I’m so excited to be writing here. It’s been awhile. If you’re new here, welcome! Thanks for joining my solo travel journey. If you’re returning for round two, welcome back! Either way, thanks for being here and for being apart of my journey.

My ankle is doing wonderful. My heart is healthy. I feel really good being here this time around. Let’s get into it.

My mom and I went to Minneapolis a night early so we could spend some time together before I fled the country once again. We are really close and we never go this long without seeing each other. We had a wonderful time. The next night, she dropped me off at the airport. I had an overnight flight departing at 8 pm. I thought this would be a good idea because I thought maybe my body would sleep then. I was wrong. It’s so difficult to sleep on a plane.

While I was at the plane door waiting to board, the U.S. Border and Customs police were at the doorway and some of them were searching through the plane. I didn’t get a chance to see what happened there.

The girl next to me and I started chatting. Her name is Abby, she’s my age, and she live in Minneapolis. She was on her way to Valencia, Spain to spend a semester abroad there. She studies Biology and is in her last semester. Her boyfriend and her have been together since she was 14!! That is so long to be with someone being that young.

We talked for hours. We laughed. We ate girl dinner together and drank red wine together. We had so much fun and it made the flight go by quickly. We exchanged contact information and plan on meeting up in the future.

I got about 2 hours of sleep on the flight. I had a 1.5 hour layover in Amsterdam. Abby and I were going to grab coffee together but it took me forever to get through border control. After I handed them my USA passport, they GRILLED me. Where I was staying, for how long, which cities exactly I was going to in Portugal. I’ve never experienced that before.

I finally make it to Lisbon, Portugal. I was excited but exhausted at this point. It was about 3pm Europe time but my circadian rhythm was way out of wack.

I had just switched phone providers a few days before leaving the country. Come to find out, I had absolutely no internet outside the US. I reply completely on the internet while traveling as I need it to find the bus routes, times, etc. Additionally, it is unsafe to be a young woman traveling alone and not have access to her phone.

I got to my hostel and wasn’t able to leave at all due to the phone situation. I was really tired anyway and slept for a couple hours even though you’re not supposed to do that when landing abroad as it can make the jet lag worse. I decided to be brave after my nap and venture out to find some food somewhere nearby. Pizza, perfect. It would do. I didn’t feel very safe walking the streets of Lisbon alone. It gave me Naples vibes.

I make it back to my hostel and go to sleep for the night. It was probably the worst hostel I had ever stayed at before. It was SO dirty and unkept. I chatted with my hostel mates for a long time. They invited me to go out to the bars but honestly I was just too tired and needed to relax on my own for a bit.

I was sad I didn’t get to explore any of Lisbon like I had planned, so I woke up right at sunrise the next morning and set out on foot to explore before I had to leave at 1100. I walked and walked and walked through the different neighborhoods. Portugal is like Spain in the way that the city doesn’t come alive until very late morning. The only people really out are workers. I didn’t like this as I was often alone on the streets with strange men. I made sure to make intense eye contact with each and every one of them in a way that read, “if you come near me, it‘ll be the last thing you do.”

I visit multiple different sites overlooking the city. It is beautiful. I go down to the water and sit there for awhile. The city itself truly is beautiful. I find a cafe to try a pastél de nata. It is a custard bakery item that Lisbon is known for. It was amazing. Crunchy on the outside with a warm, sweet custard on the inside. I could’ve had about 10 of those. I also tried a homemade authentic Portuguese morning drink made out of leaves. It was like nothing I’ve ever had before.

I started to feel very sick. I had to take a Bolt back to my hostel. I could tell the jet lag was really kicking my ass. It was making me feel like I had the flu. I went back to my hostel and slept for an hour before I had to leave. It was okay with me, I felt like I had seen enough of Lisbon. I wasn’t the biggest fan of it and I figured I wouldn’t be hence only booking one night. I am just not a city person while traveling. I want to be in nature and by the water.

I book a private transfer from Lisbon to Ericeira for 13 euros. I end up sharing a car with a man name Alberto an his mom, Bedka. They were from Germany. We talked the entire way to Ericeira. It was a blast getting to know them. Alberto couldn’t believe how little of vacation we get from work in the US. They get 6 weeks of paid holiday every single year which is the standard throughout Western Europe. This does not include sick time. Alberto shared that in Germany, there is no cap on sick time. If you are sick, you do not come to work. You do not have to see a doctor. You just call your doctor’s office and ask for a sick note. He said some people do abuse this system and go for holiday like 2 months at a time, but most people respect it and follow is honestly.

We arrive in Ericeira and share our goodbyes. I check in at my hostel. The town is already adorable. I am greeted by the nicest people ever at my check in. The hostel is cute. Full surf vibes. I make it to my room and immediately fall asleep for 2 hours. I was seriously struggling with jet lag in a way I never had before.

