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!

OJALA (I HOPE)

Well, here we are on our fourth and final day in Madrid and it has been a true test of wits. What we thought would be a day of wandering the city to catch the last of the sights has turned to a day tucked into the back corner of an internet cafe trying to straighten out our travels. We sat here as we watched our daily allowance slip away between expensive phone calls to the States to have the hold on our credit card lifted, because someone at Capital One forgot to transfer the note that we would be traveling to an actual advisory. Also by trying to make reservations in the next town we will arrive in, Porto, Portugal. By trying to pay FPL and Verizon from abroad, impossible! And by trying to add money to our international cell phone. So far, we await success in any of those endeavors. However, we are not allowing it to dampen our spirits. We have decided to take whatever meager change is returned to us from the Internet Cafe´s personable Indian resident and purchase a Mahou beer...to share!

In summary, our observations of Madrid have concluded as such. It is a beautiful city that melds the historic with the modern. It is a city that has trouble, as do all major cities. We went through a rather seedy part of town to get to this internet cafe. However, this city also charges toward the future with a very comprehensive recycling program. Most inhabitants prefer to smash their wine bottles into the receptacle at 2:00am. They have an incredible transportation system, though many people walk. And, the boats in the lakes of their public parks are powered by solar cells. Very historic, yet very progressive. A pleasant mix and one that ¨I HOPE¨ my own country can adopt in an effor to preserve it´s past and protect it´s future.

This is the third post in three days. Please do not get used to this. We are just starting with a bang. Our next post should probably be tomorrow advising of our impressions of Porto. If not, we shall enter by Lisbon. We love and miss you all. Wish us luck as we try to work out the bugs in this traveling system.

LOS EUROS ESTAN COMIENDO NUESTROS DOLARES

Welcome back. Once again we have been confined to the use of an internet cafe, albeit we get to use our computer this time, which helps us feel slightly better about buying it. We just finished eating McDonald's, which we only did for the promise of free internet (wifi), only to find out that you had to order a value meal and not just a sundae and a cone, after we ordered, of course. Now I have an upset stomach and I am paying for internet service! Oh well, at least the readers will be entertained.

I must say, I have never walked so much in my entire life. Of course we could take the Metro everywhere, but then we couldn't eat, cause as the title of this blog states, these Euros are eating our dollars! Idalis sat down to do a budget as I slept and woke me to advise that we are way over budget! We are hoping that Portugal and Morocco help to offset our expenses. Without knowing it, we ate a meal last night that cost as much as our hostel! I suppose it was still better than trying to eat a mattress!

Today's activities found us wandering in the Parque del Buen Retiro, the Central Park of Madrid. Absolutely beautiful, with so much activity and so many things to do. We spent the day wandering around, lying in the sombra (shade) and photographing the many fuentes (fountains) that this city has to offer. Afterwards, we smuggled a bottle of wine, some jamon, cheese and bread into the Jardin Botanico (Botanical Garden) and had an impromptu picnic. It was the first taste of wine we have had since entering Spain and cost a mere 2,75 Euros! A deal at twice the price. It was marvelous! Tonight, we sit in a quiet, lonely, little internet cafe and plan on securing accommodations for Porto, Portugal. We purchased our one way train tickets yesterday at the magnificent train station, Atocha. It even has a mall inside!

We've seen the ducks, we've seen the lakes, we've seen the buildings and we've seen the many plazas and we've eaten the tapas, now it is time for us to go. We have one last day in Madrid and will spend it wandering around the shops of Puerta del Sol, packing and perhaps doing some laundry, though to be honest, we have only worn two outfits each in four day's time. They should be able to smell us in Porto before we arrive!

!Hasta Luego!

VENTE PA´MADRID

Greetings from Madrid, our first stop on what should prove to be a very long vacation! Well, we made it in safely at 7:00am on Wednesday morning after not having slept on the plane, as planned. As it turns out, the recline button on the US Airways jet planes is really just a cruel joke. We tried every combination of postures that two bodies can assume and had no luck. Even years of yoga training seemed fruitless! All in all, not a bad trip. Arriving in Madrid on the first day, we immediately headed to the hostal after a short Metro (tube) ride. As it would turn out, the line that we needed was down for repair so it required us to be flexible and look for alternatives. Kudos to the people of Madrid, as they are incredibly friendly and helpful!

