Day 8: Travel Day - Combria to Lisbon with stops along the way

 

Our group at Combria University

Today was the hottest day of our trip, so far. Most of us got some sun and some of us will definitely be coming home with a burn or a really nice tan. It was a welcomed departure from the rain in Spain, but I think we would have been fine with a few degrees cooler too.  From what I gather, there have been some nice days back at home too. 

Our final morning at the B&B hotel went smoothly. Our group, again, was great at setting their alarm clocks and waking up without room calls. We checked passports and stowed luggage after breakfast and we were off.

Breakfast Club

Our schedule today was a busy one. We had several different stops from our hotel to Lisbon. The first one was the city center of Coimbra. This visit started with roughly an hours drive from the hotel to meet our guide. His name is Paulo. 

Paulo is a former professor at the university. He taught economics. With only a few years before retirement, he decided to leave teaching and he works for several government agencies. He conducts tours when he can because he still enjoys working with young people. He tried to infuse humor into his talk and I could see quite a few of us chuckling at some of his jokes. The heat made it hard for some of us to truly follow along, however, and Paulo was receptive of that too.  He took us throughout the university grounds and eventually brought us to its jail.

Yes, this school has a jail! Now, I am not saying we need one of those at SMHS, but can you imagine how good student conduct would be if you might be placed in a dungeon-like prison! The Combria University prison is no longer in use. It was never really used for students, from what I heard, but instead it was used during the time of the Inquisition. 

Paulo also took us into the library.  Photos and videos are not allowed because of preservation reasons, but trust me, this library was amazing. The volumes all came from the 1600s. They employ bats in the library to kill insects (no, we didn't see any of them). 

Students at the university wear cloaks which inspired Harry Potter's JK Rowling, too.

Paulo introducing the library to the group

The school has its own chapel too

Paulo explained the troubled history between the Roman Catholic Church and the nation of Portugal. Even though the country is over 90% Catholic, most of the churches in the city are owned by the government. Many have been converted over to some other use. One part of the story indicated that all of the clergy in the country were purged after the inquisition shut down. Paulo said so much, but my brain is a little fried, lol.  Let's move on with the day!

After the library, Paulo took pity on us and brought us down the main shopping street in the city. It was super cute and the kids were able to shop, grab a drink, or even visit the pharmacy. This trip has certainly has more minor medical issues than any of my previous trips. I think the kids are still enjoying themselves, but you hear sniffles, coughs, and see tired eyes all the time. 

Like all of Spain and Portugal, everywhere is a hill!

We gathered again and said goodbye to Paulo. From there, we boarded our bus and began the journey to Fatima. This religiously important destination would be our official spot for lunch and we'd meet a new guide, Poula, here! 

The city is small and modern. It is the site of a religious miracle and now its a destination for folks on a pilgrimage. I have to be honest, I missed most of this tour! Lunch took too long for some of our travelers. Their restaurant was on a European clock! I told Stefano to move along without us and I would ensure that we'd catch up. That said, I don't know the whole story, but I can share some photos:

In the photos, you see both a new cathedral and an old one. The new one was built to accommodate up to 9000 people. The old one predated the miracle that had happened here and it was soon outgrown. In fact, the new one is kind of outdated too. They've basically made the entire square into an outdoor cathedral which can hold up to 300,000 worshippers. Ms. Agola told me that the new Cathedral was really different than she's used to. It was light, airy, and refreshing. The old cathedrals in Europe, usually seem a little darker. The entire region was newish, for this trip, and it was nice to see how something more modern could fit into such a historic region.

Poala then took us to Batalha. This town is about 30 minutes away from Fatima. It is named after an important battle and after that Portuguese victory, a monastery was built in the town. As I mentioned, the Roman clergy didn't fare to well in the history books here, so the monks who lived at this place no longer exist. The grounds now run as a church, a museum, and as a tomb for the unknown soldier. It was a strange medley, but it all worked.

The main entrance goes to a functioning church today, but to the left is the museum. 

A T-Rex? Probably just a crocodile, but it looks more like a Dinosaur

Poala said this was the tomb for Prince Henry the Navigator, but I don't believe he is interred here. 

