A pretty good day

So, after posting a bunch of stuff this morning, I went out on the town. Town being Porto, Portugal, of course. First, I gotta tell you about this room. It's a tiny, dingy room on the top floor (4th, but 5th to all you yanks,) of this rat trap of a fleabag hotel in downtown Porto. The toilet is down the hall, but it's missing a light, so I use the one on the 3rd floor. The shower is on the 3rd floor, too. Shared with who knows how many people. The manager told me to lock my moto to a tree out front on the sidewalk so it doesn't get stolen. Last night, there were a bunch of idiotic tourists (I assume,) screaming at the top of their lungs at 3am. (Why do idiots insist on proclaiming their stupidity so loudly?)

Anyway, this morning, I left the hotel and headed for the Casa da Musica. It's a new concert venue designed by Rem Koolhas, and it really is great. Stainless steel all around, with curved glass walls, stone, and colored paving. Hi tech all the way. and beautiful. They even have an area where you can make electronic music on your own, and cut a CD of it, too. I may go there later for a latin music concert with Chuchu Valdes.
After that, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum is great, but the major part of the exhibition was devoted to a video artist of some repute. Sorry, the emperor/artist isn't wearing any clothes. Boring waste of time. Not so for the grounds. A beautiful park/farm in the city with some cool art, too.

After that, I zipped down to the coast and checked out a bunch of surf spots. I found one with some real promise, called ironically, English Beach. It looked so good, I beat feet back to the hotel, grabbed my gear and raced back to the beach. I was putting on my fins when the lifeguard came and tried to talk me out of it. He _really_ didn't want me going out. The surf was almost head high and broke off some rocks at the edge of a small pocket beach. He talked about the current, etc, yadda yadda, but he said he couldn't keep me from going out. So I went out. The waves were OK, a bit mushy and not really steep enough faces to bodysurf, but I caught a couple of fun ones. Just getting in the water with energy was great. After 40 minutes, 4 other surfers came out and told me the whole beach was concerned about my safety. hmmpf. One surfer said they called the cops. After an hour or so, I swam in. When I hit the beach and came in through the 4' shorebreak, there was applause. It seemed really silly, so I jumped back in the water and did some stupid pratfall stuff. The lifeguard, a city official, and a lady psychologist talked to me about my experience. The woman was really impressed that being a waterman was so easy for me. (Seems a bit weird for us BSers, I know.) The lifeguard eventually said I could have been arrested, because there was a blackball, even though he said he couldn't stop me earlier. I asked him if he was concerned about the boardsurfers, too, and he mumbled something.

After I left the beach, I rode back to town and found a little place called Vinologia. It's a bar that specializes in port wine. Being a port novice, I tried the top end 3 glass taster - white, tawny and ruby. That was so good, I had to have another glass of good tawny. The waiter/owner told me a bit about port wine and put a bowl of a dried apricot, chocolate, and a prune on the table to go with the 3 glasses. It was delicious. I'm now hooked. While I was drinking, 3 people came and sat next to me. Two ladies from Santa Rosa (one a winemaker,) and a Portugese man who makes port wine. In the next half hour, I got a lesson in the port wine industry.
In any case, I am now 19 Euros lighter and tipsy again, but really happy, too.  ;-)
So I think I need to get some food in me and maybe go listen to some good music.
Later.

2 views from my hotel room. The door on the right is the toilet.

 The Casa da Musica:

Scenes around Porto:

 Vinologia:

On riding in Portugal

Portugal is nice. I like it. But traveling in Portugal isn't the joy that riding in Austria, Italy, Corsica and France was. Because I've been horny for surf, I've stuck pretty close to the coast, and that is pretty heavily developed. There are towns every few clicks, so there isn't a lot of empty country to ride through. There definitely are some fine stretches, but they don't last long. So what I've been stuck with are a ton, no, make that thousands of tons of speed bumps. And speed bumps here can be a little different. Often, they are wide, from 5' to 20' wide, encompassing a pedestrian crosswalk. But there is this other, sneaky little thing that is used in many places. It's a radar traffic signal. The speed limit is set at 50kph, and the light will turn red if you go much faster than that. The light can be in the middle of nowhere, not at an intersection or crosswalk. It's just to slow you down and it only stays red a few seconds, but it's a pain in the butt when there is one every 1/2 mile. So, you're stuck with going slowly on the back roads, or hitting the autopista, where the speed limit is 120kph, but many people do 120_mph_. It's a little strange to be doing 95 in the slow lane and get passed by someone doing 120 or more. But the autopistas are boring, so it's a tossup between that or piddling along at 30mph through town after town, most of which look pretty much the same. And along the coast, that means little beach towns much like SoCal. But much prettier.

