Days 4, 5, and 6

Gosh, I bet you think I forgot about you! It's been a crazy last week or so, but here's more info about the trip. This was the portion of the vacation that was all R&R. Our hotel was nice, but more for the exterior accomodations than the interior. All in all, we didn't do much during these days, so this is short and sweet.

This cove was the private beach for the hotel. The cave was off limits for exploring, so we didn't get to go into it. There were other small ones at the bottom that you could go in, though. Chris had a great time exploring down there!





Here are the boys doing their finest fish impressions:



Our rock hound:


While I was re-sizing this picture this morning, I called Will in to see it (because I loved it so) and he declared he didn't like it because he looked too old. Hmm, I think he may have a point!



Our hotel was just on the outskirts of a small beach town called Carvoiero. It was a nice little walk to go into town, so we would go in for dinner. There were the typical souvenir shops and such, as well. Here are the boys on the public beach:


This was one of my favorite scenery shots - I love that fisherman on the rock. These boats were available for hire to go on cave tours (I guess our cave wasn't the only one in the area).



This was one of the sidewalk cafes that we ate at. The beach was just a stone's throw away, and on this particular evening, the municipal workers were setting up for a Fado concert in the public area.



That's all for now! Chat with you soon.

Day 3

On our third day, we rose early to prepare for our departure from Casa do Forno. We had another yummy breakfast of bread, coffee, and fresh-squeezed orange juice at the table under the olive tree in the beautiful cool, crisp air. I found it hard to believe that a morning that starts so brisk becomes SO hot, but sure enough, once the sun hits, it warms up quickly.

We left our new friends and set out for Lisbon, where we intended to spend the day. The drive was about half country roads and half highway. We stopped for gas on the highway and had an amusing time trying to figure out how to use our credit card. The pay-at-the-pump feature wanted a PIN (which I'm sure we have, but I sure don't know!), so we needed to determine how to pay without that, but also without disabling our card for too many bad attempts. The attendant didn't speak any English, so at the time, it didn't feel as funny as it seems now. Luckily, things started to fall into place once I realized the Portuguese verb for "to pay" is the same as Spanish and we were allowed to pay after pumping. Funny how the simple things can become so problematic!

Once we found our hotel in Lisbon, we were determined to find the closest McDonalds. Since Chris is so finicky, he hadn't been eating much the first few days. We've found that when we're traveling with the boys, it's best to make some compromises when it comes to food, so we told them that when we arrived in Lisbon, we would search out McD's. As it turns out, the closest one was in the zoo! We hadn't planned on going to the zoo, but since it was only about a 1.5 mile walk, we set out to go!

We found it pretty easily, but so did the rest of the zoo, it seemed! I went and found a table while John stood in line. This McD's was pretty interesting because it was surrounded by the crocodile habitat. Here's one of our lunch companions:



This picture completely cracks me up - Will is determined to ignore his lunch companion! You can also see in this picture John's new found love of Portuguese McDonald's - the McBeer! (As he put it, "This sure would have made all those toddler birthday parties a lot more tolerant!")



The gorgeous tile that Portugal is so well-known for is everywhere! Here's the boys with some:



After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a swim and general R&R (we were all quite tired after our day at the park). After our rest, we took a taxi to one of the older sections of Lisbon (taxis were a great deal in Lisbon!). Here are a few shots that I snapped:












We found the Hard Rock Cafe and decided to have dinner there. Another place to make sure Chris actually ate! ;)



After dinner, we continued exploring. We were hoping to find a little cafe that was having some Fado music (explained HERE). As luck would have it, we did find one, and it was a fantastic little place - just take a look at this ceiling! I didn't take any pictures of the performers out of respect to them (with the flash), but it was really wonderful to see. It was one of the things John most wanted to do while in Lisbon, so I'm glad that it worked out.


After, we grabbed a taxi back to our hotel - we were all very tired by that point! I did manage to snap this picture of one of the old street cars; it gives a nice idea of the streets in the old section.



Thanks for stopping by to check what we were up to!

