I´m in Portugal!

So far, not much to report except that it´s warm, sunny, and looks kind of like Spain. I can understand Portuguese almost perfectly in written form- I think it´s closer to Spanish than even Catalan or Gallego, which makes me wish I had paid attention to history and knew why Portugal gets to be its own country but those areas don´t.

I did that thing I vow every year not to do again- just when life was comfortable in long underwear and two winter jackets, I sent all my warm clothing home with my mom. So now that it´s about 65 degrees and windy, I´m freezing again. I remedied the problem by buying an awesome winter jacket for €5 on clearance in a Chinese shop.

Faro has a natural park that appears to be made out of mud flats. They form really cool patterns when the water goes through them- kind of like the folds of the brain. No one seems to want to rent me a kayak to go out in the channels, so tomorrow I´m going to the visitors´ center. They have nature trails, kayak rental places (in my imagination) and allegedly you can work for half a day and stay free in their dorm.

And... I celebrated my impending 25th birthday by reserving a SMART CAR for €9 A DAY in Barcelona! I got to buy the slighly less expensive over-25 insurance. Booyah! Turning 25 is a big deal. After that, you don´t get any rewards for your birthday until you turn 55. I think I´m going to take the SmartCar to Andorra. You can come with me if you´re travelling alone with no luggage.

The days in Portuguese are Sunday, Secondday, Thirdday, Fourthday, Fifthday, Sixthday, and Saturday.