Day 5: Aveiro, Porto

Thanks to the extra blankets, there was no freezing as there had been the night before. As we had decided on a short trip to Aveiro, we got up early nonetheless. Our first task that day was the shopping we had successfully managed to delay. We were still getting dressed when we heard the front door open and somebody entered, coughing. Immediately Romy was out of her room. She knew that cough. It could only mean that Judith had returned from Lisbon. It was so good to see her again, her good friend and former flatmate who had moved to France in August.

Even though we had been about to leave, we postponed our outing to give Judith some time for a rest and take her with us. After our first food shopping and a delicious breakfast at home, the we finally set off. Our first stop was to be near Gaia, at Senhor da Pedra. By the time we left the car, Danni and Judith were already getting along perfectly well, as if they had known each other for years.

Senhor da Pedra is a charming little chapel built in the rocks, quite on top of the Atlantic. As we had not made it to the seafront in Porto the day before, it was great to smell the ocean again.

Even though it was quite a clouded day and rather windy, we were not the only ones to appreciate this special place. Clad in a neoprene outfit, somebody was standing amidst the rocks, performing his fishing in almost acrobatic stunts.

While Romy and Judith were happy about seeing each other again, Danni was trying out the rocks near the chapel.
Careful, watch your steps!

After such a long time and so many things happening in between, Romy and Judith had loads to talk about, many stories to tell. Back to back, they were completely lost in time.

However, our set goal for that day was Aveiro. Therefore the three of us got back into the car and moving. “Vamos andando – Let’s get going”, what a name for a boat! Inviting, but at the same time telling us to get a move on...

When we finally arrived in Aveiro, we couldn’t resist taking a picture of Romy in front of a shop bearing her name.

Enough fooling around. By then we had reached the Aveiro lighthouse. What a picturesque motif! The sun was almost setting so we hurried towards the sandy beach.

Well, we didn’t hurry that much, coming to think of it. There was always time for a stop to enjoy the beautiful colours.

It was the little things that fascinated us, like the man on his bicycle sporting the national flag. Or Judith melting into the sunset…

Leaving Judith to rest and ponder over her thoughts, Danni and Romy continued their exploration. Again and again we found things we absolutely had to capture, like a set of twin lighthouses, smaller than the first one we had seen.

We waited at the seafront until the sun had set completely then returned to Porto as Romy had a dinner marked with some of her friends from university.

However, just before we set off to the restaurant, we stopped at a friend of Romy’s to say thank you for the extra blankets we had received the day before. While Romy was chatting with his mother, Danni was doing her best to keep Carlos busy by teaching him how to juggle. In fact, they had a fascinated observer: Nani was never taking her eyes away from the juggling lemons. Aren’t those humans weird sometimes?!

Still, we couldn’t stay forever. So we just checked the location of the restaurant on the map, kissed the lady of the house goodbye and took one last picture.

Of course we were late for dinner. Whatever you may have heard about German punctuality, we seem to have missed something in that respect. When we arrived, Marta had already ordered for us. Even though there were only few people, Romy really enjoyed meeting her friends again and introducing them to Danni. A great finish for a wonderful day.