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Santarém, Portugal

· Chris Moore

Rooftops and hills of Lisbon beneath a blue sky

Last week in Portugal. We'll visit Lisbon, Nazaré, and Santarém.

Thursday, June 23: Albufeira to Santarém

Another short drive today. This one was about three hours. We left the south of Portugal and headed North. This place is about an hour outside Lisbon in a smaller city. The Airbnb was about ten minutes outside the city center. Our neighbors were sheep and cows.

River winding past fields below Santarém
Child on a hillside swing overlooking the river
Found a super sketchy swing on the side of the hill.
Holiday house and courtyard at dusk
Our Airbnb at dusk.
Fields beneath the evening sky
Santarém from our Airbnb

Friday, June 24: Caves in São Mamede

Found some neat cave tours (Grutas da Moeda) close to our place. We drove up and explored. Everyone enjoyed this one.

Rock formations inside Grutas da Moeda
Visitors beside illuminated cave formations
Illuminated cave passage and underground pool
Hanging rock formations lit from below
Rock formations reflected in a cave pool
Child resting in a hammock in the garden

Some pictures from the evening walk.

Fields beneath a cloudy evening sky
Country road through fields at dusk
Tall grass beside open farmland

Saturday, June 25: Lisbon and Sintra

Exploring Lisbon today. It's a pretty busy place. I have to remember to look up in European parking garages. Got lucky today!

Family beside the van in a parking garage
Children standing beside the waterfront
Lisbon square with a statue and outdoor tables
Santa Justa Lift above a narrow Lisbon street
Ornate stone gateway beneath trees
Lisbon rooftops viewed from above
Tram tracks running down a Lisbon street

We drove over to Sintra to check out the castles on the hill. Wound up taking a tuk-tuk ride, too.

Children drinking from a tiled fountain
Palace walls above a wooded hillside
Colorful palace towers above the trees
View across wooded hills toward the countryside
Garden path through dense greenery
Children beside a mossy stone tower
Cobblestone walkway through the woods
White buildings around a town square
Curving road between white buildings

Sunday, June 26: Around Santarém

Snails clustered on thin plant stems
Small white building with a red tiled roof
Quiet rural road beside fields
Old stone building partly hidden by vegetation
Country road between harvested fields
Fish and potatoes served on a terracotta platter
Rice dish served in a terracotta bowl
River and farmland viewed from a terrace at dusk
Couple overlooking the river valley

Monday, June 27: Nazaré

We drove over to the coast to see Nazaré. It's home to the tallest waves on the planet. Some surfers have ridden 100' tall waves here. It wasn't too bad today but it was still pretty rough.

Large wooden swing above the countryside
Sandy path leading toward the ocean
Children beneath a gateway at Nazaré
Children beside the deer-headed statue at Nazaré
Coastal cliffs and paths above the Atlantic
Children looking across Nazaré beach
Waves breaking below rocky cliffs
Surf washing onto a broad sandy beach
Children at a lookout above the ocean
Red lighthouse on the fort at Nazaré
Children standing on the sand near the surf
Child beneath an overhanging rock on the beach

The tuk-tuk owner let Wesley drive back up the hill!

Family seated in a small sightseeing vehicle
Children playing at the water's edge
Wooden fishing racks on the beach
Painted fishing boats displayed on the sand

Back at home and we headed over to town for dinner. We explored the Jardim do Sol a bit too.

Town and fields stretching into the distance
Sunset above the town walls
Excavated foundations beneath a shelter
Children beside stone battlements
Shaded terrace beside stone walls
Trees inside a stone-walled garden

Tuesday, June 28: Return the car and hang out near Porto airport

Today's our last day in Portugal. We're getting up in the morning and flying to Stansted. I've got a conference in Brighton to attend so we're ending the trip in Littlehampton, England.

We drove a total of 4,030 kilometers this trip. That's 2,504 miles!

Blue van parked beside a country road
Van dashboard and instrument panel

One last Francesinha for the road.

Sandwich with meat and cheese in sauce

The guy at the cafe gave me some kind of brandy to "clean out my coffee cup".

Coffee and refreshments on a café table

Wednesday, June 29: Porto to Littlehampton, England

We got up early and piled in to a taxi. No way we were legal but it was only a mile. The car wouldn't start after we all crammed in. He messed with the brake, parking brake, gear shift, keys, everything. Just when I thought we were walking, it cranked up.

Ryanair is interesting. It's cheap but boy is it weird. Line, then line, then line, the on the plane. Oh well, we made it.

Passengers walking toward a Ryanair aircraft
Fields seen from an airplane window
Child watching a device on the flight
Rental van parked in a garage
Another VW!

We loaded up the new car and headed south from Stansted. Stopped in Harlow at a little cafe for some breakfast. We arrived in Littlehampton around 2:15.

Quiet street lined with white buildings

Katharine and I snuck out for dinner again. She fed the seagulls some chips.

Drink on an outdoor terrace beside the water

Thursday, June 30: Brighton

I took the train to Brighton and attended Brighton Ruby with a friend. It was nice to see people in person again!

Costa coffee cup beside a train window
Couple seated inside a theater

Friday, July 1: London to Atlanta to Cincinnati

Travel day. Gonna be a long one. We loaded up the van and drove an hour and 20 minutes to Heathrow. I dropped everyone off at the terminal and returned the van. I caught up with them at security. It took us about an hour from the end of the queue through the checkpoint.

Our flight was a bit delayed but nothing too major. We arrived in Atlanta on time.

Airport apron and terminal beneath cloudy skies

We made it home around 10pm our time. Everyone was excited to be back. A great trip!

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