were all so quiet while ben was driving.  as we decided at lagos were going to drive up to save time for the long drive back to cedeira, spain as portugal is one hour less than spain (time zone) we have to be as early as possible.

we decided to camp somewhere in sines, portugal - were not sure of this place but can SAVE money for avoiding tolls. the drive from lagos to sines was excruciatingly painful. we drove through the mountains with zigzaggy roads, up, down and up again.  it was only allowed to drive 50 kms, there were lots of hidden cameras around. ben didnt knew - i tiold them they were hidden atop the stop lights - small ones as small as a child's fist.

as we drove through the mountains, there was a point that we had a big truck in front of us and it was so slow, ben all of a sudden overtook it. my heart was beating so fast after - i mean, what if a car was coming from the otherside?!!! lori was really scared because she was in a car accident before. after that - i began to laugh. hahahahahahahahahaha we almost cheated death in that point. escape artists.

the small 2 lane road - if it werent me or the guys were anxious, had magnifiecent views left and right - gorges on the left, rivers and mountains and to my window - old rustic houses, windmills and fields full of rapsöl (i dont know how to say it in english).

we passed a small town called odemira, from there to cercal and some other small villages which were very picturesque - old portugal as never seen by tourists. robbo at one point said that it looks like countryside mexico with people with traditional costumes, and hat just sitting on the benches and relaxing.

it was dark already when we entered the small city of sines.  it was strange and freaky...... it was dark and murky. we were gretted by big factory chimneys and bad smell. i was scared for the very first time in the trip but i didnt showed it. scared - because no one speaks either english nor spanish - let alone german in the places weve been to in portugal. 

when we entered the town - it was really dark and very quiet but there were lights from the distance. we followed the road going to the lights but it was closed because apparently theyre having a feast and we must detour - it was a juxtaposition of events - dark, sleepy and murky town but theyre celebrating a feast - from the looks of it - no one was there in the feast itself.

we tried to fnd "centro" again but it was detoured so we had to backtrack - we passed a small group of people eating outside in a restaurant. i was dreading this - to ask questions.  since were all both tired - the girls decided to sleep in a hotel. so i tried to communicate with the people - it was hard - really, i am tired, hungry and sleepy - my mind wasnt working anymore. i wished in that moment that i am back in germany. this situation happened to me in greece when i was in a small village - but it was only me that time - i can take care of myself - but if 5 people are depending on me - it was too much.

i asked directions for a hotel - all we did was body language and pointing fingers - so we went off with the car. suddenly only a few meters of driving, a car came up to us! the women i asked questions! they said to us to follow them because they would direct us to a hotel! U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E the height of portuguese hospitality!

when we got there - i told them the only portuguese word i knew in my entire life - OBREGADO (thank you).  since lori was so eager to find a hotel - she was willing to go - and since nobody can communicate well than me (im not pulling myself up - i just have a connection with the romanish language) lori and me decided to go. it was freaking chilly and windy - i dont have any warm clothes with me. we went to a hotel which looked farely 4 star (to be honest i dont have any money to pay for this). they were full already so no spaces left - good thing the staffs spoke english so lori asked them if they knew another hotel - the woman directed us - so me and lori kept walking and walking until we cannot find it. suddenly a man came up and lori asked him - he was staying in a 3 star hotel somewhere near us! so we went there - the man spoke perfect english and i let lori do the talking while i smoked outside (i needed it badly).

the rooms were perfect it was a very cheap. but i told lori i didnt need a room, i can sleep in the car - because i dont have money to pay anymore. when we got back - there was a unanimous decision - since its not a must for all of us to sleep in the hotel - we all decided to sleep in the car hahahahahaha - BUT we also decided to chip in money for a room in the hotel for ben. as a gift for him for depending our lives while he was driving, for his calmness while driving and leaving us still unscathed (hahahaha) its also a preparation for him, so he can sleep good because he will have  LONG DRIVE TOMORROW - from sines, portugal - cedeira spain will take 12 hours of driving.

we parked the car near the hotel, and all of us went there - the man was a bit suprised that all of us were there but only 1 guy is checking in! hahahahahahahaha it reminds me of my highschool days...  we dont have money and we go to mcdonalds.. all of us in the counter but were only ordering one big french fries with shared money and share with 5-6 people :) times had changed it will never be the same but the wonderful memories will remain.

the frontdesk guy was so hellpful to us he even let rubs and hannah use the hotel toilet and if ever any of us needs toilet in the morning all we have to do is go in there.

