Portugal and Extremadura, Spain
Trip Report: Slices of Portugal & Extremadura Spain
Germination
When we returned home from last year’s epic Kamping in Kruger trip, I was ready to book another junket to SA immediately, because our 2 weeks of civilised bush camp hops just hadn’t been long enough. To say we had an amazing time, is a huge understatement.
But my spouse said no to another SA adventure. We should wait a year or two. Her point – and a very valid one at that – was that another trip ran the strong danger of being a mere repeat, and not something that was memorable or worth the time, effort and money. You know when you reach a certain saturation point with a place that it loses its ‘specialness’? While this breeds a really nice warm familiarity, it also seems less exciting, less adventuresome and well, not as much fun. Never one to ignore sage advice (or at least not every nugget of sage advice that comes my way); we looked back to Europe for inspiration.
My wife and I tossed around ideas of places of interest. We don’t repeat as a general rule, so what would be fun? Croatia, the Dalmatians, Scotland or other parts of Italy, Greece, Crete etc etc. Then . . . Portugal? Yeah, what about Portugal? It had always hovered in the background, somewhat hidden in the shadows of its neighbour and the other big names ringing the Mediterranean. That was the one.
Due to our past experience in the scorching heat of Madrid and Andalusia, we knew that a mid-spring trip to the Iberian peninsula was necessary and that also suited my work schedule since the fall is always blocked out. Searches for flights followed, and my wife ran across a crazy low price on a consolidator site.
Boom. We were going to Portugal. Depart May 2, 2018. Return May 20. 18 days out with 17 days in country (after you subtract the overnight ocean hop).
And so the journey begins . . .
But my spouse said no to another SA adventure. We should wait a year or two. Her point – and a very valid one at that – was that another trip ran the strong danger of being a mere repeat, and not something that was memorable or worth the time, effort and money. You know when you reach a certain saturation point with a place that it loses its ‘specialness’? While this breeds a really nice warm familiarity, it also seems less exciting, less adventuresome and well, not as much fun. Never one to ignore sage advice (or at least not every nugget of sage advice that comes my way); we looked back to Europe for inspiration.
My wife and I tossed around ideas of places of interest. We don’t repeat as a general rule, so what would be fun? Croatia, the Dalmatians, Scotland or other parts of Italy, Greece, Crete etc etc. Then . . . Portugal? Yeah, what about Portugal? It had always hovered in the background, somewhat hidden in the shadows of its neighbour and the other big names ringing the Mediterranean. That was the one.
Due to our past experience in the scorching heat of Madrid and Andalusia, we knew that a mid-spring trip to the Iberian peninsula was necessary and that also suited my work schedule since the fall is always blocked out. Searches for flights followed, and my wife ran across a crazy low price on a consolidator site.
Boom. We were going to Portugal. Depart May 2, 2018. Return May 20. 18 days out with 17 days in country (after you subtract the overnight ocean hop).
And so the journey begins . . .
It's Off! It's Back On!
Now that I had a mission, I started some quick deep research. It was an old school European destination, so that really eased the accommodation and transportation logistics. I read some Trip Reports and I did all of the standard initial research.
Right from the start, we had decided to use rental accommodation versus hotels. We have stayed at some wonderful boutique hotels over the years but to be honest, they were getting stale and all looking the same to us. Sure the view out of the window changed, but the packets of herbs, the bathroom soaps, the over-stuffed bed, and the politely efficient staff hadn’t. I might have dreamed wistfully about that over-stuffed bed once or twice along the way during our trip but that is a part of the story that you will read if you stick with me. We knew that we could be giving up the chance to meet other travelers by going solo but the lure of private houses and apartments was too strong. I have rented house and villas around the US very successfully from Homeaway so I knew what to expect (more or less).
The other big decision that we arrived at was to stay rurally – with the exception of Lisbon. We were coming to see the country rather than the cobblestones – which are quite unique in Portugal as we found out – but we wanted to stay out of the tourist zones and only visit them in small manageable bursts.