Madrid is an incredible city. Part new, part old and constantly bustling! On our first real night of sleep, Wednesday night, I must tell you that the only time there seemed to be absolute silence was around four a.m. Other than that, this city and its people are in constant motion. The architecture is incredible, no surprise. The people of Madrid have the uncanny ability to meld the old and the new in seemless and flawless fashion. I must advise you, though, that I believe that the codes that apply to elevators and showers need some review as they all seem to be undersized. Our hostal is pretty nice, at least clean. After a short battle with the manager, Idalis straightened out our bill and saw that justice was served.

We originally considered buying a Metro pass, but have done pretty well and have seen a lot by foot. It is so nice to be able to walk amongst such incredible history. It has made me better understand the type of community planning and construction that I have been witness to in South and Central America, as this is where it originated. Around every corner is a new surprise, be it a street full of jovial patrons or a block tightly crowded with incredible buildings, walkways and a smattering of stores and cafes. It has made every meal a complete adventure and history lesson rolled into one.

I mentioned to Idalis, though maybe it is far too early to do so on this blog, that I see one of the lessons of our travels being to understand the contrast of mankind. It is amazing how you can see such incredible art and architecture, created by the hand of man, and then around a new corner witness atrocities of human kind, such as poverty, strife and violence. Not that we witnessed any violence first hand. However, the Spanish have a long history of war (guerra) and colonization. Just an illustration of extremes as expressed by a single culture.

Tapas and raciones are the systems of focd delivery as is the ´menu de dia´. The food is spicy and strong in flavor, similar to the inhabitants. Though Idalis swore that she would be drinking wine the entire time we were to spend in Spain, she has been confined to beer, by choice. However, that will change this afternoon when we stop to picnic in the Parque Retiro, where we will dine on jamon, queso and vino shortly after planting our flag in `Retired Park`! As I wrap up this post, we will proceed to investigate the cheapest transportation option to carry us to Porto, Portugal, a city that Idalis has heard a lot of gocd things about and one that we cannot wait to explore. Please continue to stay tuned and know that we are alive and kicking in Spain! Hasta luego, vale!

ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?

Here we are, on the eve of a huge transition in our lives and in the lives of those around us. All Idalis can keep saying is, "Are you ready for this?" Up until about five minutes ago, the answer was consistently, "No!" However, once this post is complete, I will lie down on my parent's long couch, and Idalis on the love seat, and I will hopefully fall asleep finally feeling ready. These last couple of months have been quite insane. I thought being retired meant you just sat around all day trying to invent things to do. However, I can't even remember the last time we just sat around.

Today went by very fast, but has felt long. We pretty much spent all day doing last minute errands. Aphrodite got her teeth cleaned, Nate got a key to the bike lock, Mario got the phone I borrowed back, I got one last visit with Mike, Josue and Laura (thanks for breakfast, Mike!), Goodwill got a healthy donation and most importantly, our bags got packed. Idalis did a stellar job of packing her 55 liter bag with room to spare. I, however, went over my target weight of 35 pounds by five pounds. It was amazing how much we started off with, how much we had to sacrifice and how little we actually wound up with. I can see us shedding even more as we move along. It really is impossible to be prepared for every ocassion, though that did not stop me from trying. I think we pretty much got it all. If we have forgotten something, I will be very surprised. However, if we had to leave something behind that we need, I would not be. Either way, it is far too late and we are far too tired to put any more effort into it. Doesn't really matter, cause we will just be asking Katie to bring anything we forget to India with her when she comes for her visit. I already gave my sister, ReAnne, a bag with three things to give her. We love you, Katie!!!

Over the course of this blog many of you have chimed in and it has brought us an immense amount of pleasure. It is always such a great surprise to see multiple comments in the comments section. However, now it is time to get serious, people! We played with our new mini-computer this afternoon and we think we are ready to go. Thanks to my sister for the crash course in computer technology! We have also heard many people say, "Enough is enough, would you guys please leave already?!" Oh, and, "Bring back an Indian baby," but that one is not as relevant. Anyways, your wishes and ours have come true. We leave tomorrow, for real this time! To the dismay of Idalis and I, there is not enough time for one last happy hour get together! Thanks to all of you who have continuously supported us, who have shown up to each of our functions and who have posted on this blog. We love and will miss you all! Grandma, don't be sad, we will be sure to write!

We will wake up tomorrow to a freshly made breakfast of pancakes (thanks, Mom!). After that, it is a caravan to the ariport for what is sure to be one big hot emotional mess! If we forgot to call you, could not make it to dinner (sorry Nicky D!), or didn't get to hang out with you one last time, we apologize. Please be assured that though you will not fit in our packs, as many of you have suggested, you will most definitely fit in our hearts! Please stay in touch, be vigilant in your blog entries and know that we will think of you often as we wander the globe. We cannot express enough how important each of you are to us and how much we love and are inspired by you ALL! Bonnnnn Voyaaaaaage!!!!

