Jane, Dave & Ruby’s Portugal & Spain adventure

Think all 3 of us breathed a sigh of relief on arriving at Quinta do Pomarinho in alto Alentejo 😃 - a lovely huge estate, with a range of accommodations, run by a Dutch couple Robert and Joop. Peace and tranquillity for a few days 😃    We rejuvenated ourselves by exploring the surrounding countryside, the vast cork and oak forests, the beautiful medieval hill top towns, and in the evening being looked after well by Robert and Joop in the gorgeous little taberna they have built, complete with crackling fire - lovely food, drink and company to wile  away a few hours 😃 Home for 5 days 😀   Beautiful evening sunsets Castelo de Vide, a beautiful hill top town complete with fortress and numerous thermal springs was interesting to explore, particularly around the charming narrow medieval streets. The old Jewish synagogue is also one of the few obvious examples of the country’s former Jewish population. Rooftops from the castle Beautiful medieval streets Inventive ways to dry your washing

Carlota was our guide for the “Back to Porto’s Roots” walking tour of the city. She was so full of knowledge, and enthusiasm, not only originating from Porto herself, but she also studied history at Porto University 😃 This was a fabulous way to get a feel for the city, it’s history, and our bearings early on in our stay. 👍 Shame the weather was rubbish though 😟 Interesting to hear about world influences on the development of Porto (e.g. tiles inspired by seafarers journeys to the Netherlands), and the ease with which different cultures, nationalities and religions coexist in the city, in harmony (now, as opposed to the past). Portugal really does appear to live up to its international reputation of welcoming foreigners 👍😃 Was also interesting to hear about the regeneration of the city over the past 20 years, primarily through tourism, and huge reduction in youth drug use through their national legalisation and rehabilitation policy. This too has had an extremely positive impact on

We left northern Spain with some mixed emotions- excitement at what the next part of our adventure might bring, but also some slight sadness and unease. We’ve really enjoyed spending time in Spain, feel that we have definitely gained confidence in speaking Spanish, and feel a sense of familiarity and comfortableness. Heading into Portugal brings with it unfamiliarity and new challenges, but that’s all part of the big travel experience 😃 One of the first things we noticed on approaching Portugal was the distinct lack of other traffic on the road heading the same way - in fact there wasn’t any! As we passed over the border, again just a sign saying welcome to Portugal 🇵🇹) the road surface became potholed (just like in UK!) - this was a direct contrast to smooth road surfaces in Spain. We also noticed much poorer internet connection 😯 The poorer neighbours? Time will tell…. But perhaps the thing that surprised us the most was that Portugal occupies a different time zone to Spain - how