April 23, 2018

Here I am again, mega “responsible” cautious and anxious firstborn, sitting at the A Coruña airport having already had coffee and catching up on some email, still a half hour to go before my check in line opens and just over two hours before my flight leaves… But at least I am here!

First of all, I was awoken at 5:30 am by my brother’s call and since I thought it was my alarm, I answered… Then I just decided to get on my way. I’ve got to say though, that double bed in a room by myself was heaven!!! I

I wasn’t sure where to catch a taxi and of course the drivers seldom speak English. I had seen a queue of them when I arrived yesterday, and sure enough, they were there again this morning! And yes, my driver spoke little English but we managed a chat nonetheless – about the beauty of A Coruña, food, music and his homeland, Argentina! More to come when I get settled in Lisbon!

Well, similar to my arrival in A Coroña yesterday, this “town“ is way bigger than I expected – times 10!!! I crammed so much into this trip, and there were so many details, that I really didn’t have the optimal time to research as thoroughly as I would’ve liked to. This Lisbon portion – though a nice four days, was virtually untouched in my research.

Once I finally got on the plane, the flight was enjoyable but between bussing from our landing point to navigating the huge airport, determining where the subway was, changing lines and then trying to find the foreign straight uphill street I needed to access to get to my Airbnb, and the 70° sun with my backpack on, needless to say I was a bit fatigued!

Given that I actually do have a few days here, and that I have been quite busy this last month, I had already given myself permission to take a day off today. But my strong inner personality really does not allow that. I have been playing tug-of-war for the last several hours, but my tiredness did win out.

I mean, how often does one get the chance to go across the world and see new places? I feel obliged to make the most of every minute! Yet, once I unpacked, and tried to make sense of the foreign map, never really figuring out where I am in relation to anything else, I just melted down.

I decided to try to organize some tours, lay out the maps and get a plan of attack. Boy I sure wish I had a Rick Steves book right now… I used his work exclusively in Barcelona and Madrid and I saw so much!Unfortunately, I still don’t really know where I am in relation to anything else, and I got quite stymied. I only say all this to encourage those of you who don’t feel they can undertake an endeavor like this to go ahead and try, because certainly, I sure don’t know the heck what I am doing and I still try – and mostly, sometimes feebly, accomplish it.

I have a free walking tour booked tomorrow at 11:00 that should take three hours. It will take me to the old Moorish part of town. I figure that might give me some bearing. I also inquired into booking a tour on Thursday in a jeep to the area of Sinatra which is heralded to be a definite “must see” in this part of the country. I’d like to hear back from them, because there are a couple of other walking tours, not to mention perhaps a sailing or boating tour I might consider. Usually, I try to do things on my own and not spend any money. But in looking over the maps and considering my time and my lack of preparation, I feel like the cost involved is not insurmountable to what I will ultimately gain.

I never did take a nap today – in spite of the fact that I was the only one in my group that didn’t afternoon doze during our Camino time period, and I was well deserved of one – but I did lollygag around, and only went out to buy some groceries at about 5:00.

I do admit, I feel guilty for not venturing out. And though I have a kind of a cool view from my window, I seem to be in a busy, old and tired part of town with a lot of (unartistic) graffiti and it’s generally uninspiring. Or is that just my tiredness talking?

So, my apologies for a very boring blog post today!! By the way, the picture above is of several vehicles being towed away from in front of where I’m staying!