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Jim Elsnau
Member
Username: Jimmyda_saint
Post Number: 14
Registered: 09-2009
Posted From: 209.163.127.28
| | Posted on Saturday, April 03, 2010 - 04:16 pm: | |
Tony,
unfortunately I didn't note the names of where I ate in Porto, but there are enough good restaurants that you won't likely go wrong (if you could handle all the sugar, you could probably get by on just pastries for a couple days!) The place where I tried "secrets of the black pig" was near the big Carmelite church on Rua do Carmo; I ended up there after learning that a nearby place recommended in Lonely Planet was closed.
Christi--definitely give hostels a try next time you folks are SPATing around--it can be quite an adventure! And yes, I did sleep for most of the train trip down from Philly--needed some serious shuteye after two consecutive nights in pax lounges. One of the definite disadvantages of solo travel is that it usually isn't cost effective to go with a rental, even when itinerary-wise it makes more sense.
Oh, cautionary note to all: don't forget to check and double check your pockets before doing laundry! My Paco's Travel map of Rota ended up as shreds of colored paper in the dryer lint trap after I failed to clear the cargo pockets on my traveling pants. Hope I can get another one next time I'm over there.
safe travels, everyone!
Jim |
John R Garrison
Senior Member
Username: Majorg
Post Number: 2488
Registered: 02-2006
Posted From: 208.81.157.86
| | Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2010 - 02:13 pm: | |
Jim:
Three fabulous reports! Thanks again for taking the time to write them up and share them with us. Felt like being there!
Happy travels, John |
Christi Meyer
Member
Username: Cmeyer
Post Number: 22
Registered: 01-2009
Posted From: 70.174.115.204
| | Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2010 - 01:57 pm: | |
Thanks for the report Jim. After reading the first instal, I've been researching hostels. Wish I had last time. My husband wants to head to Portugal next, so now have lots of great info. BTW- we're in Newport News too. Last spring flew from Rota to Maguire as well. One way car rental was $100,( to Norfolk where our car was) plus gas and a 6 hour drive. As a solo the train's probably more relaxing, but as a pair, the rental was pretty economical and without the bus ride to Philly.
Christi |
Tony Cabrera
Senior Member
Username: Tonyc
Post Number: 1523
Registered: 08-2006
Posted From: 72.50.49.223
| | Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2010 - 12:13 pm: | |
Jim,
Thanks for posting your three-part travel report. It was very detailed and excellent. Got some tips on Portugal, since I will be spending a couple of days in Oporto about 4 weeks from now. Any recommedations on nice places to eat in Oporto? You can email me if you want.
Again, thanks for posting and happy travels! |
Jim Elsnau
Member
Username: Jimmyda_saint
Post Number: 13
Registered: 09-2009
Posted From: 209.163.127.219
| | Posted on Thursday, April 01, 2010 - 03:53 am: | |
Apologies again for taking so long to get this written up, and thanks to any interested readers for your patient forbearance! Here, as Paul Harvey used to say, is the rest of the story:
Monday morning the 15th, after breakfast in the hostel, I caught the 9AM EVA bus to Seville. The bus was obviously having some kind ofmechanical difficulty, as we ended up driving well below the speed limit and ended up arriving in Huelva, the first stop in Spain, an hour behind schedule. We ended up having to wait for a new bus called in by the driver. By the time we finally reached Plaza de Armas station in Sevilla, the early afternoon bus to Rota was long gone. The weather in Seville was beautiful, making for an enjoyable stroll back over to San Sebastian station. En route I stopped into one of those telephone-and-internet shops and called Rota Pass & ID (many thanks to John D for providing their number in my off-topic thread) to explain my predicament and warn them that I'd be showing up the next day--they gave me the number for security to call when I got into town.
Bus to Rota was quick and uneventful--got into town about an hour before sundown. Unfortunately, the small hotel I've stayed in on my previous trips through Rota was closed for vacation; fortunately, Viajes Difran (better known to legions of old Rota hands as Paco’s Travel) was just a couple doors up, and were still open for business. They helped set me up with lodging in a very nice three-star hotel a few minutes' walk away, and gave me an excellent full-color map of the city. The hotel was 50 euro a night--a bit of a jolt to the wallet after 12-15 euro hostels and pensions--but it was a very comfortable room, with a private, fully equipped bath. It was also only a couple blocks from a little cantina where I had a late dinner of jamon serrano, aged cheese and a few draft cervezas while watching futbol with several gents whom I assumed were regulars there.
