BEM-VINDO A PORTUGAL

We arrived in Porto, Portugal at approximately 11:00am on Sunday, Augu ast 17th, after a grueling train ride. Our first train originated in Madrid, Spain and left at about 10:30pm. Our car said “turismo”, which I now understand to mean "uncomfortable". We had seats that were in a group of four and faced each other. At first, the whole train was full with the exception of the seats directly in front of us. We began to get excited until at the last minute, a couple came lunging onto the car and claimed the seats in front of us. We did all we could to settle in and get comfortable for the seven and one half hour ride. About half way through, and to our surprise, the couple got out, leaving us the seats in front of us to stretch out on. A premature excitement overcame us, as even with the extra space, we each had an extremely restless night.

Right at 7:00am, as scheduled, the train stopped at its next station. The station was to be Porrino, our connecting station for our next train to Porto. It was dark outside, freezing cold, and the "train station" was essentially a piece of concrete along the tracks with a closed down, broken down building (shed) with no bathrooms, no attendants and no way to get inside. As we stopped, we asked people on the train if this was Porrino and they all said yes. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, we gathered our things and got off the train into the freezing air of this dark and lonely station. It was basically Idalis, me and this older, Spanish gentleman, just standing there, waiting for a train that we weren't sure was coming. However, much to our surprise, at 8:05am, exactly as scheduled, a train pulled up going in the opposite direction with an illuminated sign reading "Porto". We survived!

About three hours later, we arrived in Porto, otherwise known as O'Porto, the home of the popular, and incredibly expensive, Port wine. Port wine is a sweet wine, usually served after dinner, and is red in color and judged by its clarity. The clearest of the Port wines is usually in the neighborhood of 40 years old and is known as Port 'd Oro, or Port of Gold. Much like the wine, the City of Porto is also very fine and the people sweet. We arrived on a Sunday and aside from the tourists, there was not much going on. It was a bit shocking to see no local action. In fact, it was slightly depressing at first. Don't get me wrong, the city is incredibly impressive. After exploring, we realized that there were two parts of the city, one on either side of the river. There are five bridges that connect the two sides and the two sides are drastically different. It almost seems as if the river is equivalent to "the tracks". On one side, the historic, and slightly deteriorating, part of the city, 0n the other, the very posh and newly renovated and constructed part of the city with the large, rich Port wine dealers. I kept telling Idalis that it seemed as if the historic portion of Porto was the victim of a recent war. Despite the incredible beauty and breathtaking architecture, there is a large quantity of buildings that are deteriorating and in disrepair. There is also an underbelly of drugs and poverty. At no time did we feel unsafe, but it is very clear that there is a level of disparity in this city. We were more relieved on our following day, Monday, to find that the city had awakened and come alive. The sky was clear, the weather was beautiful and all the businesses were open and thriving and the locals and tourists were inhabiting the streets. It was a stark contrast from the day before and a perfect demonstration of the stark contrasts that comprise the city of Porto.

Next stop is Lisbon, Portugal. Please continue to follow along and please do not be afraid to post a comment, which can be done, anonimously if you wish, by clicking on the "comments" link below each post. It is always a great pleasure to hear from all of you and it usually makes our day!