Biosciences Bonn: Portugal: a Tale of Three Cities (+Madrid)

I may have taken too many pictures of Portugal… The problem was: each view I got was the most beautiful view I’d ever seen. So, I took pictures of everything. This overwhelming beauty resulted in more than 4000 photos in a little over a week. Sooo y'all can sit back and relax while I tell you in a very long post how amazing my spring break in Portugal was.

Day 1

We landed in Porto much later than we’d hoped and promptly dropped our stuff in our rooms and went to bed. The next day we got to enjoy the glory of going outside without wearing a jacket for the first time in a few months. It was amazing to feel some sun on my skin and not having to hunch my shoulders against the cold wind!! That didn’t last long, however, as some rain came and the wind made us feel like idiots for forgetting umbrellas. There was no way to hide that we were dumb tourists as we scurried from awning to awning trying to find a place to duck into for some warmth and hot drinks.

The multilevel city is full of painted, tiled, and stone houses. Coastal trees and plants stuck up on every street corner. We climbed tons of stone pathways and walked across Porto’s iconic bridge more than once. We watched the sun set on the coast and waved hello to America, somewhere beyond the waves.

Day 2

We were supposed to have a hurricane the entire weekend we were there, but Sunday was even more beautiful than Saturday was, and the number of photos I took nearly doubled — a trend that will keep going each day we spent in this beautiful country. We climbed to the top of a church tower for an awesome panoramic view of the city and then ventured to the Garden of the Crystal Palace. The Palace itself was closed for some reason (probably renovation because that’s what they say for everything) but the gardens were gorgeous. There was so much green, and flowers dotted the trails. We even ran into some peacocks!!! And, of course, we got even more amazing views of the river, city, and bridge from the hillside of the gardens. Finally, we got back to the hotel and watched the Incredibles in preparation for the sequel coming out this summer! Whoop!

Day 3

Monday morning we ventured out in even BETTER weather to explore the other side of the river. Street vendors greeted us with handmade trinkets and we took pictures of beautiful gondolas tied to the riverbank. In the sunlight, the city looked like an artist’s masterpiece. After one last walk through the city and one last gelato, we headed to the airport to meet up with Izzie and fly to the center of the Atlantic Ocean to PARADISE, officially known as Sao Miguel. After unpacking and getting settled, we walked along the harbor until we found a local restaurant and had some amazing fish and vegetables, got gelato for dessert, and went to bed at a rather reasonable time of 11pm.

Day 4

Today our adventures REALLY began! We wanted to maximize our time outside while the weather was good because we expected it to get worse and worse as the week went on. We drove to a national park and stayed there from 10:30 until 4pm exploring all the hiking trails and waterfalls it had to offer. Hilariously, the tour guy in charge of maps wouldn’t give us a map because he didn’t think the walking trails were any good that day and told us not to go. So, off we went without a map into the wilderness! …It really wasn’t that scary; the paths were (mostly) paved, and we only crossed two “Do Not Go Here” signs. We slipped on rocks and got our feet wet and waded in the chilly mountain water, and even though it was cloudy and “ugly winter weather,” I thought everything about the park was beautiful: the moss on the rocks, the countless types of trees and greenery from sea level to the top of the hills, and waterfalls straight from National Geographic photo contest winners. I’ll be saying this a lot during this post: words can’t describe Sao Miguel, but I will damn well try to get it right.

After exhausting ourselves and realizing how dumb we were for not bringing water or food for the day, we got a super late lunch and headed off to Poça da Dona Beija. This, without a doubt, was the best way to spend a cold, rainy evening after climbing up and down a small mountain all day. Poça do Dona Beija is a "thermal bath attraction” heated by natural springs in the middle of the mountain. We ran through the cold rain in our bikinis feeling like idiots and all but threw ourselves down the stairs into the baths. The goosebumps stayed a little longer than I would’ve liked, but we warmed up quickly and had a great time reliving the day and goofing off in the waterfalls. We actually got too hot after awhile, and went back to the Airbnb for dinner, and headed straight to bed.

Day 5

Once again we were scared of running out of good weather by midday, so we rushed out of the house to get to where we thought some kayaking would be. On the way though we got sidetracked by an amazing ocean view from the road and ended up spending nearly two hours hopping around on rocks, getting sprayed by seawater, and posing for photos. The water was an amazing aqua-blue, and the clouds just added to the picturesqueness. It was amazing to be able to run around on the sand without shoes or a jacket! I’m sure this is a popular place in the summer, but since tourist season doesn’t start for another few months, the spot was deserted and we had a blast being a loud as we could and goofing off in the surf.

The kayaking we wanted to do was closed for the season, so we drove up to the start of a 13km hike that boasted a panoramic view of the island. It did not disappoint. The path leading to the peak was full of greens and flowers and trees and views of the ocean and city beyond compare. It rained on and off both on the way up to the peak, and on the way down when we got stuck in the dark. However, after a brief monsoon (where I found that my waterproof jacket has a tear…) the sky cleared completely and presented stars I had never before seen in my life. Ursa Minor was bright and easily identifiable, as well as many other constellations. One of the things I’d hoped to see while away from city life was the stars at night, and the wet clothes and scraped knees were totally worth it.

