A panicked message from ours friends saying they wouldn't be able to get to the airport and pick us up greeted our arrival in Mallorca. This phased us seasoned travellers little and we assured Sam and Emer we would make it to them. So with little difficulty (only being a euro short of the fare) we made it across the island which is much bigger than we thought and full of tourists – funny that. The guys had snuck in a couple of extra beds into their room for us which was perfect and after they returned from their evening gigs (more on that later) we had a good old chin wag.
Although not as warm as the south of Spain it was still pleasant enough to swim so we hit the beach the next morning and were greeted with a huge storm swell rolling in; closing the beach. Unfortunately we could not track down any surf boards so we just ran in for a bit of a body surf. We were met by two lifesavers charging down the beach with arms waving and whistles blowing. Having already created a scene we got out of the water and after meeting up with Sam and Emer headed for the unpatrolled section of beach to swim in peace! Friday evening saw us head along to watch Sam perform in a Greece show at one of the local hotels which was highly entertaining. After a full 6 months performing 6 days a week the guys were stoked to tick off their second to last show and we helped them celebrate with some good wine and cheese and a few G&Ts.
After a slow start (dew to wet weather….) we set off for a drive up into the mountains – yes Mallorca has mountains, some 1300m tall. The narrow windy roads were chocker with cyclists and other tourists including large buses which really slowed progress. We tiki-toured all the way to the most northern point of the island and climbed an old tower which had great views back over Can Picafort. The sea had calmed down on our return so we clambered along the breakwater and watched the sunset and the huge full moon rise before a tasty seafood pasta dinner.
Sunday, we were up early to go and meet the birdman, a real life professional falconer with around 45 birds of prey. After a look through his garden full with owls, Falcons, Eagles and a cheeky Raven we took a few of the birds for some hunting training. Joining us was the owners 8 year old daughter who left behind her beloved turtles and brought along her expertly trained hawk. It was crazy to see the big eagles flying and have a hold of them. They are used primarily for hunting rabbits, hares and even goats up in the mountains as well as being taken along to the hotels for photos. After a quiet lunch and cervesa it was time for the kids to get ready for their final shows and boy were they excited. Emer’s Irish dancing show was seriously good and even a brief camio from Nick couldn't ruin it. The timing of the dancers and speed at which they flick their wee toes is very impressive but guess that’s why they have been in Riverdance.
We jumped on a local bus the next morning and headed down to the old town of Alcudia where we had a wander through the narrow streets and saw the old bull fighting ring and cathedral. After a bit of beach time it was time to don our glad rags again and head to another show by a couple of Sam and Emer’s friends. It was a classic piss take, lipsinking gig where they ripped out some classics and generally kept everyone very amused. Tuesday was adventure day as we headed up into the mountains with a full picnic to explore. The roads were windy, rocks jagged and views fantastic. We negotiated our way down to a cool gorge complete with a little beach and plenty of other giddys (Spanish for tourist). After our epic picnic of cured meats and cheeses and some rock hopping up river we had warmed up sufficiently for a swim. We ignored a few more fun police signs and climbed up an old staircase walkway and leapt off into the crystal clear water with only a few gasps from onlookers. You guessed it the evening session was another show by some very talented singers all the way from South Africa.
Our final full day was spent walking along the beach and swimming while Emer and Sam packed up their room and Emer very quickly rehearsed another show. I can't fathom being able to perform with such little preparation and no one would have known it was the first time she had done this show. The two of us got dragged up on stage again and this time even had little green tutus to wear though unfortunately no talent scouts approached us afterwards to offer us a Broadway contract.
The heavens opened on Thursday which sent every man and his dog into Palma creating a few traffic woes. Although we tried to find a car park it proved rather challenging so after a drive by of the cathedral we found a hill to climb which offered good views back over the city. Keeping with the drive by scene we opted to check out the notorious holiday slum of Megalouf though the wet weather kept most of the animals inside. We had just enough time for a quick stroll along the promenade before it was time to hit the airport bound for Portugal.
Thanks for a great week Sam & Emer
Porto seems to be a very trendy city at present and it's easy to see why with it's picturesque riverfront and old cathedrals. The blue and white mosaic tiles are all over the buildings and give them a very unique look. The free walking tour we took gave us a bit of an oversight into the history of the city and Portugal as a whole. It seems the country has had it all from fortune and fame, conquering foreign lands and slavery to dictatorships and financial ruin. The fish burgers and pastries were pretty good and the francasina was an interesting dish, basically a burger with 6 different meats topped with an egg and chips and not a lettuce leaf in sight. Porto is also famous for its port (funny that) so we sampled a few and had a walk through the area where all the breweries are located.
Porto
Porto
We had a nice walk along the river to the sea which is about 5km from the city centre and saw plenty of old abandoned builds which seem pretty common. Lunch was a pretty topical kiwi affair with a whole hot chicken and loaf of bread seeing us straight – so much for eating mainly vegetarian in Norway…. Grabbing our bags we headed to the amazingly decorated train station where we departed for Braga about an hour away. Entering the old city through a tremendous old gate we plodded down to our hostel which had a cool wee veranda looking into the main strip. There was certainly no shortage of churches in this wee town and it was easy to keep track of time with all their bells ringing.
Braga
So far we had been lucky with the weather with only the odd shower here and there and this trend continued as we headed for a day trip to Guimaraes a Unisco heritage town. The reconstructed palace was interesting enough and the small but impressive castle on top of the hill provided a good viewpoint. A big thunderstorm rolled in so we grabbed the bus back to Braga but had achieved everything we had intended to for the day.
Guimaraes
Before we headed off to Spain again we had time to climb the hundreds of stairs up some pilgrimage route to a cathedral at the top. Along the route were some fairly disturbing figurines depicting Christ’s march. The gardens and views (mainly of endless gum trees which are everywhere in Portugal/Spain) were worth the hike. We opted for the stairs back down rather than the old water controlled cable car. Santiago, the end of the famous pilgrimage trail was our next destination (after a pricey bus fair) and it was certainly full of tourists.
With time running out before our Atlantic cruise set sail we gapped it to Lugo for a brief overnight spell before continuing on to Bilbao via an overnight bus. At the time it seemed like a good adventure and our funds were near rock bottom so we thought what the hell but yea it wasn't the most comfortable night we have ever had but we have also had a lot worse… Lugo has a 2km Roman wall surrounding the old city that you can walk around which was unique, as too was the wee place we stayed in. The nice old lady was seriously obsessed with cleaning and the place had fake flowers and scented perfumes everywhere.
Lugo
Arriving in Bilbao at 5am wasn't ideal especially given Spain's crazy Timezone situation, it didn't get light until 9am while the sun set at 8pm. We napped in a park before a security guard told us it was private residence (yea right) then wandered the mean streets until life started to appear at 8am - no wonder the country is in a financial crisis. After sitting in a café killing time Lucy checked out the famous (?) Guggenheim art gallery which was not high on Nick’s priorities so he paced backwards and forwards along the river outside. Surprisingly Lucy met at the rendezvous sight on time as we had to meet up again with Sam and Emer. People often wonder how we survive without a phone and actually it's not hard it just takes a little prior organisation. We picked out Sam’s right hand drive car from a line of traffic right on time and while he pulled over in the middle of a super busy road we ran and piled in with all our stuff and 6 litres of beer for our up coming cruise…
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