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Trip to Portugal January 2011


somloci

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Indeed, I have some days to spend in Portugal. Let me see, I’ll arrive to Porto on 22/1/11 and leave from Lisbon on 25/1/11 and will be travelling with my geocacher friend, fa-peti. We’ve had many trips together and like to make a geocaching . couchsurfing – interrail combination. We’re less touristy than the average and more into hadrcore geocaching than wasting entire days in museums. Also, we’re happy ti discover everything that is local, sights, customs, cuisine, drinks and people.

 

I might set up an event or perhaps two while we’re there, should it be just a meet-up on the street or a bit of a pub-crawl. Will keep you posted on this one – and also all advices are welcome, like what, when and where and of yourse, Portuguese translation. I just bought my tickets and about to go to bed so only had a quick look at the gc map of Portugal. Many caches are disabled – all right, argue with me, I myself got the same problem and am constantly hating it – but a lot more are not which is great news!

 

Probably we’ll start the hunt right at the airport exit – whereever the closest cache is then head towards the centre of Porto. On our last day we probably will be caching in Lisbon. And in between? I dunno. Possibly will travel with Interrail passes and might spend a night somewhere in the eastern bit of the country, just to experience something less touristy, less rapid but still decent! And also, to leave some of my pennies there, not only to boost the large settlements’ market. Perhaps you’d give us some tips on where to go?

 

Let me ask a couple of questions.

 

Could you offer some sites for bike rental?

 

Do you know any geocachers who are on Couchsurfing as well?

 

What is the best website through which I can learn some basic Portuguese? Not only writing but also the way locals say words...

 

Do you know any cafés with free wifi in Lisbon and in Porto?

 

Where can I look up weather forecasts? I use dmi.dk when I go abroad but it’s always handy to have a local one at hand.

 

Apart from these, I appreciate you have this topic. I’m already planning to open one for those coming to Hungary.

Thanks.

Lori

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Also, we’re happy ti discover everything that is local, sights, customs, cuisine, drinks and people.

Portuguese cuisine is very rich. Every little village you visit will probably have its traditional dishes... (you'd need a month here to taste a bit of everything :))

You'll also find a wide variety of landscapes very close to each other.

 

Probably we’ll start the hunt right at the airport exit – whereever the closest cache is then head towards the centre of Porto. On our last day we probably will be caching in Lisbon. And in between? I dunno. Possibly will travel with Interrail passes and might spend a night somewhere in the eastern bit of the country, just to experience something less touristy, less rapid but still decent! And also, to leave some of my pennies there, not only to boost the large settlements’ market. Perhaps you’d give us some tips on where to go?

In the west coast is very easy to travel by train between Porto and Lisbon. If you want to go inland/countryside train-travelling will be... "less-easy".

 

Could you offer some sites for bike rental?

I don't know about Porto and Lisbon, but in Aveiro (70km south of Porto) you have free riding bikes (well at least there used be... most were probably stolen... I hope some might have survived...), but you can't get out of the city boundaries with them.

 

Do you know any geocachers who are on Couchsurfing as well?

I have a friend who used to be on couchsurfing (dunno if he still is...) but he's not a geocacher.

 

What is the best website through which I can learn some basic Portuguese? Not only writing but also the way locals say words...

Can't think of any at the moment... But don't worry many ppl can speak english specially the younger (under 35 or so).

 

Do you know any cafés with free wifi in Lisbon and in Porto?

None in particular, since I'm don't live in either of those cities, but many do, so probably won't be hard to find one. Some shopping centers also have (or used to have) free wifi.

 

Where can I look up weather forecasts? I use dmi.dk when I go abroad but it’s always handy to have a local one at hand.

The portuguese oficial weather forecast website is www.meteo.pt but you can also find forecasts in weather.com and accuweather.com

windguru.cz also has some good forecasts for places near the sea.

 

Which kind of geocaches do you prefer? Traditional? Multi? Small, quick, drive-in type, inside cities? Or remote ones requiring longer walks and some hiking/trekking into the wild?

 

I hope you enjoy your staying in our country :)

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What a quick response! I wonder though, what were you up to in the middle of the night...

Thank you for providing answers for my questions, I find them very handy. I had a look at the railway website and now familiar with Porto's and Lisbon's lines and the national network. Most likely we'll use urban and regional services, might go for the interregional ones as well. Do you know if I can travel on them with an Interail pass? Ok, I admit, I'm just being lazy, I'll try to look it up tonight.

