This morning after breakfast we drove to the mountains for our kayaking trip on the Mondego River. The river was very full – because of all the rains there have been lately (though luckily not for us!) they have been dumping more water from the dam which makes the river high. The current looked fierce and the water felt icy… we went out in 4 double kayaks, each parent with their child, Joana with a river guide, and another river guide in a single tiny kayak. Not too far down the river he did a 360 degree spin – not a circle but an *underwater* spin, to cool himself. Big show off :) This was Joana’s first kayak trip and I think she was a bit nervous!
The day was beautiful and the scenery nice. With the current the paddling was easy. We saw many falcons circling overhead, on the hunt, but really no other wildlife (well, there was a water snake later on). The peace and pleasure of being on the water was fantastic. After an hour or so we stopped at a beach and all the kids went swimming. They are so brave! When we climbed back into the kayaks we had a nice thrill over a small set of rapids. I was nervous, not wanting to get dumped in the water but we all made it through so easily I felt silly for worrying - – then when we least expected it Leo and Gladys (we had traded, and I was with Gladys’s daughter Mallory) hit a log in the water and flipped out of the kayak. A real family adventure! Leo loved it and Gladys was gracious enough to not complain.
Further down the river we stopped again at a small beach and this time I went in to swim too – the nagging concern about when would I ever have the chance again to swim in a cold Portuguese river drove me in. The current was so strong you could not walk upstream, and the kids would swim as hard as they could and not go anywhere – this is where someone got the idea for the lap pool no doubt. After my legs went numb I came out and dried pretty quickly in the sun. I would not say it was a hot day, but just perfect. Because of the water coming in from the dam there was a kind of tidal thing going on, and suddenly we realized our little beach was disappearing, and all of the things we had put on the ground were sitting in water – so we packed up again. As we were setting off two sweet dogs came paddling over from the other side of the river. They looked like golden retriever / Irish setter mixes, young dogs. Michael, I swear one was young Xerxes! They almost climbed into a kayak looking for hugs and pats, and then we were on our way. The end of our ride was another beach just short of a rushing waterfall so we knew we were ready to stop, a larger beach where a picnic barbeque was being prepared for us – ribs and chicken and salad, local beer and wine, bread (ALWAYS bread at the meal!) Delicious, as all of our meals have been.
When we got back to the hotel and got out of our wet suits we all went for a walk through the village of Lousa. We stopped in the pharmacy – full of creams and lotions and makeup, and a large display of Dr Scholls! There were several fashionable styles, why don’t we have those in the USA?? We also went into the grocery store, one of my favorite places to visit in a foreign country. I wanted olive oil but it was all in glass bottles and I prefer to pack plastic in my suitcase so I will keep looking. I did buy a bottle of local red wine for 1.56 Euro, about $2 US. I am sipping it now and can say it is Interesting.
We have said it at the end of every day so for: This was our FAVORITE day!
After lazing around this evening, dozing in a lounge chair out on the patio we had a late dinner, 8-1030PM. It seems impossible to get it done any faster, and we have given up trying. The kids then went off to kick the soccer ball in the dark, and are now playing cards in one of the common rooms (at 1130PM) The adults have wandered off to bed.
My prepaid card for internet access has expired, so I will not post this until the morning when I can get another one from the front desk.
We are running out of riddles, please send new ones!
The day was beautiful and the scenery nice. With the current the paddling was easy. We saw many falcons circling overhead, on the hunt, but really no other wildlife (well, there was a water snake later on). The peace and pleasure of being on the water was fantastic. After an hour or so we stopped at a beach and all the kids went swimming. They are so brave! When we climbed back into the kayaks we had a nice thrill over a small set of rapids. I was nervous, not wanting to get dumped in the water but we all made it through so easily I felt silly for worrying - – then when we least expected it Leo and Gladys (we had traded, and I was with Gladys’s daughter Mallory) hit a log in the water and flipped out of the kayak. A real family adventure! Leo loved it and Gladys was gracious enough to not complain.
Further down the river we stopped again at a small beach and this time I went in to swim too – the nagging concern about when would I ever have the chance again to swim in a cold Portuguese river drove me in. The current was so strong you could not walk upstream, and the kids would swim as hard as they could and not go anywhere – this is where someone got the idea for the lap pool no doubt. After my legs went numb I came out and dried pretty quickly in the sun. I would not say it was a hot day, but just perfect. Because of the water coming in from the dam there was a kind of tidal thing going on, and suddenly we realized our little beach was disappearing, and all of the things we had put on the ground were sitting in water – so we packed up again. As we were setting off two sweet dogs came paddling over from the other side of the river. They looked like golden retriever / Irish setter mixes, young dogs. Michael, I swear one was young Xerxes! They almost climbed into a kayak looking for hugs and pats, and then we were on our way. The end of our ride was another beach just short of a rushing waterfall so we knew we were ready to stop, a larger beach where a picnic barbeque was being prepared for us – ribs and chicken and salad, local beer and wine, bread (ALWAYS bread at the meal!) Delicious, as all of our meals have been.
When we got back to the hotel and got out of our wet suits we all went for a walk through the village of Lousa. We stopped in the pharmacy – full of creams and lotions and makeup, and a large display of Dr Scholls! There were several fashionable styles, why don’t we have those in the USA?? We also went into the grocery store, one of my favorite places to visit in a foreign country. I wanted olive oil but it was all in glass bottles and I prefer to pack plastic in my suitcase so I will keep looking. I did buy a bottle of local red wine for 1.56 Euro, about $2 US. I am sipping it now and can say it is Interesting.
We have said it at the end of every day so for: This was our FAVORITE day!
After lazing around this evening, dozing in a lounge chair out on the patio we had a late dinner, 8-1030PM. It seems impossible to get it done any faster, and we have given up trying. The kids then went off to kick the soccer ball in the dark, and are now playing cards in one of the common rooms (at 1130PM) The adults have wandered off to bed.
My prepaid card for internet access has expired, so I will not post this until the morning when I can get another one from the front desk.
We are running out of riddles, please send new ones!
1 comment:
Moo --
You are having a WONDERFUL trip! I love reading this blog - you make the trip come alive for me.
Enjoy every minute!
Beth
Post a Comment