he told us that theres a town feast and we should go there! before we can even ask for directions - he already wrote it on paper! i was... i dont know whether to laugh or cry. i had never received this hospitality from stangers in europe all my life.

when we went down - since were at the top of a hill - were going to a street named "rua da vasco da gama" i just discovered that vasco da gama was born in sines....  i had goosebumps all over me, since my favorite subject is world history - he is well known in my history books in the golden age of european exploration where he discovered goa, india and lots of places in south africa. here i am standing in a small city where history took place - i am living my dream. i gave justice to my favorite subject in the world - history. i couldnt ask for more.

at the feast - everybody was looking at us! hahahhahahaha they were totally unexpecting strangers -  let alone NON PORTUGUESE - i was quite a bit embarassed because i am a low profile person and not used bein being watched with attention.

we all felt like celebrities there! a sleepy old town - then people from 5 different countries just invaded it! hahahahahahahahaha.

in the middle was an old school rock and roll band playing classic songs! amazing! we splitted up - the girls and the guys - so me, robbo and ben were really hungry and wandered off to find real food - we found a bbq stand with sausages, steaks, pork chops and more! amazing the guy can speak english! hallelujah! hahahahahahaha.

as we were waiting to pay - some random old man sneaked up behind robbo AND TOUCHED HIM in his waist and body and whispered somethign to him! hahahahahhahahahaahahahaah he was speechless and i was in shock!  hahaha i was the only one who saw it and i cant help laughing all the time! hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahaha sorry alex - i cant stop laughing ifi remmber it! hahahahahahahahaha you were punkd! hahahaha

the girls found a bar with a guy from the uk was also working - all was in good mood! i had sausages and fries - but i didnt ate it - it was too salty - i think they marinated it in saltwater because it taste like the ocean! hahahahahah hahahah. we had our FIRST EVER SANGRIA and IN PORTUGAL NOT IN SPAIN! hahahahahahaaha it was flowing with sangria as robbo i think kept ordering! i didnt drank that much coz i dont wanna have a headache. then rubs eyes were wide open because i popped out burgers from mcdonalds in my bag! hahahahahahaha

everything was perfect - it was almost magical! there we were - got lost, tired, hungry, nowhere to go, tensions - this was the perfect way to break the cool ice.

we hanged out till 1 am as we listened to the great band who was playing! but ben must go to sleep, as we all planned to leave at 6 in the morning in portugal (7 am in spain). robbo, hannah, rubs and lori still went to the beach - me and ben went up - i want to sleep already in the car.

i brushed my teeth outside the car and gargled beside a house :D hahahahahahahahahahaha - i waited - till 2 am till the guys came back before i go to sleep because i have the car key.

i  slept with a smile on my face. we bonded all the 6 of us spitirually and emotionally - we overcame another challenge that has been set upon us.

we may not be in the best beaches of portugal, but definitely in sines, we experienced the culture, the hospitality and the heart of portugal.

"getting lost is the true beauty of travelling" - i quote you rubs.



lucky rubber duckie - you saved us again.

Wandering around Almada, I suddenly realized I was in another town--so I took another video clip at the park where the old men all get together to play cards...

Next stop: Setubal.

It''s more of an industrial city--but it's still got a very nice old quarter--and there's a castle on a nearby hillside--I tried to go explore it but the rain turned me back.

Noticed a lot of Brazilians here--and finally got someone to listen to my music... an old fellow who, as it turns out, was Ukranian... I was glad to have an audience, in fact, a went against protocol and actually played a few cover songs for him...

The beaches south of Sines towards Porto Covo are different than the ones north of Sines. Here you find rocks, cliffs and beaches that are more secluded. The waters here a full of surfers and all the carparks are full of autocampers and old vans rebuild to fit the surfers who live here the most of summer.

The city of Porto Covo is a nice city all white houses - reminding a bit of the ones you find in Greece. There are a lot of restaurants serving fresh fish and in the evenings they are quite full. 

Coming from the cold north both of us - Estonia and Denmark - means that enjoying the sun and the beaches is a big part of the day on our Portugal trip. We are not staying there all day but we can stay on the beach 4-6 hours depending on wind, temp and more.

The beaches here are really nice. The only things that you have to be aware of is the power of the sun - there is more power here than in Spain - I dont know why but I felt it many times on my own body. The second thing is the Atlantic Ocean. The waves can be massive and the water can be tricky - It has been more than once that I have seen that they have had to do a rescue operation on the beach.

