Two weeks ago was Semana Blanca in Malaga. I learned from my students that the holiday has no special significance, and it owes its existence to the mere fact that most of the provincial holidays occur during the summer (each province has its own holidays). Since Malaga's holidays fall during the summer, Semana Blanca was created by the Junta de Andalucia to ensure that students in Malaga get the same number of holidays as students in other parts of the state of Andalucia (to be clear, the city of Malaga is located in a province of the same name, which in turn is located in the state of Andalucia). The shorter version of this is that I got a week off from classes.
Taking advantage of this holiday, I decided to travel to neighboring Portugal, a country that I have wanted to visit for some time. I flew from Madrid to Lisbon, which is somehow in a different time zone (there is an explanation for why this has happened, though I don't know the facts well enough to convey what happened. I do know that it was initiated by the dictator Francisco Franco in order to be in sync with Nazi Germany). Excited to be in a new country, I neglected to follow basic travel protocol, and promptly was charged 38 euros for a ride from the airport to the Traveller's House, my hostel in Baixa. To put this into perspective, when I returned to the airport at the end of my journey I took the metro, which cost less than two euros.
Nevertheless, Lisbon was a fantastic city. The hostel proved to be in a phenomenal location, in the middle of the Bairro Alto (Lisbon's center for nightlife), Chiado (Lisbon's most famous cultural zone), and Alfama, a historic neighborhood that contains the Castle of Sao Jorge, as well as numerous fado bars, fado being the melancholy, sentimental style of music that is as culturally significant to Portugal as flamenco is to Spain.
Traveller's House was an excellent establishment, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in traveling to Lisbon on a budget. The desk attendant, Joao, was incredibly helpful in suggesting tours, giving directions, and even preparing a superb authentic Portuguese meal for us! The hostel also organized nighttime activities for its guests, which enabled me to meet some very cool people from all over the world.
The meal that Joao prepared.
One of the people I met, Dustin, was a fellow American who had been traveling through Spain, Portugal and Morocco for the past four months. We spent an afternoon together walking around Alfama, and he gave me a few recommendations for day trips from Lisbon. Lisbon in very hilly, though it does not show on a map. By the end of the day, it is likely that we traveled a greater distance in terms of elevation than in a linear direction.
The next day I visited a few of the museums. Portugal was once a great empire as well as the most dominant navy in the world, so my first stop was the Naval Museum. Thanks to Joao's advice, on the day that I went there I got to tour all of the museums free of charge. I also included the Jeronimo Monastery on my tour, where I saw the tomb of the explorer Vasco de Gama, known for being the first European explorer to reach India by sea.
The next day I took the metro to the other side of the city, where I visited the Oceanarium of Lisbon, the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. It was a beautiful day, so I was hesitant about spending most of it inside, but I was not disappointed. It was worth it just to see the seascapes, which could be viewed from above and below the surface.
In the middle of the week, I took a day trip to Sintra, a site just outside of Lisbon, about 45 minutes by train. Sintra is where the Royal Family built a palace as a retreat. Centuries prior, the Moors had already established a fortress in Sintra, as early as the 8th or 9th century. Most significant was the Pena National Palace, as well as the Quinta da Regaleira, a massive park that features lakes, lagoons, hidden caves and spiral staircases, fountains, a chapel and several grottos. Walking through the park feels like being in the pages of Alice in Wonderland. Were it not for the other attractions of Sintra, I could have easily spent an entire day there.
Sintra was pretty difficult to top, so the next day I took a train to the city of Porto. It is about two and a half hours, being in the north (Lisbon is toward the south). Porto proved to be distinct from Lisbon, with a beautiful Ribeira that was very pleasant. Porto is also famous for its wine, which is exported all across the world. During one very mellow afternoon, I went to a wine tasting, where I drank three glasses of wine in the span of approximately forty-five minutes. Then I went on a wine tour, where I was offered another two glasses at the end (I tasted them, but was unable to finish either).
Below: The Calem Winery
My stay in Porto lasted only one night. I went out that night with a group comprised of Germans, French, Brazilians, and one crazy Spanish guy, and we ended up at a disco where we were basically one of only three large groups (to be fair, it was a Wednesday night).
The next day, back in Lisbon, I had a low key day, which was quite welcome, as I was rather tired from traveling. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see some of Lisbon's youth celebrating carnival (they were celebrating it in Spain as well, which I found out the next night when I returned). There is no better way to end a vacation with a bunch of wild people in costume dancing in the streets.
Happy Semana Blanca, everyone!
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