June 8th, 2018 – Portimão, Portugal to Lisbon, Portugal: ~180 miles
Vy and I go to the end of the world.
Did you miss Day 6? Vy and I make it into Portugal.
We did not have an auspicious start to the morning – as we packed up the R1200RS, a bird decided to give us a gift from above. Thankfully we were mostly geared up, so the damage was minimal…but there was still damage.
We sought out solace in food, trying another flavor of chips that we can’t get in the US. Unfortunately, there weren’t any spicy options available to we had to settle for the uninspiring “taste of ketchup.” It was…adequate.
Our first scheduled stop was at Camilo Beach. We started our visit by staying up top and admiring the surrounding view. This little outcropping of rocks is called Ponta da Piedade – Vy’s got a sad face because she couldn’t seem to get a photo of it without a tour boat in the way.
We had to settle for timing a shot when a boat was hidden behind a rock.
Like most of the beaches we encountered in Portugal, Camilo was beautiful and small – kind of like Vy. Unlike most beaches, it was also quite busy.
Approximately 200 wooden steps took us down to the sand, and then to a sign saying that one beach was for locals and one was for tourists. Problem was, I only saw one beach.
Turns out there’s a small man-made tunnel through the rocks that takes you to the other beach, though I wasn’t actually sure which one was which.
We didn’t feel a need to stay a while here seeing as we had spent more time on beaches in the last couple of days than we normally do in a couple of months, but we couldn’t leave without Vy adding to her series of climbing photos.
Back up at the parking lot, I was pleasantly surprised by a Triumph Street Triple RS that had joined us.
I was much less pleasantly surprised by someone who thought it was OK to park like this…
We got back on the road towards Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape St. Vincent) – the most southwestern edge of Europe.
Because of its location, the cape locally became known as “the end of the world.”
I saw an empty spot in a row of stickers and felt like it should be filled up.
This stand is called “The Last Sausage Before America”. Despite the gross anthropomorphized bratwurst drawings, we still had to try a couple. The bratwursts weren’t anything special, but I think anyone could have figured that from the gimmick anyway.
We took back roads north into Lisbon, and on the way we saw more Zundapp 50s in 3 hours than I had seen in my entire life – in person or in photos.
A cute Willys that presumably helped the local fire department at some point.
We also stumbled upon a motorcycle I had never heard of before – a Macal. Macal Motorcycles was founded in 1921 and stopped building bikes in 2004. Many of their motorcycles utilized Minarelli engines. I considered making a “Guess That Bike” post out of this but I still am not sure which exact model of Macal this is. They had some great names for bikes, including the Astronaut, Buffalo Dakarino, Chip, Mature Boss, Porsche GT, and Top Gun. This one shares bodywork with the M70, but the engine is quite different. Do any of you know what this is?
Similar, but different.
Welcome to Lisbon!
Right before you enter town from the south side, you’re greeted by the “Sanctuary of Christ the King” statue. Made of cement, it was created “in reverence for Portugal avoiding the horrors of World War II.” The statue’s wingspan is 92 feet, and as you can probably guess it’s heavily “inspired” by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon visited Christ the Redeemer and came back wanting to build this.
If you thought that Portugal copied South America for the above, you’ll probably suspect that they copied North America for the below. To enter town we crossed the 25 de Abril (April 25th) bridge, which crosses the Tagus river. The upper deck fits six car lanes, and the lower deck carries two rail lines. It was built by the American Bridge Company, which also built a large bridge in the Bay Area…but not the Golden Gate! The similarities of design and color are striking, nonetheless.
Before parking in town to walk around, we sought out Cais do Sodre, a formerly seedy district that has since seen a rebirth. The buildings are colorful but the star of the show is a pink road that cuts through the neighborhood.
I parked the RS near a color bridge and waited for the sun to start peeking through.
Bored with waiting for me, Vy ventured up onto the bridge and found an establishment that may have been there since the seedy days.
Vy’s Lonely Planet recommended a 2-3 hour walking tour in the Alfama neighborhood, which it claims is a more traditional side of Lisbon that hasn’t been gentrified yet. All I can tell you is that the roads are twisty, steep, and full of cobblestones – just like they should be in an old European city.
The Museum of Saint Anthony celebrates Lisbon’s most popular saint. It also has a tremendous wall of flowers.
We walked around for a few hours, ending up on the waterfront where we could see Christ and the bridge that brought us into town earlier that day.
I kept myself somewhat inebriated during our tour with a local tradition called Ginjinha. It’s a cherry liquor that dates back to the 17th century, and they’re offered all of town in tiny dedicated bars that can often fit no more than 4 people. Each drink is typically 1.5 euros. It’s a bit tart and not something that I would enjoy regularly, but it seemed like the right choice as it’s very popular in Lisbon (and much of Portugal, as well). Some places serve it in a shot glass, some serve it in an edible chocolate cup. I apparently enjoyed them enough that I forgot to take a photo. Much to my chagrin, we weren’t done walking for the day. Vy led me up a series of hills to a restaurant called Chapitô à Mesa – our reward was a beautiful view of the city while we dined.
As you’d expect, the food was delicious…
…and of course, I had to wrap things up with one last ginjinha.
After dinner we walked back down the hill, and I spied this bespectacled fish in a shop window.
My assumption was that red was for domestic mail, and blue was for anything outside of Portugal. Turns out red is for normal mail (domestic or international), while the blue requires some extra coin as it’s for express/priority.
“To be born, Portugal, to die, The World.” I’m still not sure what it means.
Keeping up the main theme of this trip, Vy found something else to climb before we called it a night.