 

I'd like to go at least to one remote place, like where one of the tracks end, where people don't often see foreigners. My experience is I have more fun during these lil trips as the locals are less used to tourists, they're more open and friendly and after a pint or two - er, probably they'll do wine instead - it feels like I'm at home with my friends. Might visit Aveiro, let me just ask my friend.

 

The aches I prefer... I'd choose traditionals and mystery caches, cos you know the exact coordinates before you set off. At least this was my opinion when I was hunting without a GPS device. I don't like long multis. If there's a more finds vs visit a very nice place with a single cache debate I'd usually go for the later. Drive-in caches are good but I don't drive, I spent all my life on bikes. I'm planning to get my licence next year though. I like historic places and I hate listings with only a national language description. I've gotta run now so finish writing this but I'll be back tonight!

Thanks for your answers!

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Indeed, I have some days to spend in Portugal. Let me see, I’ll arrive to Porto on 22/1/11 and leave from Lisbon on 25/1/11 and will be travelling with my geocacher friend, fa-peti.

Hi Somloci, you can find here some recommended caches for touristes in Lisbon and Porto.

Do you know any geocachers who are on Couchsurfing as well?

The one I know is Torgut

Do you know any cafés with free wifi in Lisbon and in Porto?

All the McDonalds restaurants in Portugal have free wifi.

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What kind of drinks are you thinking? Traditional Oporto Wine?

 

Stone me but I'm into white wines, so Vinhos Verdes I suppose... We'll definitely have some port as well, once we are there we've to go for it! I like ales, bitters and stouts but also drink lager and spirits, of course. Would you recommend any of the above in Portugal? Any native spirits by chance? Do you eat cheese with alcoholic drinks?

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Stone me but I'm into white wines, so Vinhos Verdes I suppose... We'll definitely have some port as well, once we are there we've to go for it! I like ales, bitters and stouts but also drink lager and spirits, of course. Would you recommend any of the above in Portugal? Any native spirits by chance? Do you eat cheese with alcoholic drinks?

 

Well, native draft beer (sagres/superbock) is probably going to be a little stronger than you'd expect. Be cautious about that. We don't want your trip ruined by a massive hangover. Regarding wines, there are a couple of places popping by that will allow you to taste portuguese winery accompanied by professional support whom will recommend the best appetizer combination for each wine (or the best wine to go with the dish of your choice).

 

There are one or two places like that in Lisbon that I would recommend. Where exactly are you planning to attend to on your visit?

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Well, native draft beer (sagres/superbock) is probably going to be a little stronger than you'd expect. Be cautious about that. We don't want your trip ruined by a massive hangover. Regarding wines, there are a couple of places popping by that will allow you to taste portuguese winery accompanied by professional support whom will recommend the best appetizer combination for each wine (or the best wine to go with the dish of your choice).

 

There are one or two places like that in Lisbon that I would recommend. Where exactly are you planning to attend to on your visit?

 

Thank you for warning me! Think I'll be all right with those stronger ones, I'm currently training myself on ales and ciders with 5-7% vol. Will warn my friend though! I've had a look at the manufacturers' websites, let me say, I prefer Super Bock now, anyway, I don't ant to advertise it... haha, never even tried. As for the wineries, I'm on a uni student's budget so prefer not to go to posh places.

I'd like to have a geocaching event set in Lisbon, probably on the 24th of January, could you recommend a venue for that?

Am still making the plans for our trip, I vaguely know when and where we'll be. Now I'm familiar with the national railway routes and made a list of potential places we'd visit. If we can spare a day or so we'd go for the power trail next to Jerome. There are places like Vila Real, Aveiro, Covilha, Figueira de Foz, Sintra, Santarém and Coimbra we'd visit but I think we won't have time for all of them.

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Thank you for warning me! Think I'll be all right with those stronger ones, I'm currently training myself on ales and ciders with 5-7% vol. Will warn my friend though! I've had a look at the manufacturers' websites, let me say, I prefer Super Bock now, anyway, I don't ant to advertise it... haha, never even tried. As for the wineries, I'm on a uni student's budget so prefer not to go to posh places.

I'd like to have a geocaching event set in Lisbon, probably on the 24th of January, could you recommend a venue for that?

