K is for Kite Flying

Our first full day with Luke and Kelsey was an exciting one! We rented a car and in Sevilla and started making our way south.

It was a 2 hour drive and relatively painless border crossing into Gibraltar (UK). One really interesting part of Gibraltar, and something I got to cross off my bucket list, is that the only road into the city crosses directly across the airport's landing strip. It was a blast to drive across

We drove through the tiny streets and made it to the cable car, which we then took up to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. 

The view from the top was amazing. You can see all of Gibraltar (UK), Spain, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and also Morocco, Africa!

And a couple group Selfies

Nick and Kelsey took advantage of the strong winds on top of the Rock to do some extreme kite flying!

We also made some new friends while we were on the Rock. One in particular took a liking to Luke - I think she wanted to groom his beard for insects.

After Gibraltar we took off to Tarifa where our Airbnb was located. When we saw the PDF of directions was 6 pages long, we knew it might be a little complicated, but we really had no idea what was in store... Driving in the dark we took a few wrong turns, ended up on the correct dirt road past the "Military Zone - No Trespassing" signs, then high centered our rental car on a cut off fence pole (yay for insurance), and then finally made it to a quaint, beautiful, completely sustainably powered house right on the coast. More pictures tomorrow...

J is for Jámes wept

It was a solemn day in Sevilla. We spent much of the morning in quiet, respectful reverence of the Lord at Sevilla's Cathedral and General Archive of the Indies. Maybe it was the subtle iconography of the nave. Maybe it was the church's dedication to humble poverty. Maybe it was the anatomically correct severed head on display. But in the end, James wept.

Following our religious observance we connected with the other half of our travel companion, Team Bonney, and made our way to La Faria. Ladies of all ages get fully decked out in flamenco attire, they put bells and flowers on the horses, and everyone heads to the fairgrounds to dance and party. It goes literally 24/7 until Sunday. 

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There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, 

a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.

-- Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

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I is for International Rental Car Travel is Very Expensive

Today was effectively a travel day for Nick and me. The morning bus was sold out, so we finally left Faro around 3 and ended up in Sevilla around 7:30 after a very hot and smelly, yet scenic bus ride.

Just as an interesting fact, we tried to rent a car in Faro to drive to Sevilla at which point we were informed that there was a 450 Euro charge for dropping the car off in a different country.

We also had a few opportunities with blablacar.com that didn't quite pan out, but I'm looking forward to exploring the service more as we travel through Europe.

Sevilla is very nice - haven't seen it yet in the daylight much but we did get a chance to enjoy a beer and stroll along the canal through the city.

And back in our hotel room we have mirrors on mirrors, which means... Fun!

H is for Handicap Hotel Room

After a trying day of missed connections (as in trains, not like craigslist) trying to get to Sevilla, Spain, we eventually landed in Faro, Portugal. It has the same Algarve charm as Lagos, but is definitely more Blue Collar and does not have the same tourist/resort town feel.

We were also "blessed" with the benefit of a Handicap room, which Nick took full advantage of.

Bonus: H is for Half-Assed Sunscreen Application

Listen kids,

Put the sunscreen everywhere, not just the places you can reach without stretching...

G is for Grotto Attack!!!

Nick and I pulled an audible and stayed in Lagos a bit longer - it's been wonderful here. Today we went on a sea kayaking trip through the sea caves (Grottos) along the Algarve coast. We were having a blast and then I went into a cave directly followed by a big wave. Smacked my head and back against the rocks pretty hard and got tossed out of my kayak. It was quite the rush! :-) I'm OK now and had a good trip.

We also went to the Lagos Science Museum this morning.

Pictures of my wounds available upon request - not trying to gross anyone out here.


Tomorrow we head to Sevilla!

F is for Falling Children

Nick and I spent the morning in Lagos, Portugal then headed to the extreme southwest corner of Europe... Sagres, Portugal

I stood on Nick's shoulders and it looked like this:

As for the falling children, we were on the lookout! Didn't see any though.

We also got some cultural awareness about bullfighting tonight. What I learned was that the key is to have a dainty horse as you poke the bull the will 3 foot long toothpicks, then a guy in an elf cap comes and rides the face of the bull.

Olé!

E is for Excessively Large Luggage

Note to self: Next time you take a month long trip, don't pack 30 minutes before you leave, and give some thought to your choice in luggage.

Instead, I grabbed the first bag I saw and stuffed it full of non-dirty cloths. #regrets

On a less serious note, Nick and I traveled to Belém outside of Lisbon this morning and saw a monument to the conquest of the Native Americans, I mean to European superiority, I mean to the glory of exploration.

Continuing on that theme, we went to the cathedral containing the tomb of Vasco de Gama. This is what he looks like. Pretty bad for a 550 year old.

In the afternoon, we traveled to Lagos, in the south or Portugal. Great beaches and resort town stuff here, and our awesome Airbnb which will be featured more tomorrow.