I wake up and somehow find enough energy to set out on foot. The little surf town is stunning. The buildings are white and blue and remind me of Greece. The locals are so kind and welcoming. I find a place to have dinner at a local authentic Portuguese restaurant and try one of their cod dishes. It was fantastic. I then walked the streets forever. I found a little local market to buy some goodies for a sunset picnic. I got some fresh bread, Portuguese cow milk cheese and meat, olives, and a bottle of wine. I walked forever to find the perfect spot for my picnic. I was so lucky to find a spot that I had all to myself on top of a cliff that overlooked the whole town and the ocean.

I sat up there with my picnic snacks and stayed for a couple hours to watch the sunset. The views were breathing. I kept thinking in my head, “how is this place real?” Actually, my entire time in Ericeira I was thinking that. I walked back, took a sleeping pill, and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning I woke up feel immensely better. I finally felt alive and ready to explore. Jet lag who??? I booked a surf trip with my hostel mates. We were meeting at 9 am to go. Our driver and instructor from the hostel coming with us comes up to me, introduces himself as Ricardo with an “rrrrrrrrr” and then kisses me four times, twice on each cheek. He has me sit up front of the van with him and the others come with. We drive about 20 mins outside of town to one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. We get or wetsuits on and surfboards and head out to the scene.

The scenery is dramatic. There are the most stunning cliffs with beautiful rock, white sand, beautiful blue water. Ricardo says this is the best surf they’ve had in over a month. I feel lucky to be there on such a good day for it. Ricardo makes us all warm up with a fast paced and surprisingly pretty intense workout on the beach. We were already sweating. We did a bunch of breathing excerises together. It’s very important you know how and went to breathe when surfing because it can mean life or death for you.

We surf for hours. Ive surfed quite a few times in my life, but these were bigger and stronger waves I’ve ever experienced. Ricardo moved us at one point because the tide got too strong and dangerous.

I had a couple pretty hard falls where I landed hard and lost my board. One of the times I got stuck under water for a long time and the tide kept pushing me under so I was unable to find my way back to surface. All I could think in my head at the time was, “I’m going to die here and my mom will have every right to stand over my grave and say, ‘I told you so’”. Even though she would never. She really dislikes when I surf because it can be a dangerous sport. So I don’t tell her I’m doing it until after.

I had just gotten on the beach to take a short break as the waves were STRONG and fighting against them was exhausting. Mainke started waving her hand towards me and calling me over. She was on one foot trying to get her board out of the water. She was hurt. I was ready to help.

I helped her somewhere safe and carried her board for her. She jumped off her board wrong and her ankle landed sideways on a rock. No way was this happening. I explained to her that I work as a paramedic and I would help her. She could put weight on it to limp which was a good sign. There also was no immediate swelling and she was able to move it. I examined it and then ran up to the nearest bar to find her a bag of ice. I had her elevate it and put ice on it while we waited for the others.

We finish surfing and Ricardo did a yoga lesson with us on the beach. It was incredible and so peaceful and I never wanted it to end. We then fond an adorable local food truck on top a massive hill that overlooked the countryside for lunch. It was really fun spending the day getting to know my hostel mates. Mainke was from Amsterdam, Helena from Germany, and Danny from Switzerland. We share stores about life in our own countries. We then act out a dramatic play where Mainke is a patient coming into the ER for her ankle and Helena and I are both doctor except Helena wants to amputate her leg and I want to do more testing. Ricardo and Danny play as the cops who come in to assist. It was so fun.

We made it back to the hostel and I need a nap immediately. I wake up and get ready as my hostel mates are going to watch the sunset and go for dinner together. I step outside and my hostel mates, Ricardo, and host, Sam, are outside grilling on the picnic table outside. Sam immediately hands me a beer and a piece of grilled meat. What a man. Best host ever. Seriously though, Sam is amazing. He really makes you feel cared for, remembers your name and details about you, and engages in conversation. The hostel feels like home away from home and a family. Sam has a dog named Rocky. He’s an 8 year old grey pit bull.. Sam is from Australia and that’s where he originally had Rocky. When he came to Portugal, he had to pay 10,000 euros to get Rocky over there and they were separated for 48 hours. Ever since then, Rocky has pretty bad separation anxiety.

