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.

Are you ready to stay at a hostel?

Low-budget accomodation: HOSTELS

I had never stayed at a hostel before, but when I decided to backpack in Europe, I got the feeling that these two words always go together: if you backpack you sleep at a hostel. So I decided to give it a try and enjoy my adventure! Let's see if after reading this you'll be ready to stay at a hostel or not!

My husband and I were backpacking in Europe going to Berlin and would stay there for one night only. First I looked for an Airbnb host downtown Berlin, but did you know that there aren't any? It's forbidden, that's why you'll only find hosts some miles away from downtown. A hotel was out of the question, so I downloaded the Hostelworld app and started my research.

Since it was our first time at a hostel, we are married and not 18 anymore I had some demands for our first stay:

a. breakfast included;

b. sheets and pillows included;

c. downtown area;

d. near a subway station;

e. English spoken;

f. cheap.

So a because we were in Germany and none of us know any German to go out in the morning to buy something to eat, b because yeah the cheapest ones charge you or just don't have sheets and pillows on the beds, c and d because we only had a day there, e well, I just mentioned this above and f it's a hostel, right?, so cheap is what I want.

When looking for hostels the feedbacks is what I'm interested the most, and many of them complained about bad smell, dirty facilities and loud noise. Because of these things I set my budget a little higher. 

I found a hostel that covered all my demands and had very good reviews St. Christopher's Inn. We just wanted a cheap and comfortable place to crash; our aim wasn't a party hostel, but they also have a very nice bar for you to mingle. By the way, it's the same place they serve breakfast.

I booked via the app 2 beds in a 16-bed bedroom! We paid 16 euros each with all the perks mentioned above. Here's a picture of our bedroom, well, part of it:

As you can see, the pointy yellow arrows are showing the things that I thought were really cool. My bed was on top, my husband slept on the one behind me, and there was a large drawer for you to store your bags, but no lock, so you have to have your own.

The drape gives you privacy, the beds have pillows, sheets and a comforter. There's a tiny light at the bed for you to do your readings, and your own outlet to charge your devices. Loved it!

The way the bedroom was organized was really nice because it didn't look like there were 16 people in there. The bathroom is separated, on the hall you see signs to show you where the bedroom is for room numbers x and room numbers y, but don't mind that because since there are only two stalls, you can just look for the next one available, nobody likes to stay in line to use the restroom... For showering, only one stall, or you can go to the unisex shower, then there are more.

The hostel is quiet and people respect your privacy. It's possible to hear people on the sidewalk talking and having drinks, but that didn't disturb me. What DID disturb me was a couple who kept talking, and eating, and coughing, and calling their family on the bed right under mine! That freaked me out, but I didn't say anything to them, I was leaving the next day, so I didn't want any problems. But that's not all! Their sneakers smelt REALLY bad! Oh boy, that was the worst! I put some VapoRub on the area above my upper lip so I would smell that instead of their feet! Urgh!

Breakfast on the next day was simple, but good. It goes up to 10 o´clock, so you see many "sleepwalkers". Fruits, bread, juice, coffee, butter, cheese, jam and hazelnut cream. That was good enough to start the day!

We wanted to spend some extra time in Berlin before taking our bus, which was leaving only at night, but we didn't want to be carrying our backpacks. When we asked the receptionist about lockers, they mentioned we could use the ones next to the hostel. It was a room full of lockers, small and big. They cost 2 euros for four hours, I think, but I remember it was a very reasonable price. We used one locker for both of our bags. And you don't even have to be a guest at the hostel.

As you can see, it is possible to find a good comfortable hostel, even if you're not there to party, have a good night sleep and go on to your next destination. I don't think I'd recommend staying at a hostel for many days, I think one night only is enough, but hey, that's just me. If it weren't for the talking smellersons it would have been great, but they upset my night sleep.

Hostel, good. Experience, interesting. Travelers, some of them don't shower. Please do!

Are you ready to stay at a hostel? Have you already slept in one? I'm sure everybody who has slept at a hostel has a story to tell. What's yours?

WORKAWAY PART I

Everybody likes to travel on a budget. Ok, not everybody, but I do. After researching about low budget travels I came across the website www.workaway.info. It looked like the perfect kind of trip for me at the moment. Travel + free accomodation= getting to know the world and people by volunteering = workawaying. However, my first volunteering experience didn't go exactly how I thought it would be.

You have to pay a small fee to the website, and prices vary if you are traveling solo or as a couple, and you get a two year membership. After that you just need to complete your profile, add some pictures and start looking for some hosts everywhere in the world!