One of the two remaining cloisters

The Portuguese influence on trade and navigation is shown in the carvings

Looking into the unfinished chapels. 

After our visit to Batalha concluded, we visited a local grocery store for drinks and snacks and we boarded the bus again. This time, the drive would be about 2 hours. Mostly everyone fell asleep immediately. Horacio did a great job navigating the streets and then we hit traffic. Of course, we hit traffic as we entered the Vasco Da Gama Bridge...one of Europe's longest bridges. It spans over 8 miles and goes way up into the air! Needless to say, I was not a fan of it.

We slowly made our way over the bridge and then traffic opened up. There was a broken down car in the center lane!

Once that cleared, we made our way to our final hotel for dinner, some fun outside, and some Uber Eats deliveries (which seems to be quite common at every hotel). 

I haven't been eating much on this trip, but I took a little for the blog.

My dinner photo doesn't really capture the full spread available at dinner tonight. There was fresh salad and cheese available. The kids could also get freshly baked bread. The chicken was seasoned well and the juices, served over the rice, really tasted good. I didn't eat the dessert shown above but many people grabbed seconds. There was also fresh fruit available too. I am kind of thinking breakfast here will be pretty good. I'll cross my fingers!

Tomorrow is our final day in Europe. We have a busy one scheduled with an early dinner. All three groups depart Portugal very early in the morning on Saturday. I am still debating whether to postpone my blog post to the flight home or to write tomorrow night...I will definitely post pictures on Facebook. So far, it has been an amazing trip, but I think we are all getting to the point where we miss home a bit, too. 

Thanks for reading everyone. I really appreciate it. 

Mr. Lavoie, sitting in a hotel lobby with a Pepsi Zero and fully written blog!

Day 7: A Portal to the Past - Porto

Our group on the other side of the Atlantic

Two summers ago, I was selected to serve as a Teacher Ranger Teacher for the National Parks Service. This basically means that I was an educational intern. I worked throughout the summer evaluating the educational program offered at Salem Maritime National Park and was able to design and update a few lessons as well.  It was a really fun way to spend the summer. 

As I worked on several lessons focused on Salem's Maritime trade in the early 1800s, I kept on coming across Porto in the primary sources that I was examining (captain's logs, manifests, etc). While I had previously traveled to Portugal, I had never been to Porto.  It led me, in some ways, to offering this trip to the kids. Well, today, we made it to Porto.  I am so glad we did! It really lives up to the hype. 

Yesterday's breakfast critic admitted that he preferred yesterday's offerings to todays!

With only a few days left in our tour, some of the kids have realized that they can catch a little extra sleep if they choose to skip breakfast. Today's offerings were fairly standard, but the bacon and the beans were not there. I did make a warm ham, turkey, cucumber, and cheese sandwich. It got me ready for the day. Most of the kids seem to be eating cereal, fruit, and other common breakfast regulars...I don't see many sandwiches among them.

We boarded our bus just after 815am and headed for Porto. It is over an hour from here and mostly everyone napped on the ride. Again, the suspension on these buses are great. Our first destination was a river cruise along the Douro River. If we wanted a narration, there was a QR code for your phone, but most of use opted to just take in the sights. This city really is postcard ready. Below are a collection of photos from the cruise. The kids all took a bunch too:

This was our boat. We boarded first and had the best seats!

Right before boarding!

About to disembark.

These cable cars help people get from the docks to the upper hills. We didn't have a chance to ride them, but it is a reason to come back!

The river is deep in a valley and Porto surrounds it. Very high bridges connect the sides of the city into one. 

The whole river was lined with houses and restaurants stacked upon each other. 

Old and New, Porto's history is apparent everywhere you look!

A modern rail bridge. it was very high...a modern vehicle bridge in the background

The way the other half lives, lol.

A view up the streets of Porto! Will our legs be able to handle it?

Our cruise took us to the edge of the river and the Atlantic

Heading back to the docks!

After we landed, we returned to the bus and Horacio navigated the winding hills and walled blind spots up and down many of the hills that make up this city. We crossed into the old town and broke for a quick lunch before our walking tour began. 

This was our meeting spot for the day. 

My first churro of the trip, generously donated by one of the students!