Tuesday morning I got to the base a little after 0800. Checked in with the pass office that's just on the right as you head thru the gate; I showed my documents (passport, gate pass from when I'd arrived two weeks earlier, and boarding pass from the Pat Ex) to the woman working the counter, and she called security, who advised me to stand by for a police escort to the PSD. I felt a bit embarrassed, as I'm pretty sure they have vastly more important duties than playing escort for a wayward retiree who couldn't maintain positive control of his ID! But eventually I did end up in the back seat of a police cruiser for what turned out to be a rather exciting ride...as we rounded a traffic circle, a host-country national who wasn't quite paying attention failed to yoeld and came within in inch or two of trading paint with the patrol car. So, I had a front-row seat as the SP and his Spanish counterpart riding shotgun pulled the guy over--lucky for him, he got off with just a strong verbal reprimand. A couple minutes later I was at PSD. I explained my predicament; they said it would be no problem getting me squared away, though I had to file a report with the Security forces a couple buildings away. So I trotted over to security, filled out my "volunteer statement" (if I recall the terminology correctly), then returned to PSD. And,shortly after 12 noon I was the proud owner of a brand-new DD Form 2 (Retired). Everybody in the process--the Spanish personnel at the gate, the NCOs in security, and the yeomen at PSD--were courteous, efficient and helpful, and made the process a whole lot less painful than it could have been.
The worst thing about having to go through the whoile rigamarole is that, by the time I got to the Pax terminal, two roll calls had come and gone--one for a Dover-bound mission, the other a plane heading to McGuire. Another C-5 was due to depart for McGuire around midnight, so I hung around for the rest of the afternoon and evening in the terminal. Mega-kudos to whomever thought to clear out the slot machines and put in the little Net Cafe there--makes the wait a whole lot more endurable! Roll call finally came around, and I was the only name on the list, as the two morning flights had cleared out the terminal. And wouldn't you know... I got checked in, my one bag loaded, and then...word came that takeoff would be delayed an hour for some minor maintenance issue...a bit later: OK, one more hour...(y'all KNOW where this is heading)....then finally, a little before 0400, back comes my checked bag; the mission is cancelled because they're waiting on a spare part. I couldn't quite see the point of trudging across base to lodging at that odd hour, so I camped out for the rest of the night there in the terminal. Most of the next day as well, as there was an early afternoon roll call on a KC-10 going to McGuire.
Again I was the only one on the present list at roll call, so had no trouble getting on the tanker. And this mission took off exactly as scheduled. Got back to New Jersey at around 2300, just a bit too late for the last run of NJ Transit route 317, which goes right outside the base and heads into Philadelphia (I'd made good use of my time in the Rota 'net cafe, researching ground transport options for McGuire). So, it was one more night of roughing it in the terminal seats. Got up around 0600 and walked from the pax terminal to the front gate, then down the road to the 7-11 where the NJT bus stops. Packing light pays off at times like these! oh, and I'm glad the weather wasn't too bad--a bit chilly, but no rain.
The bus driver gave me the military discount--$3.75 for the two-hour ride to the Greyhound station in Philadelphia, a fraction of what a cab would've cost. She also suggested I sit near the back of the bus so I could have a quick snooze without being awakened by other passengers--a thoughtful tip! Got to Philly on time, then had another walk--20 blocks in this case--to 30th Street Station. I could've taken the subway, a roughly 6-minute ride for a couple bucks, but it was another fair day and I didn't mind the walk in the sunshine. The route took me right by City Hall with the statue of William Penn standing purposefully atop its dome, and the old Reading Railroad terminal which is now a farmers' market with all kinds of tempting eateries. At the train station I bought a ticket for the next Amtrak Shoreliner, which would take me all the way down to Newport News. Fare was $102, a little steep; it would've been $42 cheaper on the overnight run of the same train, but by this time I didn't want to wait till 0435 the next morning. So, I boarded Train #95 at noon and headed south. Made good time as far as DC and a little beyond, but then got stuck behind a slow CSX freight coming down the Virginia Peninsula. So, it was almost two hours past our scheduled arrival time when we finally pulled up at the platform in Newport News. But it was good to be home!
Even with all the hassle the pickpocketing created for me, this was still a wonderful trip, and I'd strongly recommend the Rota-to-Portugal route to my fellow SPATS. Using the Pat Ex to/from NAS Norfolk, you'd have two weeks on the ground, which is enough to cover a fair amount of territory. Plenty of interesting sights for folks interested in medieval and Renaissance history and the Age of Exploration. Nice beaches in the south. And the unduly-overlooked Portuguese cuisine (and the accompanying wines)1 is worth the trip by itself!
Let me know if you have specific questions about any facet of the trip; glad to share any tidbits that might prove helpful to a fellow Pepperd fan. |
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