2. Portugal - my first Camino
Translated by Jolanta Czaicka-Kotlarczyk
When I started my trip, it was after a series of difficult break-ups, long-time workplace harassment, and a year of unemployment and depression. I had already been single for a few years, but had yet unable to enjoy my freedom. I flew to Portugal for the first time feeling sad, painfully lonely, and deeply wounded. But Portugal fascinated me, cured me, and made me stronger.
Why did I choose Portugal? Firstly, it seemed the most exotic of all countries where there are pilgrimage trails. (I will say more about it soon). Secondly, I have never been there before. I wanted to do something different, and it turned out I hit a bull’s eye!
Lisbon, a city of sun and warm wind I can still feel in my hair, was my first stop. It was a city of stone streets, squares, and like the majority of all cities situated on hills, it was full of stairs. There was the Tagus River, with an outlet so big it could be mistaken for a bay, and impressive bridges. The 25th of April Bridge, for example, had been modeled after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
There were yellow trams everywhere. The little streets, with their omnipresent azulejos (stone mosaic) and sad sounds of fado, were so narrow I had to hide in doorways, when the trams were coming. I was enthralled by the beauty.
Being so drunk with love, I traveled to Porto. Well, it is impossible not to love Porto, but it is not a love at first sight, like with Lisbon. Porto is a city for connoisseurs: one has to immerse herself into it in order to understand and experience its charm. To explain the difference between Lisbon and Porto, we can compare the cities as we would compare two women. The first woman is extremely beautiful, and she fascinates you from the moment you meet her. Lisbon is as such. The second woman has a lot of internal beauty, but one cannot notice it immediately. After looking into her eyes for a while, observing graceful gestures and facial expressions, and listening to her voice one can tell she looks beautiful, even if her looks seemed average at first.
I came to admire Porto after the long walk I took in the city. There were beautiful azulejos in the building of railway station, an old bookstore, university, a picturesque waterfront of the Douro River, and a double deck bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel. There were plenty of vineyards and mysterious backstreets (these are usually my favorites in each city I visit).
In the evening, I was sitting in the garden by my hostel, and my admiration for Porto was so deep that I did not want to leave this place at all. Nonetheless, the following day I was to start my first Camino trail.
When I started my trip, it was after a series of difficult break-ups, long-time workplace harassment, and a year of unemployment and depression. I had already been single for a few years, but had yet unable to enjoy my freedom. I flew to Portugal for the first time feeling sad, painfully lonely, and deeply wounded. But Portugal fascinated me, cured me, and made me stronger.
Why did I choose Portugal? Firstly, it seemed the most exotic of all countries where there are pilgrimage trails. (I will say more about it soon). Secondly, I have never been there before. I wanted to do something different, and it turned out I hit a bull’s eye!
Lisbon, a city of sun and warm wind I can still feel in my hair, was my first stop. It was a city of stone streets, squares, and like the majority of all cities situated on hills, it was full of stairs. There was the Tagus River, with an outlet so big it could be mistaken for a bay, and impressive bridges. The 25th of April Bridge, for example, had been modeled after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
There were yellow trams everywhere. The little streets, with their omnipresent azulejos (stone mosaic) and sad sounds of fado, were so narrow I had to hide in doorways, when the trams were coming. I was enthralled by the beauty.
Being so drunk with love, I traveled to Porto. Well, it is impossible not to love Porto, but it is not a love at first sight, like with Lisbon. Porto is a city for connoisseurs: one has to immerse herself into it in order to understand and experience its charm. To explain the difference between Lisbon and Porto, we can compare the cities as we would compare two women. The first woman is extremely beautiful, and she fascinates you from the moment you meet her. Lisbon is as such. The second woman has a lot of internal beauty, but one cannot notice it immediately. After looking into her eyes for a while, observing graceful gestures and facial expressions, and listening to her voice one can tell she looks beautiful, even if her looks seemed average at first.
I came to admire Porto after the long walk I took in the city. There were beautiful azulejos in the building of railway station, an old bookstore, university, a picturesque waterfront of the Douro River, and a double deck bridge, designed by Gustave Eiffel. There were plenty of vineyards and mysterious backstreets (these are usually my favorites in each city I visit).
In the evening, I was sitting in the garden by my hostel, and my admiration for Porto was so deep that I did not want to leave this place at all. Nonetheless, the following day I was to start my first Camino trail.
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