A customary Porto hotdog, complete with ham, cheese, and potato sticks. Everyone who ordered said it was great.

My lunch was a Pernil Sandwich with some french fries.

I'm always happiest after I eat.

Walking down hill to return to our meeting spot.

Our walking tour today was scheduled for 2.5 hours. I think we all appreciated that we could eat beforehand, but as you might be able to tell, it was hot out today. Our guide, Joshua (I think that was his name), made sure we had plenty of rest stops and several were at places where we could get a drink or some fresh fruit. He told us all about the city while we walked up, and up, and up, and sometimes down, but only then to go up again.  At one point, near the highest point in the city, he said we could walk up a tower that had 250 steps and followed a narrow winding staircase. Needless to say, I decided against that challenge, but most of us conquered the task. You'll have to look for the kids pictures of the view of the city, but here are some shots I took of our walk:

Walking uphill, I had just walked down that hill, lol

A cat mural. It was purrfect!

Inside the train station. It was adorned with tiles in both Dutch and Portuguese tradtions

The kids attention was trained onto Joshua's every word!

Now a nightclub, this building used to be apartments for some very important writers. 

Some Sachems were in that tower at the time of this picture. Some where on ground level!

JK Rowling lived in Porto when she started writing Harry Potter. This fountain supposedly inspired her.

Walking down a hill, to go up a hill.

Their don't walk sign looks like Sasquatch. 

Another market, filled with food vendors. Quite a few kids got smoothies and fruit cups. 

A performance at the market. The music was fun and the audience laughed at the guy who was speaking to them. I think it was comedy inspired. 

When we take a walking tour, like this, it is common for us to use "whisper" headsets. It is a radio transmitter that the guide wears while we listen through receivers and headphones. It isn't a perfect solution to large crowds, but it helps. Sometimes, they have interference and the kids grow tired of them. That kind of happened in Salamanca, but Carmen was really good and didn't need them to catch our attendance. Today, they worked fine, but it was so nice out that the kids were happy just looking around and walking (Truth be told, most of the kids were listening). It was a lot...we logged in 18k steps today and the equivalent of 47 floors (and that doesn't include the tower stairs that the other kids walked).  

The reason I mention the whispers is because Stefano had told the kids if they all returned their receivers today, then he would give them a surprise. The surprise was a quick trip to the beach!

The three schools were very excited to visit the beach. Many of them quickly discarded their shoes and ran across the sand to dip their toes in the cold Atlantic Ocean. Some of the kids played some beach volleyball with Stefano. Others sat on a stone wall embracing the cool sea breeze that cooled our sunburned necks, arms, and faces. 

I had told the kids that Porto and Saugus were basically just 1' off from each other when we consider latitude. This means that directly across the Atlantic was their homes, their families, and their friends. It makes sense why Salem merchants would seek out this place, on the other side of the world, to make their living. It makes sense as to why so many Portuguese Americans live in or near Saugus. As I told the kids about the latitude, I mentioned it to the kids from Oxford too. While it's an hour from us, it is basically on the same latitudinal plane. That's when the group leader from Racine, Wisconsin looked up their town...they are on the same latitude as us! Three groups of kids all lined up together for a group shot mimicking geographic lines! Who would have thought!

Sometimes, the further away from home you are reminds you of how much you love your home!

 

Tomorrow, we make our way to Lisbon, via Coimbra and Fatima. It will be another hot day and we have several walking tours before the next hotel. I am sure we will all be exhausted. It's just two more days of touring before the long journey home. It seems like we just got here and now we are seeing the end of our trip just in front of us. 

As I write this blog, it is just past 10pm. A few kids have walked next door to a local pizza shop in hopes of ice cream and our hotel has been infiltrated by a school from Ottawa, Canada. They are running a day behind us, but on the same itinerary. Those kids, and ours, were just outside playing soccer and having fun. These are some of my favorite moments while on tour. Writing and chatting with kids about what they've seen and what has stood out to them. We only have a few more moments like this, so I won't send them to bed right away. Just don't tell them that is a key to staying up!

Mr. Lavoie, being pleasantly surprised with a slice of crispy bacon and pepperoni pizza while hanging out in the lobby.