Taking it Easy in Lisbon

Don't ever be me, I mean it.

Picture this.. it's 10 pm and you're in a pretty, but tiny little border town between France and Spain. You're trying to decide if you should walk to the slightly larger town down the road to get a hotel, or call a Taxi, when an old man comes over, grabs your bag and starts talking to you in rapid-fire Spanish. When you reach for your phrase book he swats your hand away and continues talking to you in Spanish ignoring your pleas in English. You gather that he is asking if you are going on to Portugal on the only train leaving that night, or staying in Irún (the pretty little border town) to sleep. Trying to explain to him that you aren't sure yet just results in him walking away from you, with your bag, presumably to his overpriced bed and breakfast where I'm sure none of his family speaks English either.

Well, that's what happened to me last night, so I did what every other sleepy and only semi-logical person does in that situation.. I bought a ticket to Portugal.

I shared my cabin with a really nice Swedish couple, and 2 Iranian girls from Germany, and with 5 people in the cabin, none of us had a very comfortable sleep. Unfortunately neither sleepers nor couchettes were available that particular trip, and rightfully so if the reservation is only €7.50.

We all tried very hard though. The Swedish couple got out in Salamanca, Spain, and we continued on. I finally managed to drift off to sleep slightly before the Portuguese border where I was rudely awakened by a Portuguese border guard wanting to see my passport. By this point it was after 6 in the morning so I drifted in and out of consciousness for most of the morning, trading beauty products with the Iranian girls so we all LOOKED like we'd slept.

Portugal is BEAUTIFUL. The north is very impoverished and there are a lot of tiny little worn down towns with people living in houses with almost no roof left, but the scenery is breathtaking, and even the worn down villages have a unique charm. The people are quite friendly here, and although almost no one I've met speaks fluent English, they all seem to understand and can speak basic English. I've had a few people smile when I ask, "Fala Inglês?" and I hope it's just because they're happy I'm even trying, and not because I'm horribly mispronouncing it.

I had a brilliant stroke of good luck leaving Paris, where neither the conductor from Paris to Bordeaux, or the conductor from Bordeaux to Irún checked my Eurail pass to see if it was validated. Since I genuinely didn't know that it NEEDED to be before I got on the train and read the pamphlet closely, I travelled from Paris to Irún for just €4.50, which was the reservation cost. Pretty damn good.

The conductor DID check it leaving Irún for Lisbon though, but my pass now starts the day after I actually first started using it since the trip was well after the 8pm when they consider the travel next day travel. Yay.

I have to go find my hostel now.