Day 5 - Lagos and Seville. This was my first night sleeping in the car in a rest stop. With back seats folded, it's actually the same comfort and accommodation as biz class on an international flight, but a whole lot cheaper. Which, as part of the overall discovery process, offers good perspective on the fact that 'luxury' is very relative. When your expectations are hours in a cramped upright seat elbowing your fellow passentgers, just laying down flat in privacy is luxurious. The rest was going to be free, except that it was in a toll zone and I ended up doing a 'perfect storm' of toll failures: - It was a long stretch, almost 3 hours, with a eu 6.55 toll - I got 8 hours of sleep, in three blocks, which added up to 10 hours total - I spent a couple hours in the morning drinking coffee, going through photos, and catching up on emails/work Combined, the time exceeded the 12-hour validity of the toll ticket. Which means a 'lost/invalid' ticket fee, being 10X the toll. so my 'free' night at a rest stop ended up being eu 65.50. Which is what i've been averaging for very nice hotels so far. Oh well, lesson learned, and not a situation one would normally experience.
On the plus side, the 'Nata' pastry at the restaurant is awesome - flaky crust filled with custard, not too sweet. a traditional portugese item, apparently. Overall the rest stop is very nice with 24 hour restaurant, clean bathrooms, plenty of parking and free wifi. If I can consistently find places like this, car camping is a very realistic proposition.
The main draw of Lagos are the cliffs and rock formations along the shore. I spend some time checking them out. It is still cold and rains intermittently, which helps keep people away. It does get a bit more busy by the time I'm ready to leave.
Getting back in the car, it flashes a message at me. Something to do with the key, apparently. I use google translate - yep, need to change the key fob battery. So a whole process to figure out how to take the key apart, determine the battery type, then find a supermarket, find the battery, replace. I get more wine while I'm at it.
Seville is next stop. My usual routine works - drive just inside city center core, find a parking garage, go wonder around.
I end up in front of a large cathedral and wonder if I should go in. The staff at the ticket counter tell me it closes in half hour. That's all I need, and less crowded that way.
The interior is impressive, if overdone for my taste (though not as much as the one in Porto). I liked the austere and semi-ruin-state of the museum in Lisbon better. Both are great to experience though, and my own reactions are interesting to observe.
The ticket includes a tower climb.
What really surprises me is that there are no stairs in the tower, it's just one continous ramp. And it is very natural and comfortable to walk on, both up and down. No strain despite climbing quite a ways above the ground. I took pictures so I can measure the ramp angle later. Looks to be about 25-30 degrees. So effective that it realy stands out - to me as an engineer anyway. More data on spaces.
At the top, the bells are not just for decoration. As I find out on the quarter-hour.
A small portion of the path is stairs, further contrasting it with the ramp. Steeper, and requiring noticeably more effort.
Before being chased out due to the place closing, I spend some time in the courtyard. There are orange trees everywhere in the city. The oranges split when they fall to the ground. I do find an un-split one and try it. A bit on the bitter side.
I briefly contemplate another car camping night but can't find an inviting enough service station. I do part at a somewhat sketchy-feeling truck stop, but decide to get a hotel afterall. There is one from which I can walk into Gibraltar and leave the car parked. The room has a full view of the Rock.
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