Since I was going from Brazil to Portugal, I started looking as my first workaway experience for a place in Portugal. My husband and I were going to do this together, so we sent e-mails to hosts/places where we would like to volunteer.

Not easy, my friend. Many of them didn't have the dates anymore, or wanted us for another month, or to stay longer or just never answered our e-mail. We didn't give up! We started sending messages to a bunch of hosts, each time being more personal in our e-mails, and always reading others' feedback before applying.

Volunteering – Portugal – when things go bad

One day, one woman who had a farm in Alentejo, the countryside of Portugal, said she could host us for the time and day we offerred. Good, let's go!

By e-mail she said we would have the free accomodation, like Workaway website says we all have, but when I asked her if we had to buy any food, she replied, "yes, but I'll take you to the supermarket". The website says that workawayers are provided at least one meal. That's why I thought her answer was a little weird, anyway, probably we would only go for cookies and sodas.

As previously arranged, she would pick us up at the bus station. After a very long bus ride from Póvoa de Varzim to Porto to Lisbon to Montemor to Évora, we finally arrived. Two backpackers volunteering abroad for the first time. Pretty exciting, huh?

Bags on our backs, hungry, thirsty, cold (spring in the countryside of Portugal is very cold, beautiful, though), looking for a woman we had no idea what she looked like. When we heard our names being called we opened up a big smile to greet her (she was in her fifties), unfortunately we were the only ones. She and the man behind her looked like they were in a real bad mood. I felt like saying I'm sorry to the guy without having done anything by the look he had on his face.

If you think first impressions are a big deal, I definitely agree with you. That was a hint to what we were about to face.

Small talk on the car and she took us to the market. Worst visit to the market ever! The guy disappeared, she insisted she could push the cart, but why was she on a hurry? I didn't know the

market, or what I had to buy, or for how long, nothing! Then she said we needed to buy everything we were going to need to cook and eat. And that's not all, toilet paper too! First timers, we just accepted, but we were completely dissapointed with our reception.

We went to her small farm and she showed us our separate house. Ok, good, big, just us and it had a fireplace. "Oh, we'd like to light it up before going to bed to warm ourselves", I said, "Ok, do you have a match?", she asked us. Oh, yeah, I always have a match in my pocket. What kind of a freaking question was that? I guess she then decided to wake up her social skills and invited us to dinner with them. No mood for that, but sure, we wanted to workaway to share experiences.

At this point, my husband and I were tired, disappointed and hungry. We were very punctual to knock on her door to have dinner together. But the only possible way to get to her house was using the lantern from our phones. She was a "lights on" freak, they needed to be always off, turn them on only in case of extreme necessity. Ok, everybody is a little quircky.

Silence at the dinner table. "It smells so good!", "It looks delicious!". Silence at the dinner table. "Do you drink wine or soda?", "Whatever you guys are having.", "You have to choose.", "Ok, I guess I can drink some wine." Silence at the dinner table. After trying so hard to have a conversation, she decided to talk when I asked her how long she was living at the farm. That was it. Fun night, huh?

After this day, what do you want? Lie down and rest, right? Nooo, our house was dusty, the bathroom was moldy, the kitchen was dirty, and I named the spiders!

She said our first job the next day was to clean the house we were staying. Hell no, I have to clean it now, I won't sleep in a place like this. So, after a long ride, an awkward dinner, I started cleaning the house. Feeling cold, because her brilliant mind thought I carried matches around to light fireplaces I saw on my way.

After cleaning the house with water and dish detergent (the only thing there was to clean a house, otherwise we had to buy cleaning products), we went to bed. Next day, it was pouring rain, so we stayed in. Abandoned. Feelings of regret started to emerge.

The other day the sun came out. So we went down her house to ask what we could do to help them in the farm. She was out to work, so the man gave us instructions to what we had to do. I say the man, because their relationship was a mystery to us. I had to weed the garden and my husband had to spray some type of product on the trees. We imagined we would have to do these things, and I came prepared with my gardening gloves. But, some gardening equipments would be of great help. Not a word from the man. My husband wore neither a mask nor gloves. And the man was surprised when my husband asked him for help on how to prepare the substance he had to spray. We tried to stay positive but it started to look like we were not volunteering but working for free.

