¡Hola!
I hope everyone is doing alright today.
its been awhile since the last one, so some things will be skipped. sorry, thats how it goes sometimes.
lisbon was a great place. my day trip to Sintra for a castle and a palace turned out beautiful but had a crazy amount of walking--sometimes signs are made only for people in cars and not for people walking. but the however many uphill kilometers through the forest was worth it. the next day, back in lisbon, i relaxed at the oceanarium. favorite animal: the manta ray. it was cool to see it and not have to swim my heart out to keep up with it (as in fiji). although, the rockhopper penguin was a close second. the cute little guy really does just hop all around, and for his size, he makes some pretty big jumps.
so, then it was lagos...i'm not exactly sure what i can say (there's going to be a few details missing) about my extended-by-one-day stay (for a total of 3 nights) at the hostel called Rising Cock--one symbol of portugal is a black rooster, which the hostel has a live one as a sort of mascot, and they just kind of played with the name a bit. out of all the places i have stayed, i have never seen anything like this hostel. first of all, the people are the most open, nicest people in one hostel. by the second day, it was one big family that you could talk to anyone about anything. the days consisted of the beach. and thats it. the nights....were long.... on the last night a group of us were going to go to the beach to see the moon and the ocean, but on the way there we ran into someone that said, "hey, its portugals independence day at midnight. there's a fado concert and fireworks." that was a nice surprise and ran into even more people at the concert. the firework show had the oddest selection of music i've ever heard for that kind of shindig. i laughed so much that night that in the morning it felt like somebody punched me in the ribs (which could have been possible).
the three nights were good, but it was the kind of place where, when you leave, you run as fast as you can. the bus to seville, spain (sevilla) flew by because i talked with three awesome french people (they were also at the same hostel, we were sort of roommates). i don't think i'm ever going to forget sevilla and it was a perfect introduction to spain. the sights are beautiful--a cathedral that makes you feel like an ant, and a palace that takes hours to explore--and you can feel the culture in the people walking the streets. definitely one of my favorites, but again, a good place depends on a lot of other things and this one had people. the best kind of people.
time for a siesta! with the siesta, spain may beat out portugal in coolness. although, there is no list. really, i just like siestas. i guess its a holiday weekend in spain this weekend (meaning thursday to sunday, and a bit of wednesday), which means i need all the sleep i can find. you eat dinner here at 10pm and go out at 12. crazy spain. tomorrow i'll be going to madrid for a few days and then its valencia for my birthday! (4 may) i don't know what it is going to be like, but i'm easily amused so i won't worry to much about it.
have a good day
your friend
chad
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