Day 2

Our second day revolved around our plans to volunteer at the Geopark. You can learn a little more about it here. I think I mentioned about how the Portuguese liked to give exceptionally simple directions - well, this was no different. Our directions to where to meet Carlos (who oversees the park) were something to the effect of "drive to this village, follow the main road to the parking lot and I will see you there". Well, we get to the village, but the 'main' road is no different from any other road. We meander through, trying to find this 'parking lot'. After looking for 15 minutes, we finally stumbled upon it, just when we had nearly given up hope.
(The 'lot' was really just a place on the side of the 'main' road where people tended to park. Had Carlos not been standing there waiting, we would have driven right by!)

We started up through this village, learning about its Templar roots. The streets (not meant for cars) were narrow and twisty and the homes were so interesting. Here's the templar castle that overlooks the village:



I've already told you the story of how we decided to split up at this point. Here's the tunnel of cacti that Will and I encountered about .25 mile into our hike:



The path was really beautiful, with stunning views. Will was really challenged on this hike, though, so I gave him my camera to keep his mind occupied. He took some really great shots, but I think this one is my favorite - I love the way he framed it. I think we have a budding photographer on our hands.



So, pushing fast forward through the path confusion and the attempts to get back with John and Carlos, we arrive to the point where we are supposed to be, the fossil house at the bottom of the gorge (drawing a blank on the proper terminology - I'll probably receive a phone call from my sister later letting me know what I was looking for!). Carlos was leaving for the day to attend to park business in Lisbon, so I quickly took a group shot. From left to right, there is Domingues, Carlos, Vanya, Chris, John and Will. If you look above Carlos' head, you will see the same castle on top of the cliff. Domingues is Carlos' right hand man, but he doesn't speak English. Vanya, who just graduated from university (with one semester of English), did her best to translate for us, but it was an interesting afternoon!



We spent the rest of the morning cleaning fossils. There were many interesting ones, and we saw quite a variety.



When Domingues went to lunch, he closed the house for a couple of hours, leaving us with some free time. The boys changed into their swimsuits and we made our way down to the natural pool. This place was just fantastic, and loved by the locals, as there was already a family there with a picnic and a few others coming down the paths. It has been made more accesible over the last several years by the addition of a foot bridge and rock paths and steps. To make it even more unique, there are two pieces of art floating in the pond, and 6 foot trilobyte and a 10 foot cephalopod. Both were put there to be representative of the fossils that they've found in the area. (The trilobyte was easy to climb upon, but the cephalopod wasn't and provided lots of good laughs as people tried to mount it - and then stay on while friends shook it!)



A closer look at the boys under the waterfall:



We went to the neighboring village for lunch, as it was highly recommended by Carlos. The house specialty was wild boar, so my adventurous husband ordered some up right away; I stuck with a tamer pork loin. Chris proclaimed that the wild boar tasted like McDonald's hamburgers (but it didn't sway me into trying it one bit!). The restaurant only had a few people there (we were a bit late for the lunch 'rush' I guess), but was lovely. Here's Chris with one of his favorite things (bread!); take a look at the tiles in the background. They were really gorgeous.



And here's Will with the boar:



After lunch, we returned to the park. We finished cleaning the remaining fossils and set out to find some of our own. It was VERY hot by this point, so we did this for about an hour. Will stayed in the shade at the fossil house, and we set off for the cliffs. John and Chris were the spotters, and I recorded the location on log sheets using a GPS device to record the exact location. They found three great sets of fossils in the rocks. Chris was just elated, as you can see here:



It was not an easy day, by any means, but it was meaningful and one that we will never forget! Thanks for reading.

Day 1

OK, here's the thing - I took A LOT of pictures on our trip. I think I'm just going to tackle it a little at a time, otherwise it's just going to be too overwhelming (for you and me!).

This is the front of the bed & breakfast where we stayed. The town was named Salveterra Du Extremo and used to be a town of about 3000 people, but currently only has 200 residents (and only a handful of kids). It's a wonderful old village and just crazy-quiet! The loudest things we heard (other than Will & Chris!) were the goat herd walking through town and the rooster who thought sunrise was any random time.