We sit and chat for a bit before heading out. We walk down to the beach and watch the sunset. Then it took us forever to find somewhere that had room for a walk in table of 8. We found an authentic Portuguese place that allowed us to split into two groups of two. In Portugal and other places I’ve seen in Europe, you’ll walk into a restaurant and there will be a spread of food on the table like bread, butter, cheese, olives, etc. They don’t say anything to you but you have to pay if you eat them. I wish they were more upfront about it. In the US it’s very common to have free bread or chips at dinner, so it can be misleading. I also miss free water in the US. You have to pay for water everywhere here. At every restaurant- even if it’s tap. They also don’t serve it with ice. What I would do for a glass of ice water right now is crazy. I sat with my hostel mates from France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. We had wonderful conversation and food. Of course they asked about Donald Trump because literally everyone always does. I don’t blame them. Every country seem to follow the US news and what we’re up to. I just hate talking about it. I explain that the US is actually a really wonderful, diverse country with a lot of opportunity and it’s beautiful. We have everything in the US. In our one country, we have different climates, beaches, mountains, hills, etc. Not many countries can say that. I mean we really do have it all. It has it’s issues just like anywhere else. I explain to them that the US isn’t a bad country, it’s just under bad leadership at the moment.

After dinner, we took a walk down to a bar to grab some beer then found a cliff behind the fence that sits on the ocean and we played cards forever. Helena taught us a new game and it’s was really fun. I had been hitting it off with the man from Switzerland for the last couple days. He sat next to me of course and was touching my leg a lot, clearly trying to make a move. I told myself I wasn’t going to get wrapped up in a travel romance again. I had a few of them last time and I feel like it overwhelmed me because a lot of them ended up following me back to my life in the US. Also I stopped telling everyone I meet on my travels completely about my blogs because I want to be able to share the real, raw, true experiences here without having to hold back or be dishonest due to saving someone else’s feelings. Additionally, I’m just not interested in dating. I really want to take this time to focus on me and that’s it. Plus I don’t trust men. Not a single one of them. So there’s that.

Anyway I left the ocean card playing around 1 in the morning because I still had to book a flight to Budapest in just a couple days. I went home and slept.

The next morning I woke up early to go for a hike. I hung out with my hostel mates for a bit in the morning and then set off on foot. It took a bit to find the trail but the views were spectacular. I literally turned the corner and i gasped out loud at the view. Pictures just don’t do it justice. The entire trail was like that along the coast. It was unreal and healing. I went a few miles until the end of the trail and turned back around to head back towards my hostel and i had a massage to go to.

My mom is the sweetest person ever and treated me to a 90 minute massage since we were supposed to get them together in Minneapolis but never did.

It was called an ayurvedic massage. I had never heard of it. It’s the oldest form of medicine based in India. Th e masseuse was telling me you actually have to go to to school for about ten years to practice it fully. It’s a medicinal practice. It was the best massage I’ve ever had in my life. His name was Yuno. He was incredibly respectful and good at his job. He did put 3 drops of warm oil in my ear canal which was very different. It’s suppose to calm and heal your central nervous system.

After the massage I went back to the hostel, grabbed my bottle of wine and painting supplies and walked down to the beach. I sat at the beach with my wine and snacks and painted until past sunset.

The next morning was a sad one. I got up and walked through town. I love the locals of Ericeira. Every morning, you walk down the streets and the locals are out and about and everyone says, “bom dia!” Which means “good morning.” Everyone is so cheerful and happy. They sit in their home in the morning with their windows open and say good monring through the window- it’s adorable.

So in Portugal you say, “bom dia” for good morning instead of hello, and you use “boa tarde” in the afternoon and “boa noite” in the night. You rarely ever use Ola (hello) as a greeting. You greet with the time of day. There are dogs everywhere. Everyone has a dog and it’s the best thing ever.

I find one last local coffee shop to enjoy some carrot hummus egg toast and a coffee at. I was to leave shortly after breakfast to go to Sintra. I was so sad. I felt like I would be leaving my heart in Ericeira. That town was so me. Small town, beach/ocean, surfing, locals, hiking, beautiful nature. I mean it was perfect. I’d miss the friends I made, too. With this lifestyle, your always saying goodbye.

I packed my things and ordered a Bolt (Europe’s version of Uber) and the driver took me to Sintra. It was beautiful already. I decided to stay about 30-45 mins outside of town at a very small, local Portuguese-like village hostel. I typically don’t really enjoy staying in the city and would much rather be in the nature.

The hostel was adorable. There were a bunch of food trucks on site with drinks and different cuisines. They was a playground for children, a yoga studio, and surfing lessons. It was out in the country and adorable. The host, Amanda, who I have come to really love, introduced herself and let me drop my bags off a few hours early. I then walked to the nearest beach to lay out and watch the surfers.. I accidentally fell asleep out there which later turned into an awful sunburn that I am currently still trying to recover from.

I got to my hostel dorm which was 8 bed. Come to find out, I was the only female in the dorm and was sharing it with 7 men. This made me very uncomfortable because I don’t trust men to begin with and I was nervous they’d make some pact to attack me in the night or something. I met Tony right away which is a man maybe in his 50s and he’s from Scotland. I absolutely love a Scottish accent but my all time favorite one is an Irish accident. Tony works from home doing online airline stuff. He’s from Scotland originally but spent 23 years in the Air Force and has been all over the US. He then lived in Spain for 8 years and has now been in Portugal for 7. Tony was amazing and the only person that I was comfortable around.

