Day 10 started with a very intentional decision: this was going to be our laziest day yet.
We woke up and ordered room service, because leaving the room felt like too much ambition for the kind of day we had planned. After breakfast, we showered and went downstairs for our scheduled couples massage, which really locked in the theme.
From there, we went down to the pool, grabbed a pair of loungers facing the ocean, and parked ourselves there for the next four hours.
We had more Portuguese lessons with our server, who insisted that our Portuguese was good, but he definitely told that to everyone who attempted Portuguese with him.
At some point, we saw someone with a really good-looking drink. We had no idea what it was called. The server didn’t seem to know either, so we took a guess and ordered daiquiris, hoping they would be the same thing.
They were not.
Then we got talked into ordering a giant pineapple full of piña colada to share, which felt like the correct vacation choice.
Unfortunately, because it was a weekday, the construction near the beach had started back up, and apparently the task of the day was sawing through rebar. So there we were, trying to relax by the ocean with our giant pineapple drink while listening to what sounded like industrial dentistry. Eventually, Kaylea put in noise-canceling headphones and listened to ocean sounds just to keep the vibe alive.
We had both lathered up with sunscreen, but Kaylea was apparently determined to cosplay a rotisserie chicken. We didn’t realize the full extent of the sunburn until we got back upstairs. The UV rays must be different here, because we definitely reapplied while we were at the pool, and it didn’t seem to make much difference. Aaron somehow managed to get a nice tan too, despite being completely shaded the entire time.
After that, the day continued exactly as it should have: more balcony jacuzzi, more naps, more showers.
Eventually, we got ourselves together and took a Tuk Tuk to find the cave restaurant we had been hearing about.
The Tuk Tuk dropped us in town, and we hiked up a steep hill until we found the beginning of the boardwalk. Along the way, there were several stops where we could climb around the rocks and down carved stairs into and over the caves. It got a little technical in spots, so Kaylea had to take off her sandals, but she still managed to climb around without getting any sandstone stains on her brand-new white Paige jeans. She’s just full of impressive skills.
The restaurant was, as advertised, built into the stone. Not advertised were all the bugs flying around or the number of people passing through the restaurant, not to eat, but to take sunset selfies in the cave system.
Still, the food was good and the view was impressive. Even we scrambled around to get a good picture. We had more sangria, but this time we managed to find the half-liter option instead of accidentally ordering a full liter to share. Growth.
After dinner, we decided to explore the other side of the cave system. This was not one of our better ideas. It wasn’t lit, and there weren’t railings for a good amount of it. We didn’t have a map, we couldn’t tell where the stairs or trail were leading, and we also couldn’t tell how high above the water we were. After a couple of sketchy moments, we bailed.
When we got back to the hotel and looked at pictures, we realized we had been really high above the water.
So that was probably the right call.
The next day started like most of the others: with a race to make it to breakfast.
This was checkout day, so after breakfast we packed up and spent an hour or so doing laundry again. We figured we might as well reset before moving on to the next part of the trip.
For lunch, we grabbed food from a sushi place. The gyoza and edamame were excellent. The sushi was not. The staff was very kind, but this was probably our worst meal of the trip so far. We left mostly hoping we had not given ourselves food poisoning.
Then we started the drive toward Cascais.
The drive itself was mostly uneventful again. Traffic getting into Lisbon and Cascais was not. Aaron had tried to figure out the parking situation before we left, but that did not help much. There were roundabouts, older people stepping into the street, motorcycles weaving in and out of traffic. General chaos.
We drove over 300 kilometers that day, and 98% of the stress happened in the last few blocks.
Our hotel room in Cascais was very nice, and thankfully it was on the first floor. There’s no elevator, and somehow our bags are getting more full as the trip goes on.
After settling down from the drive, we decided to get dinner at an Italian restaurant a short walk away. We sat at a nice little table outside, and both the wine and food were delicious.
At one point, we asked how to pronounce something on the menu. The waiter answered in Italian. Then we asked, “Oh, how do you say that in Portuguese?”
He replied, “I don’t know. I’m Italian!”
Fair enough.
Shortly after that, Aaron said “grazie” after the waiter brought something over. The waiter replied with a slightly confused “obrigado” or “prego,” and we realized we had fully crossed the language streams.
Later, we heard him inside saying something along the lines of, “Those Americans need to work on their Italian.”
Kaylea tried to call him out on it, but he acted confused.
At the end of the meal, he corrected Aaron and explained that in Italian, “grazie” is more like an informal “thanks,” and that we should say “grazie mille” instead.
We’re learning so much on this trip.
Two blocks later, Aaron had to look it up again because he had already forgotten.
After dinner, we got gelato, walked around Cascais, and decided pretty quickly that we really like it here. It has a different feel from the other places we’ve stayed, and it was a nice change after the long drive.
We got back to the hotel, wrote this blog, and turned in early.
Tomorrow, we climb.
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