Time to resurrect the blog, as Jay & I are off on another adventure! 

Planned Itinerary:

• Feb 26-Mar 1: Lisbon, Portugal
• Mar 1-11: Fisherman’s Trail (140+ mile trek along Portugal’s southern coast)
• Mar 11-14: Lagos, Portugal 
• Mar 14-16: Cadiz, Spain
• Mar 16-25: Morocco tour (Tangier to Marrakesh)
• Mar 26-28: Seville
• Mar 28-30: Cordoba
• Mar 30: Arrive in Madrid

On April 1, Jay flies home from Madrid and I’m staying a few more weeks in Spain to do some intensive Spanish courses. I fly home on April 24. 

Our first destination is Portugal. They say “third time’s a charm”. Today, this rings true as this marks my third attempt to visit Portugal. The first attempt was in 2000 (25 years ago): Portugal was a planned port while I was on Semester at Sea; however, due to conflict in the Suez Canal, our ship rerouted around South Africa and visited ports in Africa & South America instead of Europe.

The second attempt was in 2013: Jay & I extended our time in Nigeria (doing humanitarian work with Mark, Abby and Will) and as a result, changed our flight itinerary to skip Portugal. This was back when Jay & I spent back to back winters traveling all over the world. During those travels, we met a number of people who were scouting out where to retire. Over and over again, we heard folks talking about Portugal being their top choice. We concluded that Portugal would probably be where we ended up retiring. In recent years, we’ve reconsidered. However, maybe we’ll change our minds again after spending some time here?

Packing for a trip like this is a challenge. So many things I’d like to bring, but being selective is necessary. Everything needs to fit in my 40L backpack. And, I don’t want the pack to be too heavy since I’ll be carrying it for days on end while we’re hiking the Fisherman’s Trail. 

Here’s what I decided to bring:

At the last minute, I swapped out the lightweight Rab rain jacket for a heavier duty rain jacket. How rainy it will be is a bit of a wild card. If it turns out the heavier rain jacket wasn’t necessary, I won’t complain. 🙂

While we’re hiking the Fisherman’s Trail, I can strap the Big Agnes sleeping bag to the outside of the backpack. Other times, I can use the collapsible Osprey day pack (folds up really small when not in use).

Yesterday, while we were waiting to board our plane out of Denver, this sweet memory popped up…

It’s from 12 years ago, back when Jay & I had planned to go to Portugal after our time in Africa. Thankful we’re finally making it happen!