outside looks like it’s been standing there since the 1200 as it has a bit of a dark green tinge to it. Inside all there is really is the place in front of the pews which looks like it is made of solid gold.

After passing Santiago de Compostela the pilgrims trek to their last destination, Fisterre (the end of the world.) We did it in reverse and first went to Fisterre and then passed by Santiago de Compostela on the way down to Portugal. The pilgrims end their trek here and supposedly burn their clothes as a symbol of the termination. I didn’t see any burning clothes but instead clothes and shoes hung all over a metal radio tower.

Unfortunately I slept through the crossing between Spain and Portugal but about 20km south of the border I could already see the vast difference in the architecture and style of the Portuguese. We stopped at a small fishing town called Viana do Caminho. Again I fell in love with it, but again we didn’t stay long. Throughout Portugal, but moreso, it seems, in the North, the houses are decorated with a full wall of patterned tiles. This gives the towns a lot of colour and a stunning uniqueness. From there we went on to Viana do Castelo, which unfortunately was not as beautiful, but the guys got some waves which made them very happy.

Once again we were on the move the next day but I forced them to stop in Porto to have lunch and see the sights. At first they were not that interested, but as per usual they ended up liking walking around the small streets and taking photos. Besides from being surfers two are graphic designers and photographers; the other is a chef.

Porto was beautiful and I really wish that I could have spent a lot more time there, but it was time to move on to a very hidden and small resort town called Pedrogao. We thought that it was going to be a remote place on the beach, but when we came out from the woods there was quite an ugly ghost town standing in front of us. It had obviously been built in the last 10-15 years and it was obvious that it tended to only be inhabited during the summer. There was nobody around. And what was worse, there was no good surf. We left the next day for Peniche.

We stayed three nights in Peniche, which felt so good to do. Again, not the prettiest of cities, but it had some history and the beaches were nice. While the guys surfed I visited the old part, the beaches, and the local island, Ilha do Berlenga. The island had been turned into a protected park 15 years ago, but I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps if my sister were there she could tell me, but the only things that I saw were seagulls, lizards, and a LOT more seagulls. That being said the island had beautiful roughness to it and looked a bit like scorched earth. It had red rocks and cliffs which fell into a bright blue ocean.


From Peniche we moved on to Ericeira (which is the western most point of Europe) where we stayed for 2 nights. This was a beautiful town. It didn’t seem like it had much from the outside of the town, but once in the old town you found small shops, cobbled streets, and houses and churches painted white with blue trim. The guys found some great waves here and it was hard to get them to leave, but eventually we did, once again.



Yesterday we left Ericeira for a short drive inland to Sintra, which is an old medieval town that has a beautiful morrish influence on its architecture. We stopped there for lunch and walk around. As the guys sat in the car and either slept or read I paid to enter the palace grounds and see the architecture up front. It was incredible and I could have easily spent a whole day just walking around the trails looking at all the different ancient ruins.


Now we are in Lisboa. It supposed to be just a one night stay, but currently we have no plans on where we will be going next, so who knows.

Traveling with 3 guys is definitely a challenge on the patience and my slight OCD with organization. Either none of them want to make a decision or else they have one idea/desire and nothing else matters. They take absolutely ages in the grocery store trying to decide what to purchase, and usually return with just meat and beer if I don’t go along. The running joke now is that they wouldn’t be able to survive without me as they never know where they have put any of the food, utensils, etc, where they are going, or what things are essential to buy. Sometimes it’s like I’m traveling with a bunch of children, but honestly they are really good guys, and they go out of their way sometimes to make sure that I’m happy.

On the Road Again

So, here I go again. I have finally left San Sebastian, after two and half months of working, laying on the beach, and way too much partying; after all of this my body really needs a break.

I had an amazing time in San Sebastian and have some very fond memories to look back on, most of which are depicted by photos that have been uploaded onto Facebook of course. The memories that come to mind the most is my first week there as I got to know the people and the town, and the party scene. It was all such a new experience for me that I absorbed every minute of the day and experienced it to the fullest. This first week gave me the confidence to put myself out there and the reassurance that I was going to be okay, in which ever situation that I land.

My next memory would probably not that interesting to most of you, but it is of playing volleyball on the beach day in and day out for about 3 weeks. It became an obsession for some friends of mine and myself and we would wait patiently at the beach for our group of Spanish guy friends to arrive so that we could play a number of rounds in the scorching sun and then cool off in the water. From this and the hours and hours spent in a bikini and watching other women of all different sizes walk around topless, I have learnt to become more comfortable in my own body and with my own shape. This was also improved by the general amount of attention that myself and the rest of the female population got from men as the ratio is about 1 female : 4 men (the opposite of Vancouver.)

Pamplona. Pamplona and the Running of the Bulls is definitely an experience that I will never forget. The energy that filled the air and the general tone of everybody was harmonic. Never in Vancouver could you peacefully have some many drunken idiots in the same place at the same time without some serious issues. But there, I didn’t see one fight, I didn’t see one angry face, only thousands of happy people wearing white clothes with red scarfs. This may have been due to the drunken glasses that I was wearing, but I still stand strong on my belief that it was a remarkably happy and festive event. Here I stepped out of my safety net as I got into the camper van with group of strangers, save one. Here I didn’t sit in the background and watched but was out on the street like the rest of the idiots, dancing, cheering, and laughing. It was perhaps one of the most cheerful moments I’ve been in.

Continuing down the river of memories would take me to my two bike trips down the coast into the next towns, one 20km south and the other 26km. I think that these come to mind so strongly because it was when I was getting to the point when I felt I was tiring of the lifestyle there and being able to get away from the city and into more rural and rugged coast made me feel so free and jovial. It also came at a time when I hadn’t been doing regular exercise so being on a bike for 4 hours made me physically feel wonderful. It reminded me how much I love being active and enjoy doing things other than drinking, dancing, and being hung-over and overly tired.

There are so many other memories that I have from my time there and I leave this beautiful city with a lot more knowledge and love for myself and off to a new and very different experience.

I’m currently sitting in a car in a small surfing town 100km south of where I have just been, called Mundaka. My backaches and my eyes are shutting from the terrible night of ‘sleep’ that I have just had staying in a tent, without a mattress and without a sleeping bad, but I’m excited.

About two weeks ago I decided to hitch a ride with a friend of mine who was traveling with his friend from Uruguay down the west coast of Spain and Portugal, on a surfing expedition. I figured that it would be something totally different and a great way to see parts of Europe, whilst still being with some friends and not alone. And I still have no question that it will be amazing, but we first need to find somewhere to buy a bit more equipment and not just what we found at the hostel from the tourists who had left it behind.