We were lucky with weather it was not too cold or too warm - around the 25 degrees on the beach - +30 in the country but the water and the wind cools down a lot. We had one day there where there were really big waves - and it was extremely beautiful just to sit, listen and watch the water all day. Life can in a very simple way be very pleasant.  

You can actually rewrite the same story as for Sines about Santiago. It is indeeed a very nice city which is placed 15 km from the coast on a hill - it is 15 km north of Sines. The view from the city castle is great and on a clear day you have a magnific view from there. It is also a city where there is a lot of building activities. The city really have a life both in the day ttime and in the evenings - the calm way.

In daytime the actions are concentrated around the old maket place - where the local farmers sell there products - prizewise there are more expensive than the new supermakets - but it is more fun to talk to the old ladies and look at the their sales. I like to shop there - almost every morning I went to the market to buy fresh fruit or to the cafés next door to get a strong coffee. 

In the evening people go out to eat or just sit in the cafees to talk the people walking by. We just loved to take an evening walk in the hilly streets of the city and listen to the activities in the houses or apartments. TV´s are on full power constantly playing soaps. Discussion are ongoing around the dinner tables - and you are in the middle of it - it is great:D

One of the points we had in our trip was to almost daily go to Sines. We almost did all our shopping there and it is one of the cities in the area that have most restaurants. Sines is a quiet city that seemes to decline every time we visit it. Many of the shops we visited last year was this year closed - not for holiday but permanently I am sad to say. There is still a good life in the city but just as many other places the small shops close, restaurants and pubs. Sad but the fact.

One of the things that amazes is the number of new apartment they are building in a town that are deminishing - but I think that this is due to the fact that the people in the old inner city are seeking the comfort of new apartments - and in this area it will take years before the the old inner city will get popular again.

It is a very nice city without many tourists besides Portugese. It is very seldom that you met a car from another country - but it is also a fact that Portugal is one of the cheapest places in Europe to rent a car, so a lot of tourists fly to Lisboa and rent a car in the airport for 2 weeks - I have also done that many times.  

Leaving towards Portugal in the morning was quiet rewarding. We slept way up the in hotel Roma and we had breakfast and otherwise just enjoyed the fact that the sun was stong from the morning. The summer this year in both Brussels and Copenhagen had been hopeless if you like sunshine like we both do.

We got rapidly on the freeway and  the traffic was very calm. The motorway from Madrid towards Lissaboa on a sunday morning is very sparse - once in a while you have the local sunday trip that you have to pass. The landscape in this reagion is very beautiful - and having driven there before always had me looking forward to come back. You can be very alone in this region.

Passing the border to Portugal made us feel really good our favorite part of Portugal was now in sight less than 160 km from the border. Our ain this time was actually to find a hotel in Sines city, so we started there. We had not booked anything on this trip, and this offcause gives you a lot of freedom but also some risks. Our experience though in this area didn't make us nervous - yet. We went in to the fisrt Hotel in Sines which had 4 stars - but we quickly went out again since their proposal was 150 € pr. night - which in this area is rather steep. We found a couple of other residencials and hotels but they didn't have anything that fitted us. Either the rooms were too sleezy or we could not stay for more than one or two nights. Therefor we drove to Santo Andre.

In Santo Andre we only could identify two hotes but they were both full - really nice but full. We therefore went to Santiago do Cacem where we also stayed in 2006. I really like this calm little city only 13km from Sines and the same disatnce from the coast. The hotel we stayed at last year was full - it turned out that the week had a bank holiday - and almost all Portugease had taken that week off. We tried the other hotel in the cite and had luck. Actually a lot of it because it was a very nice hotel.

We checked in and took a quick shower and went in ti Sines to get some food at the Habour Restaurant there.   

Pool genießen und Sonne tanken

Hauptsächlich putzen und die Sonne genießen,

am Abend waren wir noch in Bairro Alto, einem Stadtteil Lissabons

Driving into Santiago do Cacem we had hoped to get the same hotel again as last year but due to a bank holiday it was full - and thank you for that. We went a bit further into the city and checked if they had a room at the Albergaria. We were lucky so we checked in for the coming 5 day. The hotel was nice, the room we got was a bit small but the beds were nice and teh bathroom just as well. We got a nice view directly down to the pool and to the towns castle. The service at the hotel was always friendly and very service minded. The breakfast was above standard for a hotel like this. We ended up staying there for all the time we spend in Portugal, and we will definitely come back the next time we go for Santiago do Cacem. We payed 77€ for a doubble room with breakfast in August.

