Sweet Dreams Are Made of This—Walking in Portugal
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Sweet Dreams Are Made of You Can Teach This—Walking In Portugal an Old Dog by Nancy Bestor eat a delicious seafood dinner, and you’ll understand why I just wasn’t ready to New Tricks wake up. by Robert Bestor f the idea of walking from one charming seasideI town to the next on the Algarve Our week-long walking tour in Portugal Coast in Southern was everything we hoped it would be y Grandmother, the esteemed Lois Portugal sounds and more. Most days brought entirely MBestor, was born in 1917. She grew up like a dream, I’m different experiences of southern Portugal, on a farm in Nehawka, Nebraska without here to tell you it whether it was luxury homes on the coast running water, electricity, or central is just that. Cue outside of Lagos, where we began our heating. Yet from these humble beginnings the music. Picture trek; walks through small inland villages, she lived to enjoy the advent of television, windswept cliffs with cobblestone streets and friendly see a man walk on the moon, and own with the Atlantic Ocean churning below, Portuguese villagers bidding us “bon dia;” a telephone that she could pop into her small trails—or tracks as they call them in or rugged and remote cliffs outside Sagres, purse. And in the 1990s, she used her very Portugal—with few other people, beautiful with extremely steep drops to the ocean own Apple desktop computer to write a blue sky, warm sunshine, and delightfully below, and nary a soul in sight. 383-page history of her family, going all the way back to Ireland in the 1840s. quiet beaches, and you’ll get an idea of our We averaged about 9 miles a day over the recent trip to this captivating country on five days, not too hard by any means, but I was born in 1963 and am certain that the the southwestern tip of continental Europe. with as much as 2100 feet in elevation younger generations in my family will be Add in the fact that every afternoon, at gained on any given day, not too easy amazed that I grew up with no cable TV, the end of our long day’s walk, we’d either. Some days we had short scrambles no computer, no internet, and, as of yet, arrive in a small seaside village and before up steep and rocky slopes, where I had to no iPhone 8! But just as my Grandmother doing anything else, have a cold Super grab onto rocks to pull myself up. Other learned to use the latest newfangled techno Bock beer, and later, after a short siesta, continued on page 2 continued on page 3 Travel Essentials News Little Things To Make Your Winter 2017/2018 Travels Easier In This Issue by Robert Bestor Scratch Your Travels Off This Map Page 4 Briggs & Riley Transcend Luggage Up All Night in Madrid Page 6 Yes, luggage is big. But with Briggs & How to Fly More Comfortably Page 7 ometimes it’s the little things that Riley’s newest version of their practically makeS the biggest difference. The holiday legendary Transcend line, it’s the little travel season is fast approaching with things (and a few big ones too!) that make the spring season right on its tail. Here it the best value in high-quality luggage is some of our favorite gear for the today. 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At times the track was very and take a short siesta before narrow, and closed in by bushes and brush, heading back out to explore with lots of roots and rocks along the town, have another drink, ground. We had to be careful, because it and find yet another delicious was easy to admire the view and not look Portuguese restaurant for where we were stepping, and thus trip over dinner. My favorite meal a root and take a tumble, slightly bruising was definitely cataplana at a your hand and wrist in the process. But tiny restaurant in Lagos. This I’m erasing that bit from my dream. traditional shrimp, clam and Our tour was self-guided, so we went at rice dish is named after the our own pace. We were outfitted with round, lidded copper vessel it a GPS unit, with each day’s track pre- is cooked in. On other nights programmed, so once we figured out how though, we also thoroughly The company providing the services in to work it, we knew exactly where to enjoyed red bream fish, seafood risotto, Portugal was Portugal Nature Trails - go and how long we had to walk before and sangria. Lots and lots of sangria. portugalnaturetrails.com. We were very arriving in our next charming beach town. Three other couples—one each from the happy with both. We ambled through stone pine groves— US, Germany and Sweden—were on the the type of pine tree that produces pine • The self-guided tour included six nights same tour, and we often saw them at the nuts, not the pine trees we are familiar hotel, six breakfasts, luggage transfer from hotel buffet breakfast, or walking around with in the Northwest. We walked by town to town, our three hour transfers to town during the evenings, as the villages fishermen dropping their lines off high and from Lisbon, and a couple of transfers were quite small. But we rarely saw them cliffs and into the deep, blue ocean waters during the week as well. In addition to on the track, as everyone began each day below. We spied lighthouses, dolphins, the GPS, we were also well equipped when they were ready, and walked at their Roman ruins, fortresses from the 1500s with a Portuguese cell phone, in case of own pace. It was fun to check in each & 1600s, vineyards, and more. Some emergencies, and a map marked with morning or evening though, and get their days we packed a small picnic lunch into sights and restaurants along our route. take on the completed hike and sites along the way. • The pre-booked hotels were nice, usually good sized European hotels. They were Bob and I have done a fair not the type of hotels we would have amount of walking and chosen on our own, as we typically prefer hiking in our lives, but we smaller independent hotels, but the beds were definitely tired by the were comfortable, the showers were hot, end of our adventure. My and they all had wifi. And when you’ve feet tingled and my legs been walking 9 or 10 miles a day for five groaned. But I wouldn’t trade days in a row, comfortable beds and hot our experience in Southern showers are more important than hotels Portugal for any other form with lots of charm. The hotels were also of travel. We saw way more all central in the towns that we walked than we would have ever to, which was important for getting to seen in a tour bus, a car, or restaurants and bars without a car, and also even on a bike. Yes, it’s slow because we were tired of walking each travel, but after returning night. our daypack, and snacked on bread and from Europe, I’d argue that more things in chorizo, or cheese and crackers along the life should be done at a leisurely pace. I’m • Breakfasts were always full buffets, with way. Other days we just carried water, and trying to slow down and enjoy the ride, or, yogurt and granola, cold cuts and cheese, finished our hike in the early afternoon as the case may be, the walk. bread, fruit, coffee and juice. Most had hot with a big appetite for a late lunch. offerings like eggs and bacon as well. It Notes: was a perfect start for a 10-mile day. The towns and villages that we ended • We booked our tour through Mac’s up in each day were small and sleepy, • Bob and I wore tennis shoes/light hiking Adventures out of Glasgow, Scotland especially in late October and early shoes, and carried one small backpack - macsadventure.com. The cost for the November. But that was fine with us. After between us, filled with two water bottles, two of us was $2500. Mac’s Adventures our end-of-walk beer, we’d walk (again snacks, sunscreen, our map, and phone. It was just the booking agent however. was warm, even hot at times, so we didn’t need jackets, or fortunately, rain gear. “Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” —TERRY PRATCHETT Page 2 • Winter 2017/2018 You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks..