Microblog

Rode an ancient streetcar through steep, twisty streets from our rental apartment to the starting point of a Rick Steves audio walking tour we’d all downloaded.

Started our Lisbon explorations with a hike up to St. George’s Castle where we surveyed the city below. Walked down into the city where we focused on the Tagus River waterfront.

Local bus, local train, mainline train to Lisbon Oriente Station. Rode the metro, checked in to a rental apartment in a neighborhood of mainly Lisbon residents.

One final Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Nature Park hike before we leave Salema tomorrow and ride trains north to Lisbon. Click through for a map.

9:30 a.m., Salema, Portugal: Dwight watered all the houseplants in Minneapolis where it was still night. Misters are on autopilot, but he prefers to run watering zones manually. The system has been reliable, but I find myself imagining additional fault-tolerant features to minimize the possibility of returning from a trip to racks of dead plants.… Continue reading Time to Water the Plants

Fajitas for dinner. Tex-Mex-Algarve.

Vertiginous view on our hike today to our turnaround point, ruins of a 400-year-old fort built to defend against pirates. Salema, the village where we’re staying, borders Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Nature Park, so we have easy access to trails.

Hiked a trail starting a few blocks from where we’re staying. Excellent cliff walking, repeated ascents and descents, quiet beaches, an inland loop through arid countryside.

Salema, Portugal, where we’re currently staying, has ducked Europe’s most extreme heat. Atlantic breezes make daily highs around 80° feel comfortable.

While the boys and their mom enjoyed the beach and the waves, we hiked to a supermarket where we filled backpacks with fresh produce and meats for the grill. We got in a pleasant hike and stocked up beyond the limited selections at two small stores near where we’re staying.

Walked from our Seville hotel to a bus station, long distance bus to Lagos (Algarve, Portugal), local bus to dropoff point, mile hike to a house we’d rented in the village of Salema for a week. Here, nephew #1 explores the roof, and eyes the Atlantic where he and his brother later swam.

Explored the palace and gardens of the Royal Alcázar of Seville where ”less is more” is not a guiding principle. Later, as the temperature climbed to 110°, we dispersed to our hotel’s rooftop pool and air-conditioned siestas.

A day of different spaces, starting with Seville’s massive Cathedral, ending with a flamenco performance in a small space. Here, the oval dome of the Cathedral’s Charter House exemplifies remarkable Renaissance engineering.

Nephews and their dad (and the rest of us, off-camera), about to board a bullet train to Seville.

Climbed up from Nerja’s Burriana Beach. Walked past avocado, citrus and banana trees, then an ancient aqueduct.

“Something light,” we said. Big plate for the (almost) 15-year-old (left). Almost nothing for the 13-year-old (right). Generous tapas for the rest of us. Time for a siesta.