Here's the view from the backyard:





This is the guest access side. (Hey Mom, notice all the embroidery samplers on the wall?)


There were olive trees in the backyard, too. They're just everywhere there!


Since we arrived to the B&B earlier than we initially thought, the owner hadn't anticipated us for lunch. There weren't any cafes in the town, so we needed to drive to the next town. We found this little place, and the food was fantastic! The owner spoke great English (he had lived in London and Amsterdam), so we had a great conversation.


The serving sizes were HUGE - this plate was one meal (that all four of us could have shared!).


We decided to buy some water to take back to the B&B, and this is the little market that we found. It was a really odd little place, but it served its purpose.



After lunch, our host Jaoa asked if we would like to go for a walk to see some different things. He said he had a specific place in mind, so we set off - first through the village, then through the pastures (this was the path between pastures).



About a mile later, we came to this gorgeous expanse of land that was the border between Portugal and Spain. Jaoa told us that we needed to be pretty quiet in this area, as it was a nesting area for vultures. He showed us the nests in the cliffs with his binoculars - it was really interesting!

Here's Chris (in all his glory!)


And Chris with John:



Here's the gorge that was below, but it really doesn't even do it justice. It was breathtaking.



And here's a better picture of the castle I showed you last week. To just come upon this was so unlike anything else I've ever done.



Our day ended here, under an olive tree, for dinner. Jaoa, his wife Rita, his parents and grandparents joined us for a yummy dinner of homemade pizzas, followed by dessert of jam and liqueors made by Jaoa's mom. We sat chatting for hours, well into the night. It was the perfect location for a relaxing evening.



That sums up our first day pretty well! We're all very tired, so we're off to catch some zzz's - here's hoping my commentary is more colorful tomorrow! ;)

We are still around

Hi! We are still being beach bums in the Algarve, so weºre definitely enjoying our R&R. Since Iºm still using a shared computer, I thought I would give you a link. Here is the hotel that we are staying at and yes, those are the real views!

Internet access is unbelievably expensive here. (An hour is about $10) I will upload pics once we get home and explore a bit more, but we are having a ton of fun. The weather is truly about as perfect as you can possibly imagine, so being inside on the computer is about the last thing on our mind. We all enjoyed the sun and surf today and are getting ready to head back to Lisbon tomorrow. We are stopping at the Volkswagen plant in the morning for a tour of the facility that makes the EOS and new Scirocco, then we will spend the night in Lisbon in preparation for flying out on Thursday morning.

I promise there will be more details when we get home! Until then, Jenn

Hi from the Algarve!

It is Sunday and we are now in the Algarve region - down on the Southern coast. Iºm writing from the hotel lobby because the internet access is very expensive, and the keyboard is Portugeuse, so Iºm getting funky little symbols in the wrong places!

Yesterday we drove from the eastern border back to Lisbon. Our hotel was nice, but we stayed in the actual downtown area. Luckily, taxis were relatively inexpensive, so we were able to go to an area that was more fun, with lots of old buildings and castles up in the hills. We will go back to Lisbon on Wednesday.

Today we drove from Lisbon to the Algarve. Our hotel is on a bay surrounded by the most amazing cliffs. I may post a couple pictures later...it means uploading them to this shared computer, though, so weºll see.

Chris is having a great birthday and has spent seemingly endless hours today swimming in both the pool and the ocean. Pretty nice way to spend the day, I think!

I will check back in soon. We hope youºre all well.

Hi from the Algarve!

Forgot to mention

You can click on the pictures below to get a better look!

We're here & we're busy!

Our travels went perfectly (does that ever happen?) and we arrived in Lisbon 10 minutes early on Thursday. Will and Chris slept relatively well on the plane (definitely key!). Once we picked up our luggage, we drove for about 2.5 hours to our first destination, Salvaterra de Extremo. It's a small village near the border of Spain. It's white-washed buildings with terra-cotta roofs are really picturesque while approaching it from the countryside. Oh, and is there countryside! There are fields of olive trees, goats (everywhere!) and fruit trees anywhere you turn. Our bed & breakfast, Casa de Forna, is really more like staying at a friend's house. Jaoa, our host, and his wife Rita, are expecting their first child next month. The parents and grandparents live here, too, on the first floor, so soon there will be four generations living here! The second floor has 5 or 6 guest rooms and each have their own bathrooms (yes, little things make me very happy!).

