Weird things I learnt backpacking

They may be funny or gross, but 100% true!

1. Pee standing: ok, I'm a girl, I sit! But the restrooms are most of the times dirty, or smelly or simply without a toilet seat. So, I saw myself obliged to learn how to pee standing, or better yet, half way up. Not very worthy of a lady, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

2. Can't watch a movie outdoors because it's freaking cold even in the summer: summer events are great in Europe, but one needs to understand what summer feels like in Europe. I'm still adapting to the hot months (bear in mind that my benchmark for summer is Brazil) and learning to enjoy myself outside when it is 25 degrees (not my idea of "oh, so hot"), but when the temperature drops to 16 at night and there is an outdoor-movie event... I'm sorry, maybe I'll enjoy it next time...

3. You find new uses for things: this is the best one. How creative can one get when one doesn't have that many options. Here's an example: I turned a coffee filter into a napkin and a snack wraper. I recommend it!

4. You'll be hungry more times than you can possibly imagine: boy, this one is hard! You're backpacking, eager to learn, visit and taste new things. But in my case, learning and visiting are on top of my list, and I end up neglecting the eating part. In all my trips I remember starving at some point. That's why now I know, I always have to carry some type of snack with me.

5. Rain water is drinkable...I think: you're thirsty, it's raining, you're wearing one of those disposable rain ponchos, nowhere to buy water at the moment. Well, just put your hands together under the poncho forming a bowl and there you go: a few sips of relief.

6. You'll miss wearing flip flops: you must wear comfortable shoes when backpacking, in fact, you must wear comfortable shoes all the time. But it comes a time that you are a little fed up of wearing socks and shoes, socks and shoes, socks and shoes. You'll definitely miss the flip flop toe-freedom.

7. You'll wear sneakers to the limit: a link to the one above. You WILL wear your sneakers to the limit. True story: after backpacking a little the latch from one of my sneakers got loose. I just kept wearing them and walking always making sure that it was still there. One day, as I was leaving the supermarket, I looked down and that was when I saw my bright yellow sock, no latch! I started laughing because it was so ridiculous! But ok, never mind, let's move on. Then, what do I see ahead, about 600 meters away from the market? My sneaker latch trying to cross the street! Just, pretended nothing was happening, I picked it up, and later at night my husband sewed it up for me. 

8. If you don't wash your undies everyday, you may one day end up not wearing any at all: I guess this topic doesn't need much development, but backpackers, bear in mind that: if you carry one piece of underwear to each day, that means 7, don't panic on Sunday evening saying that you don't have clean underwear to wear on Monday. To paraphrase Dory: just keep washing, just keep washing...

9. You'll say that things that cost more than 1 euro are expensive: backpackers are in their essence low budget travelers, that means every saving counts. Our eyes sparkle when we see things at the supermarket that cost cents!

10. You'll discover body odors you've never smelled before: backpackers walk a lot, repeat clothes a lot, wear the same jacket, buy cheap deodorants (please, don't do this), take public transportation... I'm sorry to tell you this but one day you'll discover body odors you've never smelled before.

Disgusting, right? I know...I told you things would be funny or gross, boys and girls. So, I'll give you a nice bonus one:

11. You'll learn to trust complete strangers: this is one of the nicest things that happen in the life of a backpacker, meeting new people and simply trusting them. They may want to get to know your story as much as you want to know theirs. They'll feed you, offer you rides, help you take the bus, and sometimes only smile acknowleding your presence. You'll learn to trust complete strangers and this will definitely change the way you look at people and the way you see the world.

1 day in Sintra

Just thirty minutes away from Lisbon, Sintra needs to be in your trip itinerary!

I arrived in Sintra by train, but if I can give you a piece of advice: don't go during rush hour, you won't be able to move, other than that, easy ride. It will be clear to you that you have arrived in the bucolic village of Sintra. The train station itself already attracts tourists to admire its beautiful ornamented tiles. I admired them so much, that I forgot to photograph! Can you imagine? Only mental pictures...