ONE LAST HOORAH!

It is 11:30 on Wednesday night. We had plans to go to dinner tonight with friends, but it was cancelled (feel better Montrez!). We just got done eating a dinner consisting of lobster that I caught with some friends the last time we went out on Shawn's boat. Since all of our kitchen utensils were packed, it made preparations very difficult and we had to eat it out of plastic Glad containers. Not befitting of a lobster dinner, but delicious none the less. This is actually the first evening that we have been able to just sit at home. I would like to say that we were able to do nothing, but I would be lying. Idalis went through a couple of boxes of historic memorabilia and cleaned out her files. We got to look at some old pictures and read articles about how awesome and talented she is. She also found a receipt for a Eurail pass she bought when she was nineteen. Suffice it to say that prices have risen dramatically. In fact, we went to our bank today to purchase some Euros to have for when we arrive in Spain. Five hundred Euros cost us about eight hundred bucks. Looks like PB&J sandwiches will be a staple throughout Europe!

We had a very interesting day Monday. So interesting, in fact, I have not gotten a chance to tell you about it until now. Anyways, we had a 10:30 appointment at the Dade County Health Department for our last round of vaccines. We arrived at the clinic, paid our seven bucks to park and went inside. We went to door number ten, as we have for six months now, and to our surprise, the door was locked and the lights were out. As we peaked inside to try to understand what was going on, the security guard advised us that the travel clinic was closed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. "Impossible", I said. "No", he said. I told him that we had an appointment and we told him that was impossible. He did not believe us until I showed him our print out and then he was as mystified as us. He advised that we call the main number. We did. We spoke to a very kind lady who advised us, once again, that the downtown clinic was closed on M,W &F. I told her of our dilemna and how we had an appointment. She offered to call the director of the Little Haiti clinic to see if they would see us. After a few tense minutes, she called back and advised that although they would not honor our appointment, we were welcome to go down and pull a number. So, we did. After announcing our arrival and once again explaining our dilemna, we were asked to fill out some paperwork and have a seat. So, we did. After witnessing an outburst, listening to some strange conversations and drafting a three page letter to the Miami Dade County Health Department, our number was finally called. We had finally made it to the end of this six month process to become immunized against every modern disease known to man, or so we thought. After being called in, we were promptly advised that the clininc had no more Japanese Encephalitis vaccines available. We explained that this was our last shot and that it had to be given twenty-eight days after the first. They were neither moved nor concerned. So, we agreed to at least be administered our last series of Hepatitis A and B vaccines. After paying, we immediately ran home and began some intense research to locate two Japanese Encephalitis vaccines. After calling all of the remaining Dade County Health Department clinics, we then proceeded to contact the Broward clinics, where I spoke to the rudest government employee I have ever encountered in my entire life and I worked for the government for fifteen years! We then hit up several private travel/adult immunization clinics until we found our saviours at the Concentra Medical Center. It was 4:00pm and we had to be at dinner with my brother Mike and his girlfriend Amail at 6:00pm. So, we ran to the car, hauled you know what to Sunset and 64th and parked at a meter. I began to feed the parking meter and it would only give us eighteen minutes regardless of how many coins I fed it. I drafted a quick note to any looming enforcement officers and placed it in the windshield. We ran upstairs and much to our surprise, we were treated like real people, ushered through promptly, given shots that we barely felt and made it back down to the car before the eighteen minutes were up. All in all, the experience of acquiring immunizations through the public health clinic, though the cheapest option, has been a total nightmare. I would go so far to say that it was the most difficult of all the preparations and spans a period of six months. I told Idalis that this was practice for what we were sure to encounter in various locations around the globe. Should any of you plan to follow in our footsteps, please be sure to either spend the extra money and find a real good travel clininc or give yourself plenty of time to deal with the bureaucracy.

