June 22- Sintra, Portugal

This morning we met up at breakfast with a pretty large group of SAS students who were headed to Sintra for the day. The group was going to go hiking in Sintra and then head to Lagos to stay the night. We told them we just wanted to join them for hiking, so we set off for the train station together. Nobody really knew where we were going, and it was a little frustrating traveling with a group of twenty people, but we got there eventually.

When we finally arrived, it was very overcast and rainy. Most the kids were wearing shorts and light hiking clothes, but I came prepared with my new raincoat (thanks Dad & Mom!). Ryan, Courtney and I banded together again to go off on our own smaller group, and we were joined by our friends Kat and Fasil (rhymes with the herb basil). It was very rainy and a long walk to the top of the mountain, but it was definitely worth it. There are several national parks and palaces in Sintra, and we went to the biggest and most beautiful one: Parque e Palacio de Pena.

Courtney, Fasil, Kat and Holly (left to right)

Sintra!

It was very wet and very rainy in the morning.

The Palace of Pena

The Palace was absolutely breathtaking.

It is placed right on top of a huge hill.
In this picture it's rainy, but you can see the entire valley from the top of the palace.

We called it the Colorful Palace because each section is painted a different color.

Ryan, Me, Courtney, Fasil and Kat

It felt like we were walking through a fairy tale.

Princess Courtney in the highest tower.

Dreamland.

 Unfortunately, Kat and Fasil had to head back to town to join the rest of the group to head to Lagos. Courtney, Ryan and I stayed behind to keep exploring the grounds. We took an hour break for lunch and coffee, and thank goodness we did! The skies completely cleared up while we were inside, and the rest of the day was sunny and beautiful.

Wet elevator selfie.

The view out into the valley was stunning!

Sex appeal at it's finest.

This cross was put on the highest hill in Sintra.
I stood on a big rock right next to it, and I could turn around in a circle and literally see everything in the entire valley.
We could see all of the forests, beaches and towns for miles around.

The Palace of Pena from afar.

My favorite!

Sintra was probably the most beautiful town I've ever visited.
I definitely want to come back some day to see more.

Overall, we probably spent more than ten hours walking around the Park and Palace of Pena. It was beautiful day spent with some wonderful people. We headed back into town and ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant while we waited for the next train to Lisbon. Tired and very footsore, we made our way from the train to the ship a little before midnight yet again.

The MV Explorer at Night

PS- We've been telling everyone that we meet that we're from Canada. Europeans like Canadians a lot more than Americans, and we thought this would be safer than telling the truth. Portugal also played the US last night in soccer. We were kind of afraid of walking through the streets so late at night, but we never had any problems. The port isn't very far away from the center of the city, and it's very easy to get to.

PS- I left my camera on the ship today, so most of these pictures were taken by Courtney (or me using her camera). Photo credits go to her!