July 25- Wandering the Streets of Setubal

After leaving the Algarve, with reportedly the nicest beach in Portugal (which is saying something, as this is a country with lots of coastline relative to the size of the country) we headed north by train. After taking a day of buses on our last travel day we are now convinced more than ever that the trains are a great way to travel. They are convenient and comfortable and much faster than the buses. In an hour we traveled the distance that took several hours by bus.

On the local train from Tavira to Faro we met a nice young Mormon missionary from Rochester, New York who popped his head over the seat when he heard us speaking English and leaned over the seat to talk for the rest of the trip. Apparently he was as starved for voices from home as we were. He is stationed in Olhao where he is serving for six weeks of his two years in Portugal. He speaks fluent Portuguese and has found the people to be quite welcoming to him, although they are generally not fond of American politics. When we arrived in Faro, we had about eight minutes between trains. We spent the first two minutes asking several people which train was ours and making our way there only to find out that we could not board without reserved seats. Leaving our bags with Mike at the door to the train, Deanne ran into the station and bought the reservations.

We were the only people to leave the train in Setubal, a sure sign that this city we selected more or less randomly on the map was not a tourist mecca. The information/ticket staff was not English speaking. The man wanted no part of helping us, but the woman behind the counter provided us with a telephone number when we asked about taxis. In Tavira we had purchased a SIM card for Mike’s cell phone that has given us a Portuguese phone number and the ability to make and receive calls. Mike made his first local call to the taxi company and successfully got someone that drove us to our hotel. We were nervous about our 55 Euro a night hotel, but it turned out fine. We have a suite- two bedrooms each equipped with twin beds and a small kitchenette in one of the bedroom closets.

Setubal has none of the touristy charm of our previous stops, but it feels a little like we are mixing with the Portuguese more when we wander the streets. Like the other places we have stayed, the other guests in our hotel are exclusively European. The reception desk clerk is a Canadian Portuguese man that has been quite helpful in accessing the internet and finding our way around town. He advised that we would be unable to walk to a market, but after we set out walking, asking anyone we came across the way to the market we eventually found one in which to buy our daily supplies of bread, ham, cheese and fruit. We added peanut butter to our supplies as a change of pace.

Caitie had talked about the fact that the Spaniards all walk to where they are going. Commuting by car isn’t as necessary as it is for suburban Americans. We have noticed lots of elderly walkers also. It seems that the women all dress up and go walk to the shopping areas. Lots of tiny little old ladies. The old men, on the other hand, all seem to walk to the street corners where they sit with each other and drink beer. They don’t appear drunk but they certainly don’t appear as ambitious as the women. Tonight on our walk around town we saw lots of people out on the streets. We are told that eating out at the small cafes is not expensive so people eat out frequently. We have certainly found the groceries inexpensive. A bag of rolls is less than a dollar. Ham and cheese packages are less than a dollar each. A glass one liter bottle of carbonated mineral water is 35 Euro, or 45 cents.

I suppose one of the reasons everyone drives is the easy availability of public transportation. The smaller cities like this one have public buses running up and down all of the major streets with posted bus maps at the major intersections. Even with no language skills we have been able to figure out the public busses and always feel safe taking them. The larger cities have underground subways which, so far, have been clean and safe. The intercity trains are easy also, as long as you don’t try to carry along too much baggage.