Street scenes in Cascais:

This is a neighborhood trash bin/recycle pickup. The trash truck hooks up an air hose and the whole thing raises to allow access to the bins underneath:

more route points

6-8 tue
Le vigan - D999 - D7 - D65 - Cornus - Fondamente - D93 - Le Clapier - D393 - D902 - Ceilhes - D8 - D35 - La Tour sur Orb - Bedarieux - D908 - Lamalou - D22 - St Gervais sur Mare - D22e - D922 - D622 - Murat - D162 - Rieu - D62 - D169 - Fraisse - D169 - Col de la Bane - Col du Cabaretou - D907 - St Pons - D612 - Courniou - D920 - Usclats - Col de Serieres - Col de Salette - D620 - Lespinassiere - Caunes Minervois - D620 - Carcassonne

6-9 wed
Carcassonne - D42 - Palaja - Arquettes - D310 - D110 - D114 - Clermont - D56 - Villardebelle - D129 - Col de l'Homme Mort(1:02:48  of gp194) - D70 - D54 - Valmigere - Missegre - D129 - Buc - Villebazy - Gardie - D151 - D104 - Limoux - D118 - Couiza - D613 - D14 - Le Mas - Bugarach - Gorges de Galamus - St Paul - D7 - St Martin - Col de Roque Jalere - Prades - Catllar - Prades

6-10 thu
Prades - D27 - Abby St Michel - Vernet les bains - Castail - Mariailles - Vernet - Sahorre - D6 - Col de Mantet - Sahorre - D27 - N116 - Joncet - Olette - Evol - D4 - Tourol - Ayguatebia-Talau - Col de la Llose - D118 - Mont Louis - D618 - Font Romeu - Egat - Estavar - LLivia - Gorguja - Saillagouse - N116 - Prades

6-11 fri
Prades - N116 - Bouleternere - D618 - Amelie les Bains - D115 - Prats de Mollo - Col de Ares - Camprodon - Sant Joan de las Abadesses - Ripoll - N152 - Collada de Toses - Puigcerda

6-12 sat
Puigcerda - col de Puymorens - Port d'Envalira - Canillo - Ordino - Andorra La Vella - la Seu - Adrall - Sort - Llavorsi - Port de la Boniagua - Vielha - Bossost - Les - Bossost - Bagneres de Luchon - col de Peyresourde _ Arreau _ St Lary

6-13 sun
St Lary - Col d'Azet - Loudenvielle - Estarvielle - Bagneres de Luchon - Col du Portillon - Vielha - El Pont - La Pobla de Segur - Tremp - Isona - Benevent - Isona - Col de Nargo - Vilada - Les Llosses - Ripoll

6-14 mon
Ripoll - N260 - Olot - GI524 - Sta Pau - Banyoles - Esponella - N260 - Ordis - N11 - C260 - Castello - GI614 - Cadaquez - GI614 - C260 - N11(past Girona) - C65 - LLagostera - Veinat de St Lorenc - Sant Grau - GI682 - Tossa de Mar - N11 - Barcelona

6-15 tue
Barcelona on foot

6-16 wed
Barcelona on foot

6-17 thu
Barcelona - AP7 - L'Hospitalet de l'Infant - A7/N340 - L'Ampolia - AP7 - A7 - Alicante - Elche/Elx - Santa Pola - Torrevieja

6-18 fri
Torrevieja - National road to - Cartegena - Mazarron - Aguilas - Vera - Garrucha - Carboneras - A7 - Almeria - N340 - Benehadux - A348 - Canjayar - Fondon - Paterna del Rio - Bayarcal - A337 - Laroles - Mecina Alfahar - Mecina Bombaron - Cadiar

6-19 sat
Cadiar - A348 - Torvizcon - Orgiva - Lanjaron - A44 - Granada - Armilla - A338 -Alhama de Granada - ventas - A402 - A7204 - Periana - A356 - Casabermeja - A356 - Colmenar - A7000 - Malaga - A7 - Fuengirola - A7 - Marbella - San Pedro - A397 - Ronda

