Porto & Madrid: 8N/9D in May 2019

July 28, 2019August 18, 2019 ~ youkyong ~ 5 Comments

As I was finishing up a trans-Atlantic cruise+a week of driving tour of Ireland in May, 2019, I met up with 7 friends from Los Angeles in Madrid to go to Porto, Portugal. The total cost of this trip per person was: $576 for all the flights+$313 for the housing+about $200 for local transportation and admissions/tours + about $180 for all the meals=$1,269.

Day 1: I flew from London on Ryan Air($40, with two carry-ons) to Madrid and met with the friends who flew in from LAX(Norwegian Air, about $500 R/T). We had a few hours to kill at the airport, then, flew on Ryan Air to Porto($29). It took just a little over an hour.

Two cabs(about 20 euros per cab) took all of us to our Airbnb apartment(4 BR/3 BTH) in the city center. By this time, it was already after 9 PM. Luckily, Portuguese people have late dinners, and we were able to get into a nice local restaurant.

Day 2: Some of us went to the temporary location of Bolhao Market, which was under renovation, and had a wonderful fresh juice + pastries. Then we started our own walking tour of the city core: city hall, Livraria Lello, Bolsa Palace, Church of San Francisco, lunch on the bank of Douro River. Sao Bento train station. Dinner at 17 Degree Restaurant & Bar at Dom Henrique Hotel to celebrate a birthday(about 25 euros per person with a glass of wine each).

Day 3: Breakfast at the temporary Bolhao Martket, walked to Sao Bento Station to take the train(2.5 hours, 23 euros R/T) along Douro River to Pinhao. Visited a Croft Vineyard, Quinta da Roêda. A wine tasting + a tour + a picnic lunch(includes 1 bottle of wine per person) was 30 euros. An advance reservation is a must.

Dinner at Cafe Guarany for a free Fado performance(dinner:15-20 euros)

Day 4: Train to Aveiro(about 75 min., 5 euros r/t), walked around, did the boat tour(5 euros). Too tired to go out after getting back, we ate left overs from previous days. Jet lag finally caught up to us & we had a quiet evening.

Day 5: Train to Guimaraes(75 min., 7 euros r/t), walked around, visited the Castle, had a 6 euro 2 course+drinks lunch special, took the cable car. Coming back from the train station, we bought roasted chickens from a restaurant with a line out the door & had a great dinner at home.

After a rest, we went out to explore the night scenery around the Ponte Luis I bridge. A nightcap at a cozy rooftop bar, Auru, overlooking the main plaza in front of the City Hall in Porto.

Day 6: Cab to Crystal Palace Garden, walked around this park that overlooks Douro River. Walked 10-15 minutes to Soares dos Reis National Museum of Art. A great collection of Portuguese art. Lunch at Porto’s own 2 course lunch special place(6.5 euros), O Caracas. Douro River Boat Tour(15 euros). Some souvenir shopping.

Cab to the western edge of Porto called Foz, went to the rooftop bar at Hotel Boa Vista for light snacks and wine – mainly to take in the view of Douro meeting the ocean. Spectacular sunset.

Cab to O Rapido restaurant near Sao Banto station for an excellent dinner(10-15 euros). Some of us walked to Ponte Luis bridge and visited the Cathedral, which was not open at night but beautiful to look at.

Day 7: An early morning flight to Madrid(TAP Air, $47), left our bags at the Airbnb apartment(4BR/3BTH), ventured out to explore the city.

Crossed Gran Via, the Broadway of Madrid, checked out Puerto Del Sol, Plaza Mayor. Lunch at San Miguel Market. Visited Cava Baja Street to see tapas restaurants.

We took advantage of Prado Museum‘s free admission hours(6 -8 PM). Walked a few blocks to have dinner at a Tapas bar. Stopped to have churros.

Day 8: Walked to Plaza Espana but it was under renovation. Got on bus #C1/C2 from there to see more of the city without walking. Got off at an eastern entrance to Parque El Retiro, their central park. Walked around. Enjoyed the big pond in the middle. Walked to the City Hall. Lunch special(11 euros) nearby.

Some of us went back to Prada Museum to see more art works. Some of us slowly walked back to the apartment stopping at street artisan markets and eclectic shops.

We met back at Atocha Station, their central train station, to see the interior of the structure. Walked over to Reina Sofia Art Museum. Free admission 7-9PM. Dinner at La Malontina. Excellent meal for about 15-20 euros.

Day 9: Walked around the neighborhood. Lunch at San Ildefonso Market. Uber(about 20 euros) to the airport.

Barbados: a Day Trip(twice in a month)

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 ~ youkyong

April 2019

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Our dinner companions on the cruise had been to Barbados many times, and they volunteered to lead us into town. The port in Bridgetown(population: 110,000) was the biggest we had seen thus far in this part of Caribbean, and the cruise terminal was well developed with shops and the tourist information center. A free shuttle brought us from the ship to this terminal, a 3 minute ride, and we walked out of there to grab a shuttle van to downtown ($2 per person) It felt like about a 2 mile ride.

We got dropped off right in the center of town, and the main shopping drag, Broad Street, was a minute away to the left. There was no doubt this was a former British colony by looking at the architectures here.

With a population of about 290,000 in the country, Bridgetown, the capital, had a feel of an urban center – complete with shouting matches of a couple of van drivers that we had not seen else where during this trip. Our companions had a specific mission of finding comfortable shoes that fit smaller feet, and they had had many successes here previously. After strolling and checking out some stores with them, we parted our ways.