Am still making the plans for our trip, I vaguely know when and where we'll be. Now I'm familiar with the national railway routes and made a list of potential places we'd visit. If we can spare a day or so we'd go for the power trail next to Jerome. There are places like Vila Real, Aveiro, Covilha, Figueira de Foz, Sintra, Santarém and Coimbra we'd visit but I think we won't have time for all of them.

 

I'd say Sintra would offer you enough reasons to stay there for a whole day. The powertrail in Malveira (Jeromelo, whatever) will also take you 6 or 7 hours to complete, to which you'll have to add the overhead to get to the initial cache by public transportation (not that regular, if I recall).

 

I noticed your schedule is tight, and "flying" from Porto to Lisbon you'd have a chance to stop by in Aveiro, Coimbra and Santarém to take a look around (most of the "interesting" places will have caches, BTW).

 

Regarding the event, consider Parque das Nações. The area has good parking, good public transportation nearby and about a dozen of bars and restaurants by the river. Check it out: http://www.parquedasnacoes.pt/ or watch the news for the next week or so. The NATO summit is taking place there too. Here are some of the events that took place there: http://coord.info/GC1V6XH, http://coord.info/GC1Y17F

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Regarding the event, consider Parque das Nações. The area has good parking, good public transportation nearby and about a dozen of bars and restaurants by the river. Check it out: http://www.parquedasnacoes.pt/ or watch the news for the next week or so. The NATO summit is taking place there too. Here are some of the events that took place there: http://coord.info/GC1V6XH, http://coord.info/GC1Y17F

 

I managed to find a venue, it is called the República da Cerveja. Dunno if it is any good but I like the name. Have you been there?

I had a bit of an idea, geocachers could meet by the flags where the virtual cache is then walk up to the bar. Do you fancy the idea? Should any arrangements be done beforehand, like table reservations, etc?

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Thank you prodrive! Will go visit some McD's then. Will contact Torgut at some point but I think we've got plenty of time till we'll actually get there.

Any recommendations for the best place to drink at in Portugal?

 

My ravens flew in a rush to the black tower I call my lair: "Master, master, people are daring... they are pronouncing your name!!"

 

So, what's up? You can find my profile by searching in Faro, Portugal. Most probably it will be the first profile in the list. I mean, if you do it soon... otherwise I might move my base to Prague... or to Malta.

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What kind of drinks are you thinking? Traditional Oporto Wine?

 

Stone me but I'm into white wines, so Vinhos Verdes I suppose... We'll definitely have some port as well, once we are there we've to go for it! I like ales, bitters and stouts but also drink lager and spirits, of course. Would you recommend any of the above in Portugal? Any native spirits by chance? Do you eat cheese with alcoholic drinks?

 

Native spirits: Bagaço (say something like "bagasso") made of grapes and Medronho, which you will not find easily in the north, not even in Lisbon area, which is made out of a berry called "medronho" (yeah, the same name)... perhaps you don't have a word in English so you can have a visual:

 

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&sou...q=&gs_rfai=

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My ravens flew in a rush to the black tower I call my lair: "Master, master, people are daring... they are pronouncing your name!!"

 

So, what's up? You can find my profile by searching in Faro, Portugal. Most probably it will be the first profile in the list. I mean, if you do it soon... otherwise I might move my base to Prague... or to Malta.

 

Bless your ravens! We still don't have a definite travel plan, I'll send some CS requests whenever we're sure on which day where we'd like to stay. I'm sorry to tell but we'll be missing the tower out this time. Probably at summertime, when the ravens move northwards we shall dare to have a look at the tower.

Do you know any geocachers on CS around Porto or Lisbon?

Thanks.

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My ravens flew in a rush to the black tower I call my lair: "Master, master, people are daring... they are pronouncing your name!!"

 

So, what's up? You can find my profile by searching in Faro, Portugal. Most probably it will be the first profile in the list. I mean, if you do it soon... otherwise I might move my base to Prague... or to Malta.

 

Bless your ravens! We still don't have a definite travel plan, I'll send some CS requests whenever we're sure on which day where we'd like to stay. I'm sorry to tell but we'll be missing the tower out this time. Probably at summertime, when the ravens move northwards we shall dare to have a look at the tower.

Do you know any geocachers on CS around Porto or Lisbon?

Thanks.

 

Nopes, I'm not really fond of the Portuguese CS "community", no contacts here.

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