Day 1 - arrival in Madrid and drive to Porto.

On approach to Madrid at 9 AM local time, there is a thin layer of fog on the ground but it's clear overhead. A handful of skyscrapers poke through the fog.

I had reserved a minivan and brought my tent and sleeping bag, along with 80 Zone bars. That's my baseline for shelter and food (would need water locally). It removes all stress of having to look for such things every day, but still opens the opportunities to explore on a whim.

Speaking of food, I usually try to time my regular grocery consumption at home so that nothing sits in the fridge while I'm away on a trip. I was successful.

Turns out a minivan is not available, but I do get a VW station wagon. A diesel manual. Kind of an odd combo really, but it works. First stop is a supermarket to get the water, wine, and whatever else that might catch my eye. Wine is cheap here! In fact prices are very low in general, but I'm told the wages are too.

The hybrid basket/cart is brilliant - surprised I haven't seen this anywhere else before. It has small plastic wheels but is easily lifted and stacked as needed. Two bottles of wine, 4 waters, some ham, bananas, sausages... all for $16.

I don't really have a plan for the trip, only to do a 'loop' of Portugese and Spanish coastline. Until two days ago I didn't even know which direction I'd go. When I booked the plane tickets I talked to my sister and she mentioned that our childhood neighbor Linda now lived in Porto. I only remember her as a teenager and haven't been in touch since. So I reached out on facebook, we connected, and she has some time to meet early in my trip. So that decides it, I go west first. Will save Madrid for the last one or two days before departure.

As I start driving I realize the consequences of all the reading (and lack of sleep) - I'm seeing double, but vertically. Both eyes are doing this, closing one makes no difference. I've experienced this briefly before and it would go away quickly. Now it's persistent and a bit annoying.

It's about a five hour drive. The countryside in Spain outside Madrid is reminiscent of California around Sacramento, to my eye anyway. As I get closer to Portugal it becomes more like northern California along the coast. There are a few castles along the way.

Linda had suggested that I explore Douro valley on the way, but by the time I get close I'm very tired. I stop at a rest area, fold down the rear seats and get an hour of sleep. This helps a lot - the double vision is now gone though I'm still tired. I had added a couple 'stops' in google maps in the valley, but when I resumed travel the app decided to ignore them. By the time I realize this I'm already past and only an hour away from Porto. It's also getting dark, and I'm falling asleep. So another one hour nap at a gas station, pick a hotel via expedia, and continue on. I suppose I easily could have just spent the night in the car instead of a hotel, but shower and warm bed sounded appealing.

The hotel is very cool, in the Matosinhos neighborhood near the beach and the sea port. Parking is tough to find though, so I end up pulling into a parking garage that is very tight but is only a block from the hotel.

At this point it's 9 PM but my two naps did their job and I still have some energy to go walkabout. It's about 50F, some wind and occasional rain. The streets are not crowded. The area is known for its fish restaurants and they look pretty busy. I wonder around just to get a feel for the place.

A few buildings seem abandoned.

Many of the restaurants have covered outdoor seating areas in addition to the indoor spaces.

One part of the neighborhood sruck me as having a kind of Amsterdam-at-2AM vibe to it. Then I turn the corner, and sure enough..

Most restaurants close at 10 PM but I do find an open one near the hotel. I'm not really hungry, having consumed my daily allotment of Zone bars and the ham I bought, but I want the experience.

Robalo (sea bass) seems to be a local specialty. It is also the name of the restaurant, and its house wine. So that's what I order.

The meal is delicious, as is the wine. Glad I decided to do it. And very reasonable - the whole fish, with sides and a full bottle of wine ended up being $42 all told. By all indications so far, Portugal is a great place to visit. Looking forward to experiencing more of it in the next few days.

I get the remaining half of the bottle to go. A short walk to the hotel, then taking some time to process the experiences so far and type up the blog entry. Interestingly, my eyes are now much happier with the small font on the laptop and I have no need for reading glasses at the moment. So the reading exercise might have had some benefits. We'll see if this lasts.

Day 2