We, my husband and I, stayed with Airbnb hosts in an apartment around 10 minutes away from the historical village in a very residential area. We only had a day to get to know the city, so our host gave us great tips on what to do first. I always do my research on where to go, what to do and to eat, but when a local tells you what is amazing in their city and what is a big tourist trap, you should be all ears.

Here it is our itinerary for 1 day:

1. Pena's Palace: we went to Palácio da Pena (in Portuguese) right after it opened at 10 o´clock. Bear in mind that the Palace is on top of a mountain, so if you decide to go walking I strongly recommend you do some lunges first. You'll see many people taking tuk-tuk rides, going by excursion buses or vans, but also many red-cheecked walkers.

There is a hefty entrance fee, 14 euros. If you're planning on spending the day there, which is totally possible, money well spent, because the property of the Palace is enchanting. Anyway, I spent only my morning there and I don't regret going out of budget to visit Sintra's biggest icon. 

2. Moorish Castle: what's interesting about seeing a castle is seeing a castle and its big stoned walls blocking the villagers. So, while people were standing in line to enter the castle, we went through a passage where you go down contouring Castelo dos Mouros (in Portuguese) until you reach the historical village, for free.

Again, prepare your breath and legs if you decide to go down walking. There is paid transportation for you to go down, but since the Palace and the Castle's entrance are almost next to each other, people usually decide to do everything walking. I'm just trying to warn you about going to the gym before you travel...

The path is absolutely breathtaking! On one side, a lushy area with plants and trees from all over the world, on the other side, the tall dark gothic wall of the Castle, under your feet cobblestones that are thousands of years and behind you... ok, tourists.

It's a long way down until you reach the historical village of Sintra, but it's worth it. Stop, take pictures, drink some water, realize that you are in a place full of history with an amazing scenery. Even when you have left the Castle's area, the narrowed streets are still part of the fun of being in Sintra. I guarantee that there will be something at around almost every corner that will call your attention.

3. Historical village: maybe you didn't realize that you've just visited a Palace and a Castle on the same day, so I'm here to remind you that you visited a Palace and a Castle on the same day! Of course, a fairy-tale town needs a historical village. From all the hustle and bustle of the tourists some details of the village might go unnoticed. I say this because I was so excited with everything that I was just "brownsing" the city. Do you know what I did ten minutes after I realized this? I started my stroll again feeling all that town could offer me.

  

The handicrafted Portuguese tiles, the bags, purses, hats and shoes made out of cork, the many stores offering a sweet cherry liquor called, ginjinha, the huge line - in front of a famous restaurant - of people who wanted to eat the city's pastry, travesseiro, the street singers, the thousands of postcards waiting to be sent, the narrowed entrance doors to local stores, and the many people in awe to be in that quaint town.  

4. Quinta da Regaleira: here's the last part of our one day trip to Sintra. Just like Pena's Palace, you can spend a whole day visiting the Quinta. In English, quinta means farm, but if I say farm you'll have another idea of what this unforgettable place is, so let's keep its original name, besides it's fun saying quinta.

Easy to get there on foot from the historical village of Sintra, the Palace of the quinta is opened for visitation and it will be the first thing you see. However, I recommed you to leave it to the end, because there are many places for you to visit, walk,  photograph, meditate, have fun in the quinta, so before you leave the property make sure you stop by to take a look at the story of the people who lived there. Everything is included in the 6 euro entrance fee. There are oh so many paths for you to take at the quinta, so make sure you explore them, not necessarily in order, but as you go. I say explore because there are some "hidden" places, like the Iniciatic Well, a place you understand what's the Earth and what's the sky. Philosophical, right? But you'll get it once you're there.

A place where I would definitely go back! The quinta seems to be envolved in mystery, maybe because of its paths, green areas, "princesses" towers, wells, devotion towards religion, or maybe just because of the palace colors, its thick doors and mosaic floors. 

If you only have one day in Sintra those are the places you should definetely pay a visit. They are not only tourist sites, or the town's main icons; Pena's Palace, for example, is considered a World Heritage Site, one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. After being in such a fairy-tale place, Sintra will be forever in your heart!