Almost the rest of the guys in my dorm were a group of boys traveling together as they were in surfing competitions in the area. They were loud, stinky, and disrespectful about noises both nights i stayed there. They also smoked a lot of weed and traveled into town the second night to buy some off some stranger on instagram.

I took it easy that evening. I went to a sushi place for dinner and it was truly the best sushi I’ve ever had. It was so fresh and the views from the restaurant were beautiful.

The next morning i woke up early to go into town. I caught a bus which dropped me off and i couldn’t find the next bus stop/station anywhere on my maps. I missed multiple buses and got lost and it was frustrating. I was running late and knew I had so many places i wanted to see so I ordered a Bolt to get me out of there and to the city.

The town of Sintra is small but adorable. I walked everywhere. I first visited the Palace of Peña which was absolutely stunning. I’ll preface this by saying very single monument I visited was rich in history and breathtaking. You have to buy tickets and time slots online prior for all of these sites and they fill up quickly.

I then walked down to Moorish Castle which was probably my favorite part. I loved imagining what life was like for them during the medieval times. I then took a coffee break while I waited for my entrance time to Quinta De Rgaleira. It was more jungle theme and lush foliage everywhere with hiking paths through the trees. They were more small castles. I waited in line for half hour to go down the initiation well. It was beautiful.

I stopped in town to try a chocolate cup with cherry liquor. Portugal is famous for it. It’s a shot of their homemade cherry liquor served in a chocolate cup and you eat afterwards! It was really tasty and a fun experiment.

I took the bus back to my hostel. During one of my bus transfers and waiting, another girl was standing there. She introduced herself as Vivian. Vivian is from Vietnam but has lived in so many countries. She’s been in Portugal for about 5 months now, living in Lisbon. Her dad is from Vietnam and her mom is from Russia. When her parents divorced, her mom moved back to Russia. Her two brothers still live in Vietnam near her dad. She’s been away from Vietnam for ten years now but does mix her family. I loved her. We hit it off right away and exchanged contact information and have been chatting ever since.

I made it back to my hostel after a long day. My watch said i walked almost 24k steps! And most of those were uphill and up stairs. I climbed almost 80 flights of stairs. Wow. I was tired. I had been hitting it off with this man from Nepal originally but has been in Portugal for the last 7 years. He made me the best pad Thai dish i have ever consumed. I was sad to say goodbye to him. I was walking away looking back and his bright and sad smile just watching me and waving broke my heart.

When I returned, my hostel host noticed how bad my sunburn was. It was adorable because she lives on the grounds there and went out to her garden at home to pick me off some fresh aloe from her aloe plant and brought some to me to put on after my shower. I loved her also. I always meet the absolute best people.

I packed my bags and prepared to leave in the morning. I survived the night with the boys. The next morning, I woke up early and walked down to the cafe to have some pancakes and a glass of fresh squeezed juice. I chatted with my hostel mates a little more and visited with the host.

It took me 2 train rides and 3 bus rides to make it to the airport. While at the first train station, I looked over to two men jumping the admission gate. I laughed. They obviously didn’t have tickets.

Upon approaching the train doors, I saw a man in a wheelchair alone outside of it. He was going to clearly rely on the kindness of others around him to get on the train. I started to approach him to help lift him up but a group of men swooped in right before i could get to him. It was a moment that made my heart happy because not so long ago, that was me waiting at the train doors with Scooty to be lifted in as well. I still dont understand why Europe won’t get wheelchair lifts. This was also my first time being on a train in Europe since I broke my ankle there.

I take my seat and guess who sits down directly across from me? The hoodlum and his brother who were jumping the fence to catch the train. I could tell he was staring at me so I look up and find his smile. He immediately said, “hi, you’re really beautiful.” I thanked him, he asked me where i was from. When I told him I am from the US, he started doing fake finger guns and mocking guns shooting and then laughing. I mean yeah, he’s not wrong.

He was handsome but I could tell he was younger than me. He’s from Sintra in Portugal and he was going into the city to go shopping with his brother. He then asked me how old I was. I told him. “32.” He immediately says, “so, you are a mother.” Ummm, no, sir. Excuse me- what? Who says that to a woman. I tell him I am not a mother and then he tells me how beautiful I am again. He asks me for my WhatsApp and I give it to him because, well, it’s easier to just give it out and not let it go anywhere than hurt someone’s feelings. We chat a bit more. His English is pretty spotty and I don’t know any Portuguese so that went as well as it was going to go.

I make it through my flight and take a bus to my hostel in Budapest when I land. I’ll save the story of the city for next time.

Chat soon,

Xo,

Kals