6-20 sun
Ronda - A374 - MA505 - Benaojan - Jimera de Libar - A369 - Benadalid - A405 - Jimena - Gib - N340 - CAP2216 - Bolonia - N340 - A48 - Jerez - NIV - Sevilla

6-21 mon
Sevilla - E1/A49 - Ayamonte - E01/IP1 - Tavira - 125 - Faro - E01/IP1 - Guia - 125 - Sagres - Belixe - Sagres - Vila do Bispo - 268 - Praia do Amado - 268 - Vila do Bispo - Raposeira - Zavial - Raposeira - Sagres

6-22 tue
Sagres - Belixe - Vila do Bispo - Praia do Castelejo - Bispo - Amado - Sagres - Zavial - Amado - Sagres

6-23 wed
Sagres - Cabo de Sao Vicente - Sagres - Bispo - Amado - Aljezur(castle) - Odaseixe - Praia de Odaxeixe - N120 - Brejao - Praia do Cavalhal - Zambujeira do Mar - Cabo Sardao(bird nests) - Almograve - Milfrontes(statue) - 390 -Brunheiras - Malhadunha - Porto Covo - Sines - 261-5 - Brescos - Praia do Santo Andre - 261 - Melides - Comporta - 253-1 - Ferry to Serubal - 379-1 - Arrabida - 379 - Cabo Espichel(church) - Aldeia do Maco - Alfarim

6-24 thu
Alfarim - 377 - 378 - Fernao Ferro - 378 - 10 - Corroios - Almada - bridge(toll-free) - A5 - Carcavelos - Ave. Marginal - Cascais - 247 - Guincho - Malveira da Serra - Guincho - Cascais - A5 - Belem - A5 - Cascais

6-25 fri
Cascais - Guincho - Malveira da Serra - Pe da Serra - Colares - Galamares - Sintra - Castelo dos Mouros - Autodromo do Estoril - Alcabideche - Amoreira - Alcabideche - Malveira da Serra - Guincho - Cascais

6-26 sat
Cascais - Guincho - Cabo da Roca - Sintra - Ericeira - Ribamar - Sao Pedro da Cadeira - Silveira - Porto Novo - Casal Nova - Lourinha - Peniche - Baleal - IP6 - A8 - Tornada - 8 - Alcobaca - Batalha - Leiria - Ortigosa - Monte Redondo - 109 - Tocha - Praia de Mira - (back road?) - Cabeco de Mira - 109 - Aveiro - A25 - A29 - Vila Nova de Gaia - Porto

Cascais, etc.

6-24-10  Now I’m in Cascais , a suburb, more or less, of Lisbon. I passed right by Lisbon today without stopping, but I’ll see it tomorrow. Today, I checked the surf in the local hotspot – Guincho. Of course it was lousy. Waist high onshore slop. I watched for 40 minutes looking for an edge I could ride for more than 3 seconds. Nada. Even the 10 board surfers were pulling out after 5 second mush rides. Oh well, I didn’t expect much anyway. But a guy can dream, right? So, after tracking down a cheap bed for the night, I backtracked into Belem, another suburb. It’s most famous for a 150 year old pastry shop that serves a little cream pastry with sugar and cinnamon on top.  There is also the Monastery of the Two Jeronimos, and a few museums, one of which is the Berardo Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. I checked out the Monastery and the Art museum before scoring my pastries. The Monastery dates from the early 15^th Century, with lots of modifications since then. It is beautiful. What you’d expect of a medieval church with stained glass, ornate stonework, and carved woodwork. Impressive. Of course, the woman I saw wearing a stylishly flimsy summer dress was at least as beautiful as anything in the building, I thought. The art museum was interesting. I’ve seen 2 other well known modern art museums this trip, but this was the best, by far. I’m not impressed by the art& language movement, but the collection had some really interesting pieces. There were several other special exhibits as well as one floor dedicated to a broad display of their permanent collection, from the surrealists (Dali, Picasso, Miro, etc,) to Andy Warhol’s soup cans, Dan Flavin’s neon lights, and the South American primitive submarine recently shown at the SD downtown Contemporary Museum. I finished off the day with a superb dinner by the sea back in Cascais. A lemon flavored fillet of fish with a side of tomato rice with shellfish after a nice fish soup. Desert was the house special – slices of pecan pie and pumpkin pie with dollops of strawberry and banana ice cream, all smothered in whipped cream. Washed down with a small bottle of white wine, of course. And that makes me done for the night.

