Kindness of Strangers

Figuring out accomodations is always an adventure in and of itself.  Doug Lansky, who wrote our round-the-world guide, is the person I want to be.  Through the travel philosophy espoused in the book, he comes across as breezy and fun, a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinda guy who rolls with the punches and doesn’t let much get him down.  For example, here’s his system for choosing accomodations:  “If I’m tired out or staying a bit longer, I’ll pick a place further from the center.  If I’m just staying a day or two and feeling fresh, I’ll go for the best rated of the flea traps in the center.  If there are a few decent choices in these categories, I’ll typically go for the ones that are the easiest to get to.  But, whatever the case, I won’t spend more than five or ten minutes deciding.”  And he does this all on the bus ride into town.

I like this philosophy.  I really do.  It’s simple, pragmatic, and doesn’t waste a lot of time.  But living it is an entirely different matter.  As I’ve written here before in these pages, I am a planner who spends entirely too much time investigating my lodging options.  For the past week I’ve been tirelessly researching budget accomodations in Madrid, where we will spend all of 48 hours.  My system looks something like this:  cross-reference Trip Advisor with Lonely Planet with the hostel’s website.  Take the square root of the photos, multiplied by the top three most important features, then divide by the arc tangent of proximity to public transportation.  Double check with your gut. 

In the end I went with Hostal Alaska; the name seemed like a good omen for the start of the trip. 

Our week in Lisbon will be spent at one of five Hostelling International (HI) hostels scattered throughout the city.  For 38 Euros we will have a private room with bathroom, laundry facilities, WiFi access, and breakfast.  Neither of us has stayed at a hostel before.  We never did the backpack-through-Europe thing after college:  Maikael started graduate school and I went to work.  I feel like I’ve missed out on some pivotal cultural experience; that anyone staying in one of these places who’s over the age of 22 will be well-schooled in the ways of the hostel.  I’ve heard that hostels vary dramatically, even within a given city:  did I pick the “good one,” I ask myself?

After leaving Lisbon we’ll spend a week making our way north to Porto, where we’ll take our chances at finding accomodations as we go.  While I’m trying to channel the reassuring spirit of Doug Lansky, this plan makes me nervous.  I know we’ll find something — there’s always something.  But I hope not to repeat our experience in Sterling, Scotland, last March, where we spent what felt like hours driving over country roads looking for budget digs, while my stomach grumbled audibly (any of you who know my eating habits can imagine the scene that ensued).  When these moments happen — and I know they will — I hope Mr. Lansky whispers his infinite words of wisdom in my ear.

On Friday we called the Hotel Peninsular in Porto to reserve our room, which is where we’ll spend the last week of our time in Portugal and use it as a base to explore the northern region via day trips.  We had originally planned on staying at the hostel in town, which the Lonely Planet describes as “the crown jewel of Portugese hostels.”  Perched high on a cliff overlooking the water, this newer hostel boasts modern facilities and  sweeping vistas.  The only problem?  It’s a 4 km/30  minute bus ride from town.  In the end we booked something in the city center which, of course, I spent way too much time researching.  We didn’t have to pay in advance, though, which provides more flexibility should our plans change (the hostels have all required advanced payment thus far).  Iselda at Hotel Peninsular said we just had to call if plans changed.  We asked her if they had Internet access, something most hostels have.  “No.  But we will next week when it’s fixed.” 

Doug Lansky assures me that we will develop our own system for finding accomodations.  I know once we hit the road that we won’t have the time to thoroughly investigate options.  One of my goals for this trip has been to become a better, more flexible traveler.  I don’t think I’ll have much of a choice!