Lisbon, Portugal May 15-18, 2014

The first day in Lisbon was spent gathering up our walking team: trying to get international texting to work, getting oriented to the city & trying to find Michelle & her son, Jeffrey, who received none of the texts & tried to make it to the apartment by public transport, only to wander the neighborhood after dark with all their luggage.  They finally made it as we sat down to a fantastic outdoor dinner of local fish & wine.

The second day was about getting train tickets to Porto & taking tours of the city.  Michelle, Jeffrey & I took a great tour (clearly NOT sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce) where our very entertaining guide told us of the long history of corrupt politics in Portugal, all the while walking backwards, rolling his own cigarettes & smoking.  There is a LOT of smoking in this country.




Lisbon is quite different from what I had expected; I imagined a formal city with many colonial style buildings, but found a city of many hills & endless staircases, and terrific, funky neighborhoods.  Lots of colorful murals, a cool metro system, and some of the best food I have had in the EU.

City view

Church mural on ceiling

Our amazing guide

On Saturday, Syd arrived from Austin, so she & I had sort of lazy day walking a bit of the city & then having a leisurely lunch on the roof of a classy hotel (e.g. One we could not afford) with a spectacular view of the city.  We chatted for a while with the CEO of the Time Out City Guides (tells you cool things to do in cities around the world) who talked about what a fantastic time he had at SXSW music festival in Austin.  Our last night in Lisbon was spent at a somewhat touristy Fado show, but the ones for the locals start around 11pm, so that was all we could get.  Nonetheless, it was entertaining & a bit of the music culture.

Chicas on the Camino Portugués

In 4+ weeks, five of us (3 from Albuquerque and 2 from Austin) will head to Lisbon and then onto Porto, Portugal to begin the 150 mile Camino walk to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.  We have each been doing training walks, weighing our backpacks and trying to determine the difference between what we NEED to bring versus what we would like to have with us.   After two prior Camino walks, I am convinced that the success of this venture depends upon have the right shoes & carrying the least weight possible.  I am committed to carrying no more than 15 lbs., but may carry even less and send some snacks & extra clothing ahead by taxi.  Still to be determined.  After checking that I can blog successfully from this iPad, I will head out for another training walk to insure I will be blister-free on the trip.  Also need to see if I can post photos. 

Travel photography

I finally have most of my travel photos in one place: on Google+. If you want to skip reading the blog & just look at some photos of my travels, go to my Google + photo page. Comments are always welcome.

September in Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks

For photos of this part of my American road trip, see my photos at: https://plus.google.com/photos/111149124852624617609/albums

Camino Portugues May 2013 Reidar Nørsett

Day 3 & 4 - On the Colorado River - August 29 & 30

Another early morning and a group consisting of about 15 adults and 20 Boy Scouts embark on a rafting trip on the Colorado. Recent rains meant the river was higher than usual and the color of red clay. I was a bit apprehensive that I might find such a "float" boring or under stimulating, but there were some inflatable kayaks available, so I chose to kayak instead of riding the raft. I ended up having the least likely (for me) kayaking partner: a 30-something guy from south Texas who called me "ma'am" the entire time, who voted for Rick Perry every election, is a proud gun-owner and hunter, and has zero interest in technology (would never be on Facebook)-- sort of everything I wanted to escape when departing Texas!! However, I much preferred having him as a co-pilot to one of the 12-year-old boys (who had ongoing water fights throughout the trip) and he turned out to be a fantastic partner: noticed wildlife I missed, happily waited as I unpacked my camera from its waterproof container, and approached the rapids with a confidence I lacked. I heard about his upbringing in foster care and how this was his first vacation in nine years. He teased me about all my liberal views and I ranted about the politics of Texas. Altogether, a great match. We camped out on the river bank, and if they could have found a way to provide showers, I would have cheerfully kayaked the river for a week. The trip was more than I expected, with exhilarating rapids and amazing views if the sandstone cliffs.

Day 1 of river trip.

Evening camp:

Arches National Park - August 28, 2013

I met up with the group from the Moab Adventure Center T 7:15 a.m. (early for me, but I am ready to go) and we had a tour of the park for the next 4 & 1/2 hours. Below are some of he photos from hat excursion.

In the evening, our group went out for a "Hummer Sunset Safari" - a title suggesting to me a quiet ride in the desert where there would be opportunities to see the canyons & the river in the evening light. What I DID NOT EXPECT was a hair-raising Hummer drive up 60 degree angles on gigantic rocks followed by racing curves in the sand. Remember that high anxiety feeling of going up the steep incline of a huge roller coaster where your stomach sinks and you wonder what on earth ever gave you the crazy idea of getting on the "Devil's Backbone Coaster?" That is EXACTLY the thought and expressed reaction of myself and several of my trip mates (excepting all the young adolescent and adult males who thought the experience was totally exhilarating!). It was terrifying and I kept wondering if my health insurance would even cover injuries due to such insane activities. I definitely should have read the liability release more carefully. However, the sunset photos were magnificent & would have made the "adventure" worth the terror if only I had not ERASED the entire memory card accidentally. Note to self: don't try to edit images while still under the influence of an adrenalin rush. So the experience of that night will remain in memory, but without visual accompaniment.