Porto - Couchsurfing

Hows this for a bed? I get to sleep on this antique Portuguese bed every night for the next two weeks. The wardrobes and other bits all match. The guys name is Juca which is short for the European name Joaquim (same as the actor). There are many varieties of this name. He is a good man and i cooked last night. We are continually having port wine late at night. It is an apartment right next to the Hostel that i was staying in. So all I had to do was move a little way and i was there. He is going to the canary Islands with his parents on Wed for a week and I am going to stay there by myself. Today there is another couchsurfer arriving from Gibralter. He is apparently half English, half Italian. Should be interesting to chat to him. He is leaving Monday.

I catch the 207 bus into Porto city each day and then back again. This morning on the news petrol here has reached 1.53. It is a crisis everywhere it seems, but more so in Portugal where the average wage is dismal and people struggle to buy food. As a result of this, public transport is used to the max. When I am on the bus, we are like sardines. It can be humorous at times. I see the bus stop at another station and think about pleading with the driver not to stop and let them on.

Speaking of transport in Portugal - just a little bit of stuff I was told by the couchsurfing host - pedestrian crossings. There are hardly any buttons to push if you are waiting to cross the road. The only ones I have seen are some here in Porto. But I see no-one push them. Around the time that they were introduced, a small boy pressed the button, was electrocuted, and died. This introduced Portugal to a new paranoia with pedestrian crossings.

I mentioned on another post about how children are cherished here. I have been told that what I am seeing is also a result of the Madeline incident. It is yet another event that has produced a paranoia. Parents are understandably more protective and display their appreciation that such a thing has not happened to them.

Thursday is a public holiday here (Labour Day). I am taking a river cruise down the Douro River to some wineries. The trip takes all day with all meals included. At the end, you hop of the boat and then board a train which travels along the side of the river. I have been told by many that it is the most spectacular trip and I also heard this before I arrived. Will take heaps of pics and let you know how it went. Thats all for now. Time for my Fransicinha.

If you are not being able to reach me on those contacts I gave you, please try tonyo67@hotmail.com. Love to all. Tony