This, of course, necessitated giving up most restaurant meals. During our last trip to Africa, cooking dinner every night over a wood braai, while enjoying a good bottle of local wine, had taught us that we could do it and actually liked doing it. We planned to eat out when it was convenient, like in Lisbon and the towns that we would visit – probably consisting of a lot of lingering lunches.
After I had all of the bookings secured, I took a planning breather and one of life’s little curves came my way. A chronic back problem became a big problem and I lost a lot of my mobility for 5 months. I couldn’t walk. I stopped all business travel (losing my airline status btw) and we had to actively think about canceling our vacation. I could drive anywhere, but I couldn’t walk when I got there. Fate smiled, and the Canadian Health Care system not only co-operated, but through cancellations, I was fast-tracked through the battery of tests and a lumbar slice and dice to solve the problem . . . mostly.
The trip was back on!
But now it had a major proviso in that it would be day by day and we would have to really slow down. I promised myself and my spouse that I would not push myself. I wanted to walk onto the plane at the end of our trip under my own steam. And I did.
Our Itinerary:
5 different locations. 4 in Portugal & 1 in Spain. With a Budget rental car picked up after our nights in Lisbon. All prices are per night.
- 4 nights in Lisboa – 2 BR Apartment in Baixa/Chiado with a terrace 90€
- 4 nights outside Mérida Spain – a 2 BR house on a farm 90€
- 3 nights in the Marvão area – a 2 BR rural house 112€
- 3 nights in a 2 BR cabin on the Douro River 90€
- 3 nights in a 2 BR beach house near Nazaré 102€
Next up: 4 Nights in Lisbon
Right from the start, we had decided to use rental accommodation versus hotels. We have stayed at some wonderful boutique hotels over the years but to be honest, they were getting stale and all looking the same to us. Sure the view out of the window changed, but the packets of herbs, the bathroom soaps, the over-stuffed bed, and the politely efficient staff hadn’t. I might have dreamed wistfully about that over-stuffed bed once or twice along the way during our trip but that is a part of the story that you will read if you stick with me. We knew that we could be giving up the chance to meet other travelers by going solo but the lure of private houses and apartments was too strong. I have rented house and villas around the US very successfully from Homeaway so I knew what to expect (more or less).
The other big decision that we arrived at was to stay rurally – with the exception of Lisbon. We were coming to see the country rather than the cobblestones – which are quite unique in Portugal as we found out – but we wanted to stay out of the tourist zones and only visit them in small manageable bursts.
This, of course, necessitated giving up most restaurant meals. During our last trip to Africa, cooking dinner every night over a wood braai, while enjoying a good bottle of local wine, had taught us that we could do it and actually liked doing it. We planned to eat out when it was convenient, like in Lisbon and the towns that we would visit – probably consisting of a lot of lingering lunches.
After I had all of the bookings secured, I took a planning breather and one of life’s little curves came my way. A chronic back problem became a big problem and I lost a lot of my mobility for 5 months. I couldn’t walk. I stopped all business travel (losing my airline status btw) and we had to actively think about canceling our vacation. I could drive anywhere, but I couldn’t walk when I got there. Fate smiled, and the Canadian Health Care system not only co-operated, but through cancellations, I was fast-tracked through the battery of tests and a lumbar slice and dice to solve the problem . . . mostly.
The trip was back on!
But now it had a major proviso in that it would be day by day and we would have to really slow down. I promised myself and my spouse that I would not push myself. I wanted to walk onto the plane at the end of our trip under my own steam. And I did.
Our Itinerary:
5 different locations. 4 in Portugal & 1 in Spain. With a Budget rental car picked up after our nights in Lisbon. All prices are per night.
- 4 nights in Lisboa – 2 BR Apartment in Baixa/Chiado with a terrace 90€
- 4 nights outside Mérida Spain – a 2 BR house on a farm 90€
- 3 nights in the Marvão area – a 2 BR rural house 112€
- 3 nights in a 2 BR cabin on the Douro River 90€
- 3 nights in a 2 BR beach house near Nazaré 102€
Next up: 4 Nights in Lisbon