A small pedestrian only street parallel to Broad Street called Swan Street is where the locals shop. Many bargains were offered there even though we didn’t find much that interested us. Still, it was good to have a glimpse into local life. Once again, prices were not that reasonable for every day items. Without the source of income that would comfortably match the price tags, life cannot be so easy, it seemed.

We slowly walked back to the center of town stopping for pictures of the parliament and other buildings. There was a big produce market around there, too. A service was in session at the Cathedral, thus, we did not go in. We continued walking to reach Queen’s Park where we found a 444 year old baobab tree, a cricket match, and free WiFi.

Exiting the park at the other end, we turned left hugging the fence of the park. I thought we would find a bridge that will take us to the other side of the river, but we couldn’t. We walked on the road that did not have sidewalks for 5 minutes or so and came to a bridge.

There was a big bus depot on the left side as we walked into the other side of the river, and a riverside park was on the right hand side. We walked in this park along the river. Local people were hanging out just enjoying the sun.

There were some restaurants and bars around the main bridge that we took to get back to the center. The menu prices were not very friendly($2 Babados dollar=$1 USD.) We decided to head back to the ship and have lunch on board.

We were approached by a cab driver as we tried to find the shuttle van. He quoted $6 for the trip, and we took it. He took the road along the coast, and it looked like just a mile ride this time.

We were trying to get online at the terminal under the sign of “Free WiFi,” but the connection was erratic. We gave up and returned to the ship.

One week later we came back to the same port, and we were determined to go outside of the city and visit Hunte’s Garden tropical arboretum. This time the shuttle van took us to a spot right on Broad Street. From there it was a 5 minute walk to the bus depot that we noticed a week before. Fairchild Bus Depot was the name of the place.

The lady at the window told us that the next Sugar Hill bus($1) will leave at 10 AM at gate 5. We got there at 9:45 and waited. There was not much to see or do, but an information screen was posted at each gate. 10:15. No sign of the bus. A local lady who was waiting for the same bus said the information screen didn’t mean anything. 10:25. Still no bus. I asked the lady whether this happened often, and she rolled her eyes saying, “all the time!” We got worried that it could be difficult to get back to town once we were out there, so we gave up.

Back at the cruise terminal I tried to get online but could not connect. Finally I walked into the tourist information office and asked them about WiFi. They told me to go outside the building. Bingo! It worked. As long as you are willing to trade air-conditioned comfort with working WiFi, you can do all the internet surfing you ever wanted!

Dominica: a Shore Excursion

July 17, 2019July 22, 2019 ~ youkyong

April 2019

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Dominica is an independent country with 72,000 people, of which 15,000 live in Roseau, the capital. Our cruise dock was right in downtown, and the tourist information office was across the street as we exited. (There seemed to be another cruise dock a bit west of downtown to which $2 cab rides were offered by the drivers.)

Dominica is known for the rain forests,thus, we decided to venture outside of the capital city a little to see the natural landscape. Local tours were priced the same no matter whom you talked to: $25 per person for the tour of the Morne Bruce Garrison and the botanical garden, Trafalgar Falls, and an outdoor hot springs. We were led to a colorfully painted open air bus and had to sit and wait till they filled it up with willing tourists.

Our guide, who was working for tips, was trying to give us as much information as possible about the animals, plants, geography, politics, economy, and history of the island while we were driving from a spot to a spot.

Here is what I remember: 100+ bird species, volcanic, the wetness of the rain forest helps calm the volcanic movements. The prime minister is elected, and the president is appointed by the parliament, tourism is the predominant industry, an average annual income is about $5000, French got to the island first, Brits took over in 1763, gained independence in 1976.

The first stop was Morne Bruce Garrison on top of a hill, from where you got the best view of the bay, the city, and our ship. Then we drove through the Botanical Garden very slowly. It was raining, thus, stopping was not desirable. It was not very big and had mostly trees and plants rather than flowers.

From there we drove up and up to reach the viewing point for the Trafalgar Falls. I had to ask where they got the name. The answer: “the Square in London. Remember? We were a British colony.” It was more like getting a glimpse of the falls. Your phone’s camera may not be able to capture them.

The roads were rather narrow and jammed with tour Vans and buses, Among this chaos, vendors set up their little tables. We tasted local papaya and mangoes. $2 for a half of a papaya was rather stiff but it was delicious. 3 small mangoes for $2 was a bargain in comparison and even more delicious. It was sad to hear that 90% of mango trees were uprooted by Hurricanes Irma & Maria.

The last stop was described as the outdoor hot springs with 130 degree boiling water. Well, the whole thing was just a small pool of water. Having seen similar things in other parts of the world, we thought this looked like a little baby of the full grown adults else where, especially in Iceland.

It rained off and on during the tour that lasted 2.5 hours or so, but that did not deter us much. We were glad we did it even though not a single place was really impressive or memorable. Most locals we ran into were good-natured and welcoming but never too pushy even though most of them were vendors.

The tourist season runs from December to April. Every working person on the island is connected to tourism either directly or indirectly, our guide told us. When the tourists are gone, people have to find ways to supplement their income. He works for his uncle who is a farmer during off season, he said.

There was a pretty strong WiFi signal available through out downtown, and you could sign up for a pass good for 24 hours for about $5.

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