We, of course, walked across the street to Cristal Cafe and chatted about what we might do. First task, clarify with an information official at Sao Bento Station where we could pick up our train to Figueira da Foz. Paula said we didn't have to cross the river to Gaia's train station even though that's what our tickets said. Turned out she was right because it begins at Campanha Train Station, the one closest to us, making our taxi trip shorter (10 min) and cheaper.
The best part was the conversation we had with the information official. He wanted to know where we were from and how we liked Porto and Portugal and what we thought of the Portuguese—"Are we friendly, sneaky, trustworthy?" We assured him we love Portugal, especially Porto, and all the Portuguese people we've met are friendly and helpful and we haven't once been cheated or mistreated.
He was pleased to hear this and added how some immigrants from Brazil have moved to Porto, because they feel safe, know they will be rewarded for their work, and more importantly, can count on transit, utilities, and public services working in Portugal. But he worries that they bring a lax (not entirely honest) attitude with them. He said he feels sorry for the Brazilians, because the violence and corruption have increased so much over the past 15 years or so.
And then we talked a little about the terrible political situation in Brazil right now with the run off between Fernando Heddad and the right-wing wack-job Jair Bosanaro. Like us, he thought many countries in the world, including the States, have lost their minds, have moved too far to the right, a comment we've repeatedly heard from the French, Germans and Spanish we've talked with in our travels.
Afterward, we caught the Metro to Matosinhos, the town just north of Porto. Like Gaia, it could easily be mistaken as part of Porto, but it is a separate city, famous for its surfing beach 15 minutes from the heart of Porto and its fishing fleet, fish market and restaurants facing the working harbor that barbecue the fresh catch of the day. We were locals today, strolling around Matosinhos and eventually sitting down for a fresh grilled fish lunch that lasted an hour and a half. And then it was a walk to the beach and back to the Metro to our place—a relaxing Saturday.
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| Sunrise from our bedroom window. |
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| Street art on the way to Sao Bento Train Station. Looks Dr. Suess-esque. |
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| Recharging our Metro cards was a bit of an adventure, but after two tries, we managed to reload our cards with fares to Matosinhos and back to Carolina Michaelis, our stop. |
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| We knew the fish market would be winding down by noon, but we're glad we stepped inside to have a peak. It's a Looker! |
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| Tile fronting the Matosinhos Fish Market. |
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| There must have been 20 or so restaurants lining the working harbor grilling the catch of the day—squid, prawns, swordfish, salmon, mackerel, and sardines. We decided on this one. |
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| Marie ordered salmon and I settled for swordfish, because they were out of the mackerel. We shared. |
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| We went all out—potatoes in olive oil. |
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Al dente cabbage that tasted as if
it had been plucked from the sea.
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We started with a mixed salad and mussels grilled in olive oil
and diced onions.
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| We weren't going to have dessert, but our waitress said the chocolate sponge cake was excellent. We shared one and it was. |
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A stroll along the beach brought us to this sculpture inspired
by a Matosinhos painter. Tragedy at Sea depicts the wives and
orphans left behind when 152 fisherman were killed when their
boats sunk in a storm December 1-2, 1947.
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| Body boarding and surfing equipment can be rented at Matosinhos beach. Although the small container harbor is adjacent (just north) to the beach, the sand and surf are clean. It may not be the most picturesque beach, but it's 15 minutes from the heart of Porto and that can't be beat. |
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