Airbnb

My first Airbnb experience 

Talking about travel apps is easy. The actual result of using them is much more exciting!  

I guess many people are familiar with the Airbnb platform: there are many hosts in many cities in many countries who are making their spare rooms available to travelers who just need a place to crash for a few days. You just need to see which room description sounds more appealing to you and book it. Besides saving money, compared to if you stayed at a hotel, you will experience traveling like a local, which means talking to the homeowners and getting real insider tips.

I need to say something first, you may not be as fortunate as my husband and I were but if you are, man you will be so addicted to this platform you won’t even consider hotels anymore for your next trips.

So here we go. We were visiting Portugal with almost no planning ahead when we decided to go to the city of Sintra, near Lisbon. At that moment we were at a guesthouse doing some volunteer work. I had checked the Airbnb website before, so I decided to download the app to make things easier. Created my profile and started checking the available rooms in Sintra’s historical village. Found one I liked: pictures, description, feedback and price. But I was too apprehensive being my first time doing this. Didn’t know the host, the actual location not even the accuracy of the post. Funny enough I wasn’t worried. Although I exchanged some messages with the host just to see how the “texting impression” would go. Good! Nice from the start! So I did my booking and paid it online.

One of the hosts :)

Next day we went to Sintra by train. We arrived 15 minutes later but our host was there waiting to pick us up as previously arranged. By the way, I had no idea what our hosts looked like! And I had never done such a thing in my entire life! This trusting thing was going pretty well. It was a ten minute ride from the station to the house, and we were already getting to know one another.

We arrived at the house and were introduced to our bedroom. Just like it was shown in the website! We finally met the host I texted to and she was incredibly nice to us making us feel at home. We had a private bathroom and free access to the kitchen and living room. We were thrilled for having chosen such nice hosts when all of a sudden we are invited for dinner!

Something I quickly learned is that all Portuguese people know how to cook and drink their wine. It was our first Airbnb experience and it felt like we were visiting friends. During dinner we mentioned we were going to visit the main tourist places the next day because we only had one day there. So they handed out a map explaining the best sites to go and “if you don’t mind I can give you a ride”. What?! “Sure, we’d love that!” That’s exactly the traveling like a local experience I was telling you about. You not only get to know a new place but also the people who live there.

At the Iniciatic Well in Quinta da Regaleira-Sintra

We were spending an excellent day in Sintra when our host called to check if we were ok. We told him everything was fine, we were having a pretty good time. We were leaving one of the most iconic sites in Sintra, when we saw our host on the phone. “Oh, hey!” He asked us if we were going to do something else because he could give us a tuk-tuk ride to off the beaten path places. What?! “Sure, let’s go!”

Our trip to Sintra couldn’t have been better. Big Airbnb fans we became. In case you are wondering we had no plans after our check out. So not me! Around midnight we started looking for a room in Lisbon in my Airbnb app. I made a pre booking and hoped my future host would see it in the morning. Bingo! Next day, reservation complete. This time I knew what she looked like and her address. All ready to go!

As you can see, nowadays my go to website for room reservations is without a doubt Airbnb. Choosing well, being a nice host and a nice guest is the key to have an amazing experience while traveling.

Guests must remember they are staying at somebody else’s home and respect that. Hosts may be receiving a foreigner in their country and should make their guest feel welcome.

I definitely recommend Airbnb. It has all the perks to make your trip unforgettable!

Is backpacking for you?

I discovered I’m not a backpacker while backpacking!

Let me start from the beginning. I am 29 years old, married, and na English teacher who started thinking that I reached that moment that “you either follow your dream now or you will never know if it would work”. I had to try. Actually we had to try. My husband was so stressed with work that it started to affect his health,

We have always dreamed of living abroad, so we started researching where we could go to start a new life; where we felt we would have more opportunities to do the things we loved. Long nights in front of the computer and a reasonable amount of money saving was how we started. What about missing our family if we moved to another country? I tried really hard not to think about that, I thought only “well, this will be a long trip”. I had to not think about family that much because it was one of the reasons I hadn’t tried to move abroad before I just couldn’t, I didn’t want to miss them. Oh and the family dogs?, gosh really pretend you will see them next weekend, otherwise, if you are like me, you won’t even go to the supermarket because you don’t want to leave them alone. Even despite the fact that they don’t live with me but with my parents and grandma.

