I had Maria’s address and what turned out to be vague directions to her home… which meant more wandering. This was the first time I found it incredibly challenging to ask anyone for help, because I literally couldn’t find anyone that spoke English, which was surprising because it seemed a little more metropolitan than the areas I’ve been, but also perhaps less touristy.
After an hour or so of walking in and out of shops and approaching people on the streets, I found a woman who recognized the address and was able to lead me in the general direction. Maria had instructed me to ring the bell outside this gate on the corner, but when I finally arrived at this green gate I was looking for, no one answered. So I was just hanging out trying to figure out what to do when these 2 younger girls approached the building. They were friendly, and when I managed to get across that I was looking for this woman, they led me inside to an apartment and had me put my stuff down and showed me a few bedrooms on this pretty rough looking first floor. I was trying not to stress out, but after a long day of travel and the frustration of not knowing whether I was really in the right place, I was getting a little bit worried. I tried asking if there was anywhere I could get online but there didn’t seem to be any internet cafés around. I’m not sure if these girls were tenants or what, but one of them called this woman Maria, who said she was away right now and to go upstairs to wait. I was about to leave to go find somewhere to get a drink and maybe just sit outside, when this other woman came in and took me upstairs. She brought me to this room on the fourth floor, which I think was an attic, with just a few lamps on the ground and some other random shit, told me to wait there, and then left. Hah, so at that point I kind of thought, hmm… I don’t think I’m going to do that. I don’t think it was actually dangerous, but the whole situation just seemed really shady. I lugged my stuff back out into the town, and found the police station to ask if there was a hostel in Montijo… figuring that if I could stay somewhere overnight I could at least have more time to think about what to do.
There was one guy at the station who spoke a little of English, but he informed me that weren’t any there. I knew I would have no problem finding one in Lisbon, so they kindly called me a taxi. I still didn’t know where I was going, but I remembered Laurie had recommended checking out a hostel called the Lisbon Lounge, so I asked him to take me there. He dropped me off somewhere near the centre, definitely not at the Lisbon Lounge (hah), but at this point I had no shame in asking for directions, and soon had someone point me to the Yes!Hostel. I’d never been to a hostel before, and despite the somewhat disappointing circumstances, it was really cool. Only about 15 euros a night, it’s very luxury-college-dorm-esq. The downstairs reception area doubled as a bar, and hang out for the young crowd of travelers.
Not really knowing what was going on in Montijo, and pretty stressed about how I was going to afford to travel anymore without working or volunteering for room and board, I ended up switching my flight yet again to Wednesday morning. Overall, I feel a little disappointed in myself for perhaps not waiting until I had a little more moola to do this, but I’ve also had an amazing past few weeks at Tipi Valley and don’t regret the trip one bit, even if it was shorter than originally planned. (My biggest regret at the moment is that I didn't bring more snacks with me on this 8 hour flight... how out of character for me).
The silver lining… my last few nights at the hostel were actually really fun too. I met some great people, and was able to spend all of Tuesday exploring the vibrant city, first with an early morning run amongst the hustle and bustle of commuters through the cosmopolitan streets of the centre, followed by a several hour long walking tour (offered through the hostel), and finished with a long stroll along the River Tagus to Belem with another traveler I had met on our tour (a student from University of Alabama on his spring break from his study abroad program in Scotland).
Belem is known as the port of Vasco da Gama, as this is where he left from when setting sail for the Indies and Americas (in 1497... I think?). I later read that Belem is the "spiritual home of Portugal's 'Age of Discovery' and the opening up of the East to European traders and adventurers."
We saw Jerónimos Monastery & Belém Tower, which are both UNESCO World Heritage sites. I later read that this Monastery took over 70 years to complete and was built as a tribute to Vasco da Gama's successful 2 year voyage to India.
Unfortunately we got there a little too late to climb the Belém Tower, which was built as a marine fortress to protect the harbor from attack... but still pretty cool to see.
Overall, architecture in Lisbon is so incredible. Like most everything I’ve experienced so far, pictures don’t do it justice.
And so I’m half way through another long day of travel. I was so nervous I wouldn’t wake up in time this morning (rightfully so, I don’t have a phone or alarm clock with me) but thankfully, my makeshift wake-up call (pre-arranged knocking on my door from this South African guy Andre that I had met at the hostel) was successful. One bus to the airport, layover in Madrid, plane ride to JFK, drive from the city with my dad (+ much needed stop at Whole Foods) later... and I’m home in the good ole U S of A. All in all, not a bad adventure...