Things are much calmer now. Thanks to Fernando at Beach Auto Tag, my sister ReAnne is now insured to drive our car while we are away. Thanks to Antoniette at HSBC we are now completely covered on all things relating to our travel account and thanks to Marshall's I know have the last few clothing items that I needed. The condo is a total mess and finding anything is pretty impossible as it is all packed away. One last trip to the warehouse this Saturday should take care of our remaining belongings and Saturday night will be the last evening we spend at home. Our take off is rapidly approaching, but I feel that we will make it out fully prepared and having covered all of our bases. Our tenants, Christine and Andres, will probably begin to move in shortly after we leave. Uncle Marty was kind enough to deliver the bike rack for the building this morning, my final duty as interim Condo Association Secretary, and everyone that is receiving our furniture has been scheduled for pick up. We have one last happy hour celebration at Monty's this Friday with all of our friends and a family party at Aunt Connie's house on Sunday. After that, one and a half tense and emotional days until take off. We made one last minute decision that may prove to be a life saver, if not just totally convenient. We purchased a compact computer, seven inches and less than two pounds, to carry around the world with us. At first we were committed to using internet cafes, and may still have to in some cases, but now, we are very happy with our decision as we believe it will make staying in contact much easier. I guess what this means is that there should be no excuse for not keeping this blog up to date. I just hope that you all enjoy it and follow along with us. There will soon be an advice and input option, so, if you have any ideas or things you would like to see, please let me know. After all, it was only a short while ago when all I knew how to do was to turn a computer on.

We hope to see you Friday at Monty's. If not there, we hope to see you at Aunt Connie's on Sunday. If not there, we are sorry that we missed you and send you our love!

UPGRADES

With all the chaos that is whirling around our heads these days, with only ten days until take off, it is hard to believe that we actually found the time to make modifications to our exteriors! However, we did. We took a 'Ferris Bueler's Day Off' and in between the various number of errands that we had been running, for several days in a row, we got tatted and pierced. Idalis had been wanting to get her nose pierced for some time. However, due to her obligations to the Dade County School Board, she never felt quite able to pull it off without appearing to become less responsible. Go figure! As for me, I have been shunning responsibility for some time now so I was a go for a new tattoo. I had taken my parents to a web site that gives exact coordinates for various locations throughout the globe. I asked them to point the cursor at the exact location where I had been born and thus the coordinates, latitude and longitude, have made their way onto my feet. It took me until the absolute last minute to decide exactly where to put them and I owe it all to the combined effort of Idalis and Katie. Idalis says that this way 'my feet will always guide me home.' I felt like it was more of a 'if lost, return to sender!'

Things are really cranking now and I think it is fair to say that Idalis and I are both a hot mess! Just after I was starting to feel like we were getting somewhere, I got some bad news. First, it looks like our little pug, Aphrodite, has osteo- arthritis in her two rear hips and 'grade-four' gum disease. Now, both of us will be taking glucosamine each morning and one of us will be getting a deep root cleaning. Aphrodite's next follow up appointment will be on Monday, August 11th. That will be the day before we leave, for those of you who are following along. The other bit of malinformation was delivered by our State Farm agent, with a smile I might add. Apparently after 22 years of consistent and timely insurance payments, on my behalf, they are completely unable to accomodate our request to cover my sister to drive our car and be insured while we are away. Therefore, we must now pay to transfer tag and title to my sister only to have to transfer it back to us again upon our return. Leave it to beaurocracy to tap one's wallet dry! I am glad I sold the Jeep (thanks Eddy, enjoy!) and don't have to give them another cent!

The apartment is close to empty and we have been sleeping on the couch bed, which will soon reside in our friend Rick's house, and spending the night on the floors and couches of friends and family, all the while living out of bags. Good practice, I suppose. Never in a million years would I have guessed how involved a process it is to disappear! Thanks to the complexities that modern man has bestowed upon himself, and us, the work to prepare never seems to end. At this point, I feel as if it will take a miracle to get us on that plane, but get on that plane we will. Believe it or not, we only recently secured a reservation for our first night in Madrid (thanks Mum!). Stick around folks, things are about to get interesting!

For those of you who have been following this blog, you are starting to realize that I have somehow become philisophical. So, let me continue, lest I disappoint the readership. The newest lesson is a lesson in clarity. I think it is safe now to say that we have pretty much become single track minded, in a good way. What I mean is that we have pretty much managed to dissolve all aspects of life that do not directly correlate to this trip. In doing so, a lot of the customary clutter in our lives has been eliminated. This, in turn, has allowed us to streamline thought, eliminate clutter and refine focus. You would be absolutely amazed at how receptive the mind becomes once it is devoid of distraction. Another way of putting it is that we have actually become kind of good at recognizing signs and listening to that little voice in our heads. When something is good and right and in line with the powers of the universe (What?), then things just fall into line. Such has been the case with this dream of ours. The more we just allow things to happen and follow our instincts, the less resistance we meet on our path. I assume this is the goal of meditation and the concept behind nirvana. I am fairly certain that it can be applied in all aspects of life or any goal or dream. I suppose the simplest way to put it is, practice not doing and everything will fall into place.