Great Travel Adventures

After the various misadventures with airlines, it was a tremendous relief to finally arrive in el Puerto de Santa Maria Friday afternoon, and to greet my son, Alex.

We had a nice, quiet evening and then set out for road trips Saturday morning.

Saturday´s destination was Gibraltar, which has been Alex´s favorite on the Iberian Peninsula. This time we had good fortune smile upon us as the cable cars that go all the way to the top of the Rock were working, so we rode up. (With the previous two trips, the cars were closed for maintenance.)

Of course, the view is outstanding from the top, but the adventuring was fantastic! There are abandoned bunkers at the top, and you can scale them and peer inside. You could reallly get a feel for using the site as a strategic point.

Sunday´s destination was Portugal. Alex needed a little pursuasion, as he was more intimidated with the Portuguese language than with Espanol, which he is beginning to have a better command of. He was glad I made the executive decision.

Once about 80km inside the Portuguese border, we made a turn for the coast. Again, it was a fortunate call, as the ocean had awesome short cliffs, about 20-25 feet high. These cliffs had become severely eroded with the ocean wave action, resulting in hollows, crevices, and caves. We scaled the cliffs and explored the holes. It was great fun!

We also enjoyed fresh seafood, caught right off the coast. Alex had calamari, while I enjoyed giant shrimp. Yes, Alex does know what calamari is!

We won´t be able to take any more extensive road trips, as Alex has school during the usual hours. We will have leisurely evenings together, taking walks through el Puerto, and playing card games.

Great times!