I had the fortunate chance of taking my dual citizenship, so I did. My husband just had to come along we would legalize his residency once we arrive in our destination. That was when I had the incredible idea of why not going backpacking first, visit some contries and only then we rent an apartment and start working? Great! Let’s do this!

I had read and read dozens of articles and had watched and watched dozens of videos about backpacking. I thought I was more than ready to go on my adventure, did all my shopping, let go of many things, prepared all the necessary documentation, but real life is not always as seen on the Pinterest website.

Here’s how I discovered I’m not the backpacker type of traveller:

1. Packing your backpack is hard. Really hard. Especially for a first timer. And no matter how perfectly you think you have packed, you will miss things you didn’t pack and you will not use some things you did pack. This may leave you a little upset at times.

2. You live in a tropical country like Brazil and you go backpacking in Europe during spring. You will be cold. Winter clothes won’t fit all in your backpack. Decisions have to be made. Did I say you will be cold?

3. Walks to the train or subway station with a backpack, ok I was prepared for that. Under the rain? With a supermarket bag? Feeling cold? Did not think about that. You start feeling pains in your back, shoulders, legs, feet, lungs...well you do really have to be physically prepared and remember that if it rains, that’s just part of the adventure...though it sucks.

4. You got to pack an excellent towel for you to carry to your hostels and guest houses and that towel needs to dry fast. Though your hand washed clothes may not. And I knew that, I just didn’t think that I wouldn’t have that wonderful smell of fabric softner ever again.

5. This one is specially for the girls. Are you vain? Like doing your nails every week, blow drying your hair before you leave somewhere, using lotions and waxing? Forget all that! You cannot carry many items in your hand luggage in airplanes, that may leave you feeling kind of sloppy. If you’re thinking on going to a nail saloon after three weeks of backpacking...well that’s not very backpacker of you. I thought I wouldn’t miss these things after a month...turns out I did...a lot.

6. With a backpack you are only allowed to carry one heavy jacket, that means the one you will be wearing all the freaking time. This bothered me a little because I like to take pictures and I am wearing the same jacket everyday on every picture, hence the name of the blog.

7. Organization in your backpack is essential. Nothing to complain here. I may help you with this another time.

8. Gifts? You’re a backpacker now, no gifts!, there is not space to spare. Again, I knew that, but you see so many nice things you may want to buy but just won’t, backpacking is not that kind of trip. Although may feel liberating.

9. Do you like hot showers in clean bathrooms? Well, sometimes you just don’t have these luxuries, sometimes what you have is a moldy shower curtain touching your legs while you are having a luke warm shower.

10. What about going to bed tired at night to sleep with a comfy conforter? Well, many nights I wasn’t warm enough, didn’t know if the conforter had been washed, and the pillows...want a piece of advice? Carry your neck pillow, it may became your best friend.

All in all I still recommend you this type of traveling if you want to have the experience of backpacking. It’s a really different type of trip. Your focus will be completely different and you will understand that you can definitely pack less when packing wisely. Although I warn you about dirty bathrooms, cold beds, heavy luggage and the fact the boys and girls will be hairy and with huge cuticles during this time, it is something to which you will either say “I loved it” or “please, I need a hairdryer and to leave my luggage here while I go visiting some places”.

But, hey, I’ve done it! Now I know I am not one of those backpackers that wears everything they have, that can live many days without a shower, that take long walks with their bags on their backs. I am a backpacker that likes to save money, talk to locals, feel part of the place, know the less turist sites, but late at night, likes to take a hot shower and sleep in a confortable bed so the next morning I can put on my backpack or (now I know) use the rollers that it has and get to know I new city. I guess I have the mind of a backpacker, the body of a turist and the soul of an eternal world traveler!