My hands and back were in pain after that day and my husband was afraid of having smelled that type of product all day. Next day, pulling out grass, not weed, because it was one meter high, and guess what?, by hand! We found a tiny shovel and garden scissors which helped us a little. We got the impression that since she knew we would volunteer for her in April, in December she thought she didn't have to do anything else because we were coming the next year. Not even a heads up to the big spiders there were in garden. We wanted to learn, to share, to volunteer not to know what slavery feels like.

On the weekend, we decided to take the bikes she lent and went for a ride. During the weekends she was at home, so she decided to work in her farm. However, after a whole week working hard, we deserved our days off, so we went to the nearby village, had a little picnic on the road, and before coming back... we didn't want to come back, we wanted to go away. We thought that maybe she had a bad week, or we had cultural differences. We would give her another chance, because the agreement was to stay there for a month. We were eager to volunteer, although not under those conditions.

When we came back she said she needed to talk to us. She complained we didn't help her! Wait a minute! We worked from Monday to Friday and she wanted us to work on the weekend too? The way she talked to us was very childish, and when we complained too, she said she chose workaway.info because she didn't want to give any support, since she was out working during the week. We did not sign up for that! It became clear to us that we weren't happy there. We packed our bags and said goodbye.

We're travelers! We wouldn't let one bad experience ruin the rest of our trip! So, we went to Évora and booked a room. Best shower ever! With heating! Clean sheets! That's the stuff...

One night in Évora, then we hit the road to Sintra booking a room with Airbnb. After that we went to Lisbon and from there we rented a car to Porto! Planning as we go, it is so not us! But it was incredible!

So, you see, it is possible to transform a bad experience into many good experiences! Plus, I can also warn you that you must be alert to these programs, and only do what you feel like doing and are happy about it. Follow your heart! I never blamed the platform, just the host, let's be clear on that.

However, we had another workaway planned in France, and we would give it a go. That you'll see in the next post, the other side of the coin. What I guarantee is: we made friends for life!

Airport Shuttle

From Paris to Beauvais Airport

When we think about an airport in Paris we may immediately think of Charles de Gaulle Airport. However, when you are flying Ryanair they may offer you flights in smaller airports, not exactly an international airport. Let's say if you are in Paris, there are big chances you'll get to know Beauvais Airport, the low cost flights airport.

The airport is around 1h15 away from the city of Paris. It's a good thing that there is a shuttle from the Porte Maillot bus station to the airport. The bus station is walking distance from the Arch of Triumph and it is a very small simple bus station, where you will see many airport shuttle buses and Flixbus buses.

Right in front of it there is an event center called Palais de Congrès de Paris, and a metro station. At the event center you can have a snack, eat some macaroons, go to Starbucks, use the restroom or just hang out for a while.

Before taking your shuttle bus I suggest you buy your ticket online (http://tickets.aeroportbeauvais.com/Information.aspx), it's a little cheaper (round trip or one way), you'll definitely avoid lines and hopefully won't attract any pickpockets. Just do not forget to print your ticket! They only accept the paper version. By the way, the bus DOES NOT have Ryanair logo.

At the bus station, right next to the ticket office, there is a big board with Ryanair's timetable for the day. There is a possibility you see two lines of people, one for the regular buses and another for the shuttle buses. Why do I say that there is a possibility? Porte Maillot's bus station has a big problem: disorganization. You see lines, you see groups, lost people, backpackers, local people, and nobody is quite sure what they are doing there. Because of this total lack of organization I was also unsure as to where, how and at what time to take my shuttle. 

There is only the time of your flight printed in your shuttle ticket, so they recomment you to take the shuttle 3 hours before the flight, you do the math. They come every 20 to 30 minutes, so you see many people asking the drivers for information.

I was a little anxious to take the bus because: a - it was my first time, b - it was raining, c - it was cold and d - traffic didn't look peaceful. So after watching many people running to take the first shuttle that appeared, I took a shot to see if they would accept my ticket even if I was a little ahead of time, around 40 minutes, I think.

I was in! The bus was completely full! Oh Paris in the rain... not romantic, my friend! It's stressful if you're inside a bus worried with the time and afraid you might lose your plane. Well, I just took a deep breath. I was on my way anyway, there was nothing else I could do.

Because of the rain and traffic, it took us 2 hours to arrive at the airport. Good thing I left earlier, because there was just enough time to check in and wait to be called for boarding.

What did I take from all these? Do take the airport shuttle, buy the ticket online, print it and take the shuttle way sooner than you thought. Beauvois airport is small but cozy, with a few restaurants and some birds as visitors too. Hope you have a good ride and a good flight! 

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!