Day 6

We started the day off with an ATV tour of the west side of the island. Our guide, Miguel, I’m sure thought we were incredibly dumb, firstly because we were going so slow and secondly because Jack managed to roll his and Izzie’s ATV on its side not 10 minutes into the tour. So that was a good start. The ATV part was so much fun!! The last time I’d driven or even ridden an ATV was nearly 10 years ago, so zooming along coastal roads and mountain sides with the wind in my face was exhilarating! Miguel took us along the water, through some hills to a small lake and cafe, to his favorite secluded lake, and finally up to the tallest point of that side of the mountain. The views were incredible. If you did a full circle you would see: tons of tiny lakes scattered in the hills below, the west coast and farmlands dotted with cows, the east side of the island in the distance, and more hills obscuring the view of the north coast. We got super lucky with the weather (again!!) and had clear skies and just a little wind at the peak. All in all, I spent four hours laughing into the wind and taking in the most heavenly sights I’ve ever seen.

After lunch at our Airbnb we crammed ourselves back into our janky car to check out the west coast and sit back for the sunset. This coast was unlike any others on the island. It was made of black volcanic rock and had amazing, huge, crashing, brilliantly blue waves. We climbed around on the rocks taking way too many pictures and running from the spray if we got to close to the edge. We saw rocky coves, natural bridges, and found a somewhat less chaotic cove that had water heated by the volcanic rocks! Basically the hot water would flow through the rocks on the landlocked side, while waves pushed cold water through the opening to the ocean. Mitchell was the first to brave the water in 55 degree weather, and my adventurous side got the best of me and I joined in a few minutes later. Water shoes would have greatly helped with this… the rocks were worn but still sharp, and the waves were strong enough to pull you backward and forward even if you had a grip on the ropes spanning the cove. The waves would sometimes reach three feet high, and brought a huge rush of cold water. When the waves receded, though, the warm water from the rocks would flow with it and bring some relief. The experience wasn’t nearly relaxing, but it was super fun and I can say I took advantage of everything the island had to offer! I had to change in a hole when I was done because I didn’t want to get my only dry clothes wet with my swimsuit. The girls help my jacket up while I quickly changed from my swimsuit to my dry clothes (not an easy task when we didn’t bring proper towels and the hole was full of steam and water) and we ventured back up the mountain to watch the sunset.

Day 7

We woke up super early for our flight to Lisbon, and landed around 9am. After dropping our luggage off we walked around the city and joined a free walking tour with an AMAZING guide, Yuri! I highly recommend Yuri to anyone who goes to Lisbon and wants to learn a little bit about the city. He was funny, his tour was interactive, he got amazingly passionate when telling stories, and really made our one day in Lisbon enjoyable. I really like cities on hills. The architecture is astounding and I love seeing the sky through tall buildings. At this point we were pretty tired, but we wandered around until it was time to board our night bus to Madrid

Day 8

The only miserable rainy experience we had was arriving in Madrid. Thankfully, their metro system was easy enough to figure out, but walking to our Airbnb from there in the rain with all our luggage after a night of little sleep was less than fun. A long, hard nap later, we ventured to the city center and busied ourselves with Madrid history via another walking tour. Our guide, Leticia, pointed out a lot of free things we could do over the weekend and gave us lots of recommendations for authentic cuisine and treats, like Churros con Chocolate. It was almost too rich and sweet for me — which is saying something. At the end of the day we looked for some fun nightlife to join in on! We found our way to Grama, a cute little bar in the middle of town, and got some tasty fishbowls. The night turned from a carefree night of casual drinking into a learning experience on multiple levels, and we got home around 3am.

Day 9

Sunday in Madrid is home to El Rastro, the most popular flea market in the city. It was huge, and we only covered one street. I found a new necklace and a gorgeous blue and green tapestry I plan to hang on the wall in whatever apartment I move into when I (hopefully) find a job back in the States! For lunch, we went to a very popular cafe that serves basically whatever meat you want on a toasted baguette. I got octopus. Which was weird. It was seasoned with pimento powder and had an interesting flavor and texture. I don’t think I would order it again, but I definitely don’t regret trying it! The girls and I then ventured to the Royal Palace of Mardid, where we sat and soaked up the sun while listening to a harpist and his violinist friends play songs like “Hallelujah” and “What Child is This.” There was also a glass player there! He had different sized wine glasses with varying levels of water! He played “My Heart Will Go On” while we were watching, and the way he knew where all the glasses with the right sounds were was so cool. We then picked up some tacos, from Takos, and headed back home to eat and pack for our last flight, the one back to Bonn.

Every time I look at pictures of this trip I’m transported back to the island. I left my heart on Sao Miguel and can’t wait for an opportunity to go back, maybe when the weather is a little warmer and more predictable. I would also go back to Porto in a heartbeat. That picturesque painted town was gorgeous. This was by far the most exhausting and adventurous spring break I’ve ever had.