Sintra to Lisbon and More

Subconsciously, I had been putting off riding to the city center of Lisbon. I decided to go for it yesterday. I am now here at a hotel. The two hostels I contacted which were open suggested to find a hotel since they were not sure if they were going to stay open due to the pandemic.

Many restaurants are closed, people stand outside the pharmacies waiting their turn to enter, notices are posted on stores, the national theater, historic sites saying that they will be closed indefinitely. There are still tourists here, but those I have talked to are rethinking their plans. This hotel is full… go figure. I’ve been waking at night as I do when something is weighing upon my mind. In Sintra, I had the entire hostel to myself after the owner went home and had time to think. I considered flying home then, but my ride yesterday said “Don’t”.

There was a light rain early in the ride and the wind was gusty and cool. Really the first imperfect weather I have had. But it made me realize how alive I feel when on the bike touring. It was not long before the landscape started changing in the outskirts of Lisbon. Large apartment buildings and company headquarters, more business people scurrying about, parks and thankfully cycleways. My GPS did get confused at times, or maybe it was me, but I ended up off route several times. It isn’t easy finding the route again. Maybe it would lose the gps signal from the tall buildings and give me a false alarm or I would pick the wrong street to turn at. The worst that happened was that a guy rolled his window down and told me “You are going the wrong way!” After almost running into me. But there was a long cycle way that followed the big highway for many miles and downtown there was a grand promenade to ride on. Must be spring because the air was filled with a fine mist of seeds that looked like a snowstorm at times and gathered in slippery clumps on the ground. Not sure what it was, but it irritated my eyes.

I walked down to the waterfront in the afternoon and was just blown away by the grand square there looking out over the river. The square was lined by classic buildings with porticos going all around on three sides. The statue in the center was imposing and beautiful, and could be lined up with the giant arch at the entry to the square. I gawked at it all and took picture after picture. On the way back to the hotel, I ran across the elevator built in 1902 to take people to an upper level of the streets. Built like the Eiffel Tower, it was all bolted steel and had a lofty bridge connecting to the street.

The hotel has a bar and I felt like I needed a drink, so I went down and talked with the bartender about the current situation. He suggested a Portuguese liquor which tasted a lot like bourbon. As I sipped it, I met Mark, who is a UK citizen but has worked in Africa most of his life as a mining engineer. He is killing time traveling until April when his rented apartment is available. He has done many bike tours with groups and has been renting the electric bikes found here in the city. We had an interesting talk about American politics and more specifically the idiot in the White House. He is beyond baffled how Trump got elected. People make the similarities with their PM Boris Johnson, but Mark told me that he is a pretty smart guy with a long political resume.

So last night I woke once again and decided to check the flights back to Asheville on Expedia. Well, Delta had flights this weekend for around 400 euros with every other day going for 1000 plus euros. I took it as a sign. Unfortunately, my 3 month trip has turned into a little over 2 weeks. C’est la vie. I thought I could camp my way down to the southern coast, but the reality of possibly getting sick and quarantining in my tent does not look appealing. The pandemic has managed to take all the fun out of traveling.

I have to find a box for my bike, a box for my gear, work out the logistics and be at the airport for a 5:30 am flight home. It HAS been an adventure, and getting home will be one too but of a very different sort. I am very grateful and happy for the experience, and I know I will be back.