Lisboa, Portugal...

I'll be totally honest here. After one month in India, and the last week filled with long bus rides, stomach aches and coughing children, not to mention 10 hours on the plane and a 3+ hour layover in Milano, arriving here in Lisbon I feel more like Iºve just come to the holy land. I am grinning ear to ear, reveling in europe at its best --- cafe machiatos, small restuarants that poor out into cobblestone plazas, blue skies that touch the bluer atlantic, monuments to dead white men, friendly travelers, sketchy european men hitting on me... all the familiarity is welcome, and Lisbon sort of feels like a friendlier version of france(with almost as many people speaking french!


I arrived around noon, I think, and went straight to my hotel. God bless Adam Lindsley at the Road Less Traveled who found me hostel smack in the center of the old city. Im 3 blocks from the central square and three blocks from the ocean. There are cafes everywhere, postcards, tourists, coffeeshops and trolley cars. Im feeling a bit run down and caught the cough from my trip, so I am greatful for the two day break I have between trips.

I ate lunch at an Italian restaurant where my waiter was, believe it or not, from Punjab, India. He has only been here two years and will return to India next year to marry. Coincidentally, he is Sikh, and yesterday our group visited a main Sikh temple in Delhi. That temple offers a daily soup kitchen'like service that feeds tens of thousands. It was incredible! We walked inside amidst the throngs of people who kissed the marble stairs before striding barefoot through the mantra filled sanctuary. At the exit, a sweet dish was offered to all of the worshipers.

India ended well. The children had a fantastic time, and I learned a lot that I will take with me on this next trip. It will be a huge transition --- from the service and luxury of India to the self'reliance and 3 weeks of cmaping will be doing on the Azores, but it will be nice to be free from worries of malaria pills, altitude and sketchy water. Plus, eating fresh fruits and vegetables is way way underrated!