The Word - Vol 63

Pain in the Portugal 🇵🇹🚨

I just got back from a planned 3-week vacation in Portugal that turned into a 2-week vacation in Portugal. How did that happen? I’ll explain.

Five of us set out on a vacation that was five years in the planning. There was Cathy Latremouille, Kelly and Juanita from Blue Frog, my wife Jeri, and me. Our first attempt was called off due to Covid. Our second attempt was called off when it was diagnosed that I needed a pacemaker installed in my chest, so we figured the third attempt would be the charm. I think in actual fact, the Travel Gods were trying to tell us something, but of course, we didn’t listen.

We arrived in Lisbon and got into our AIRBNB which was very nice, and within walking distance to great restaurants, transportation, and pretty much anything we wanted to see or do in the city. We were right in the middle of the touristy section of town so our biggest concern was being a victim of pickpockets that we kept hearing about, and all of us were super vigilant about keeping our valuables zipped up and out of sight. In the two weeks we were there we didn’t run into even a hint of that happening, at least to us! 

Next stop was Porto, a city famous for its port wine which we found time to sample at one of the wineries. I didn’t realize there were so many different kinds of port, we soon found out quickly what our favourite was thanks to a sampler flight which was very tasty. Porto is a lovely city with wonderful restaurants and shops. The old part of town was built alongside the Douro River. 

Our weather was spectacular for the first few days, then the more typical Portuguese February weather arrived, and it reminded us of Vancouver! Clouds and drizzle, but at least there was no snow. Whether it’s true or not we were told that it’s never snowed in Portugal! 

So, you might be asking, “ok, this all sounds pretty good, where does the Pain in Portugal come in?” 

Here’s the story. We had spent a couple of nights in the city of Nazare, home to some enormous waves that attract surfers from all over the world. Then it was time to move on and make our way eventually down to the Algarve. We packed our SUV and headed down the highway. Along the way we decided to visit the walled city of Obidos, a historic site that just happened to be hosting a chocolate festival, so we didn’t want to miss that! 

We parked the car in the street along with 40 or 50 other cars and entered the walled city. We were going to grab lunch there, but after about an hour we decided to eat at a restaurant that was recommended to us just outside.


We made our way back to the rental car, and were about to hop in when we noticed that the back window of the car had been smashed! Then to our shock, we discovered that everything was gone from the back of the car. Everything! Five suitcases, 3 backpacks, and 2 carry-on bags that included everything we had, clothing, medication, 3 laptops, a cell phone, some souvenir purchases for the folks back home. 

Well you get the picture, we were cleaned out. All we had left was what we were wearing. I don’t know if you can imagine the shock and disbelief we were feeling! Five of us, standing in the drizzling rain staring at an empty car and all of our belongings gone! Luckily we were carrying our passports and wallets. We had noticed a police station inside the walled city, so Jeri and Cathy went back there to file a report, and Kelly, Juanita, and I were on the phones trying to see how we could at least try and stop any kind of identity theft that might be going on.

Now, before you start yelling at me about how you should never leave all your suitcases in a parked car unattended, I know, and we knew, but throughout our visit, we found the Portuguese people we met were very kind, courteous and helpful, so an event like this caught us with our guard down.

The way I figured out what might have happened was before we walked to the entrance to the walled city we had the liftgate of the SUV open and were getting our coats out of the back. I think that’s when the crooks drove by and saw the car was packed, and circled around waiting for us to leave, then struck. We checked the other cars parked along the street and we were the only car that was targeted. The police were helpful, but not hopeful that we’d ever see our belongings again. We had Air Tags in some of the bags and have had hits from them and passed that information on to the police, but so far haven’t heard anything back. 

One tip we were given was, that if you are in a situation like we were and want to get something out of the back of a loaded car, do it away from where you’re going to park. Wherever tourists gather, eyes are probably watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike. So, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to travel the world, I guess the lesson to be learned is, never to let your guard down. 

Would we go back to Portugal? Sure, it’s a wonderful country with delightful people, but next time I’ll keep my hands in my pockets, and my eyes wide open!

Till next week...
Wayne

---

---