Kindness of Strangers

The Spain photo album is now up on our site, and as we are uploading the Lisbon portion of our album as I write this.  We haven’t organized, labeled, or done much to the photos, so bear with us as we try to learn what we’re doing!  We probably won’t be able to upload photos very often, as finding WiFi access is proving to be difficult, but we will do our best.  At least it will give you a flavor of what we’ve been seeing and experiencing.

A few people have asked for an update on my shoe situation.  Here’s the lowdown:  my Merrels are great shoes to wear with socks.  I had hoped they would work equally well without socks, but alas, they don’t.  I’ve been giving the situation great contemplation, and have decided that I am going to try to make them work…if I can find somewhere to buy low-cut, black wool socks.  In Albuquerque this would be a snap, but here it’s difficult.  For now I am wearing my flip flops, as it’s very hot here.  They’re not the most comfortable, but they’re serviceable.  If I see some great shoes along the way (in Italy, perhaps?), then I’ll buy some and ship the Merrels home.  I met a girl from New Zealand, who is also traveling around the world for a year, and was comforted to know that she has already ditched two pairs of shoes — and she’s only half way through her trip.  I’m not alone!

Tomorrow we are leaving Lisbon and are off to Viana do Costelo, a beach town to the north. It will be our first experience with a long-haul train in Portugal, so it’s bound to be an adventure.  Then, it’s off to Guimaeres for four nights, then onto Porto for the final week of Portugal.

As always, thanks for reading.