So I’m sitting on a bus that just crossed the border from Portugal to Spain, heading for Seville. I’m sad to be leaving because it just wasn’t enough time – Portugal has many layers of interesting and I don’t feel like I got to soak in enough of them. That’s the danger, of course, when you go with an itinerary of things you have to see – sometimes you are so busy running from one sight to the next that you don’t get time to really soak in the soul of a place.
Don’t get me wrong – I learned a lot during my time there. I learned that Portuguese people are kind mostly, and they make a hell of an espresso. I learned that green wine is delicious, diving inside shipwrecks is scary, and Portuguese people seem to have a love affair with pizza. I stumbled upon some beautiful buildings in an otherwise fairly rugged shipping port that tourists love even though it doesn’t have the polish of some nearby cities. I discovered that not every bush on the sidewalk is just a bush, that cockroaches can get really big, and I learned that the Google Maps lady’s Portuguese is even worse than mine. And I learned that sometimes you have to throw away the itinerary and go with the flow, because when you do that, a place can offer some amazing surprises, and those will be the things you remember the most.
I also learned that not all buses heading for Seville – a 5.5 hour ride – have bathrooms and Wi-Fi. Unfortunately, I learned that after I was already sitting on the bus. I’m thirsty, but I know if I drink that water in front of me that I’ll create a very unpleasant situation for myself and maybe the guy sitting next to me.
More from Seville… home of palaces, bull fights, and flamenco, and, for at least the next four days, this girl.