Last night, Jaoa (who is a geologist by trade) took us on a nature 'walk' - well, honestly, it was more of a hike for this girl!! We walked to the Spanish border, which at this area, was a canyon of granite and shist. On the Spanish side, there was an old castle that was incredible. This doesn't do the castle justice, but it gives a pretty good idea of the scale.



I took other pics, but the internet connection is slugging along rather painfully, so I will show them once we get home.

Last night we joined our hosts for dinner in the garden. They also have a bread business, supplying area restaurants, so we had a wonderful meal of homemade pizzas. We are the only guests these couple of days, so it really is like being at a friend's house. (And they speak amazing English - we got really lucky!)

This morning, we drove about 25 km to another small village to meet Carlos and Vanya, our guides from the geological park where we were volunteering. The village was steeped in Templar history - which was like something out of a historical fiction novel, complete with a castle on the mountaintop directly above the church. VERY cool! So, after climbing (the perfect word choice!) through the village, we came upon this:



It was utterly breathtaking. And this doesn't even begin to do it justice. Our destination? One of those little houses at the very bottom! So we started out by splitting up - John and Chris went with Carlos and Vanya up to the castle and down the paths on the cliff...Will and I were to follow the trail markers through a few more houses and make our way down. (This was the so-called EASY way - HA!) Due to Will's recent sickness, we made it about 3/4 of a mile and had to stop. See, the trail marker started pointing up another hill...knowing this isn't correct, I leave Will under a shady orange tree and go off the trail to see if down is really correct. No trail markers, and yes, despite my dad's best efforts at teaching me, I got a bit nervous (stop laughing, Dad!). Will isn't feeling great, my cell phone doesn't work, and we're supposed to meet where?!?! So what does this city girl do? We turned around! Having no clue as to what I'll do next, we make it back to where we split up and I hear Carlos. They're on a hillside, so like an ugly American, I yell across this great divide to get John's attention (hanging my head in shame). John and Carlos came back, and Chris continued on with Vanya, working their way to the bottom.

This is the point where Carlos tells us we can drive to a point closer to the Fossil house. (Again, stop laughing, Dad!)We do so, and head to the Fossil House, where we are put to work promply cleaning hundreds of fossils. We had a lot of fun learning about them as we worked.

When we stopped for lunch, we headed to a natural pool in the gorge. The boys had an amazing time swimming among the locals. Here's a picture of them near the waterfall (the source of the pool).



I can't wait to get home to edit these, but it at least gives you an idea of how beautiful it was!

We had lunch at a restaurant near the park. There were definite communication problems (I ended up talking to the owner in Spanish and we were able to work it out), but we had a delicious lunch. John, Will and Chris had the wild boar (the house specialty) and really liked it. I went with a far tamer pork loin, but it was equally good.

We headed back to the park, finished up the remaining fossils that needed to be cleaned. At which point, we started out to hunt for more. We used a GPS to mark the spots of those that we found and documented its characteristics. We did this for about an hour (it was about 100 degrees - it was exhausting trying to hike in the heat!) and found three sets of fossils on the cliffs. We took some pics of them, but they really need to be edited.

It's nearly 8pm, and we're heading down to the garden to join the family for a barbeque dinner. Tomorrow we're heading back to Lisbon, so we will update as soon as we can!

Elf Travels, Too

Our original Elf Travels Blog will not allow me to access it to update it, so welcome to Elf Travels, Too. (Will will never forgive me for the pun, I'm sure.)

We're taking off for Portugal today! I will try to update while we're there, but we are only taking netbooks, so we'll be relying on locating wireless access in order to update. I know at least one of the places where we're staying say that they have it, so I'm crossing my fingers.

We're really looking forward to it!