Heute haben wir eine tolle Bucht gefunden, auch wieder bei Setubal, wo wir den Tag verbracht haben.

Hauptsaechlich natuerlich wieder mit lesen, Musik hoeren, im Atlantik abkuehlen oder essen.

Schlauerweise hatten wir alle aus der letzten Nacht gelernt und die Fenster schuetzend geschlossen, um nicht wieder uebermaessig von Hundegejaule oder Gockelkikeriki gestoert zu werden.

Nach dem Fruehstueck beschaeftigten wir uns einige Zeit mit dem Geschirrspueler, der das Wasser nicht abgepumpt hatte und somit noch nach Fisch roch, was natuerlich frueh am Morgen ein toller Geruch ist.

Fertig zusammengepackt verliessen wir das Haus um wieder zum Strand nach Setubal zu fahren, wo es heute immerhin an die 30 Grad hatte, ganz anders als gestern. Wir verbrachten also den Tag am Strand mit Musik hoeren, lachen und lesen. Sogar ins eiskalte Atlantikwasser trauten wir uns ganz kurz, aber die Abkuehlung reichte fuer den gesamten Tag.

Auf der Heimfahrt nahmen wir wieder die Scenic Route, die wir gestern entdeckt hatten und sahen diesmal sogar bis zum Meer und genossen an mehreren Aussichtspunkten das atemberaubende Panorama.

Back home gabs noch ein Poolspringen von sehr kurzer Dauer, obwohl Thomas und Sonja dabei unfreiwillig teilnahmen.

Kaum im Urlaub angekommen sind wir heute am spaeten Vormittag mit dem Auto los ins 20 min. entfernte Setubal gefahren, um uns dort am Strand auszuruhen. Allerdings spielte der Wetterbericht nicht so ganz mit und so froren wir am Strand unter den Wolken und beobachteten ein riesen Schiff, das von Schleppern aus dem Hafen gezogen wurde.

Als dann auch noch die Regentropfen fielen machten wir uns blitzschnell auf zum Auto und fuhren prompt auch noch gegen die Einbahn. Natuerlich machte uns ein portugiesischer Polizist nach etwas Unverstaendnis doch bald klar, dass wir in die andere Richtung fahren muessen. Gesagt, getan gings ab durch den Nebel den Berg hinauf, bis wir hinter den Wolken wieder rauskamen und mit einem wunderschoenen Ausblick belohnt wurden.

Zu Hause angekommen packten wir das Auto leer, dass wir wieder Platz fuer unsere Einkaeufe hatten und fuhren zu 6. los zum Intermarche. Mit 2 vollen Einkaufswaegen dauerte das kassieren ewig und kaum zurueck warfen wir unsere unterkuehlten Koerper in die Sonne. Da das Wetter sich nun doch entschieden hatte, sommerlich zu werden wurde uns bald so heiss, dass eine Abkuehlung im Pool absolut notwendig war.

Wir spielten Beach Ball und liessen uns die Sonne auf die Baeuche scheinen.

Als es dann gegen 6 Uhr etwas kuehler wurde suchten wir unsere ueberdachten Raeumlichkeiten auf und wuschen uns das Chlor von der Haut. Nachdem wir auch die Playstation von Joel ausprobiert hatten und im Stabhoch 5,40m bis 5,60m gesprungen waren, hatten wir uns unser Fischabendessen (welcher Fisch das genau ist wissen wir leider auch nicht) redlich verdient.

The main beaches of Sines are more than beautiful. The water is always colder than the water you find in Algarve - This is the Atlantic ocean. Therefore many of the beaches have permanent surveillance during the bathing season. In this area you will also find that they are equipped with the appropriate beach resources and have an excellent sanitary quality.

The Beaches of Morgavel, Vale Figueiros, Grande of Porto Covo, Ilha do Pessegueiro and S. Torpes, which, in the last few years, were rewarded with the Blue Flag of Europe, are excellent due to their natural characteristics.

I have always gone for the beaches which are located a bit away from the main ones – and these you find plenty of in this region. There are no beaches as the beaches of Porto Covo, one of the most beautiful villages of Portugal, and, for certain, one of the most beautiful coasts. Praia Grande and the Beach of Pessegueiro Island are the widest and the most accessible, but the whole parish's coast is full of small beaches with fine sand and clear waters, separated by large rocks, that look like they were made to create a feeling of intimacy and exclusivity. But do always take care of the waves of the Atlantic – they might be fun but they can also be rather big.