Me at the MCA, listening to a tape of foreign sounds on a rickety ladder:

 I also went to Sintra to visit the Palace there. Cool place, but the President of the country showed up, too. I wondered why there was a band playing Sousa marches. The president is somewhere in the crowd.

Stuff...

6-24-10 “Made from typical autochthonous grapes…” Hell, I don’t know how to pronounce that, much less what it means, but it was written on the bottle of wine I drank last night. That was at dinner where I got charged .60 Euros for butter, 1.50 for a little pate’, and .65 for the bread they put on my table. I still haven’t got used to paying extra for the little stuff they put on your table, even though you didn’t order it.  They also put bottles of olive oil and vinegar on the table but didn’t charge me for that. I dunno.

Sometimes I head down a road just because it look interesting, not knowing what’s there or why I’m going. Sometimes it surprises me. Like yesterday. It was getting late in the day and I needed to find a place to stay. The ride out of Setubal was a lot of fun with twisties right next to the sea. I passed up Sesimbra and headed out towards Cabo Espichel. There’s no surf, but I figured I might find an interesting surf break anyway. It was a lot farther than I thought and it became obvious that there weren’t going to be any hotels out there. The landscape was pretty barren, all low shrubs and no trees. I was about ready to turn around when I went over a rise and saw a lighthouse off in the distance and an amazing majestic structure near it. Hmmm. As I rode up to it, an old shepherd moved his flock off the road so I could get by. I parked my bike and walked up to see an old church with two long buildings facing it, creating a long courtyard. The buildings were all closed up and deserted. It was eerie. I thought of Sergio Leone and his spaghetti westerns and the place would have made a perfect set for the final showdown. The wind was blowing, the sun was low, and the sea was just behind the church below sheer cliffs that were several hundred feet high. Desolate and spooky.  To add to the strangeness, there was a chapel with a hershey’s kiss roof not far away with a marker that said dinosaur tracks could be seen going from the beach up the cliff.

Things I learned in Sagres…

1. Cabo de Sao Vicente near Sagres is the most south-westerly point in Europe and was known as the End of the World to Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and everybody else in Europe until the 15^th Century. The reason is because up until the invention of the caravel sailing ship, it was almost impossible to sail upwind. And since the prevailing winds around the cape are almost always southerly, anyone sailing past the cape had no assurance they’d ever come back. The invention of the caravel was a major factor in the great Age of Discovery in the 14^th and 15^th Centuries. It meant the Columbus had some hope of being able to return from his trips to the unknown. It must have taken incredible courage to set off on those trips with so little chance of success.

2. The word “ton” derives from the word tun, (tonne) or barrel. The barrel was the common storage container on early trading ships, and ships were described by the amount of barrels they could carry – 20 tonnes, 50 tonnes, etc.

"The last hotdog before America" at the Cape:

Back at the beach

OK, it only took a few good roads and getting back in the ocean to get my mind off the mindf**k of Barcelona. Being the victim of a crime is not healthy for the mind or soul, but I'm enjoying life again. Andalucia really does have some beautiful country. The beaches don't impress me much, mainly because they are all covered with tourists from Europe, the States, and everywhere else, but the inland & mountains are cool. And now that I'm in Sagres, Portugal, it's back to surfing safari time. Sagres is like so many other surf destinations around the world. One, the second language in Portugal is English, not Spanish as I expected. And if you've been to any surf destination, you know what this place is like - surf shops, cheap hotels, and lots of cool dudes who know what the stoke is all about. I imagine this place has been surfed since the mid-sixties, maybe earlier.
I've found a half dozen breaks, all beach breaks at the bottom of 100' cliffs. The problem is wind. It howls here. I mean, REALLY howls. It's bad news when you see wind energy machines all around you. But there are some breaks in the lee, and a couple where the wind is offshore most of the time. The other problem? Well, if you've seen Endless Summer, you know what people said when I showed up last night before sunset. I saw some waist high waves and asked some locals about the surf. Yeah, right: "Ya shoulda been here yesterday." So, this morning, I ot up for an early surf check, and sure enough, it was flat. Oh well, I got in the water anyway and caught a tiny mushburger of blown-out beach break, but what the heck, it's one more country I can say I've surfed in.
And there's no such thing as a bad day of surfing, right? And yes, there are naked boobs on the beach.
So, life is good again.