Posted on 06/01/2025 5:06:20 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Here is a summary of the WILD experiences I had in Portugal over the course of 11 days from May 20 to May 31 which feels more like a couple of months. This is just a summary of what I will show in more detail with photos and videos over the course of the next few weeks which will be posted on weekends. Some of what you are about to see and hear appears no where else and hopefully will save you a lot of money and grief if you decide to visit that magical country.
I barely scratched the surface in this video because there is a lot more to come. One warning: After spending days eating Portuguese food you will never again be able to eat food such as frozen pizza again as I found out today. Dining in Portugal sets your gastronomic standards at a much higher level.
PING!
You could have invited me.
Sounds like you had quite an adventure! :-)
What is the name of the Portuguese native in the picture?
Could he speak English?😎
It could have been a disaster on Day One had we not changed plans and a really EMBARRASSING disaster on Day Two had I not found the Portuguese official's private bathroom before the ticking time bomb triggered by my stomach had gone off. I did read a warning in advance of the trip not to eat food from street vendors there but my wife bought a fruit cup and gave me a strawberry and a piece of pineapple and within seconds I could actually hear my stomach loudly gurgling followed by a feeling of impending internal eruption.
I worked for a couple weeks in Durango, Mexico in the summer 1977 and was ultra cautious about what I ate and drank. One Sunday afternoon I was strolling about town on a VERY hot day. I mean scorching hot. So I let my guard down and bought a snow cone from a street vendor. I thought to myself “What are the chances of a single street vendor snow cone causing me troubles?”
Big mistake. I got to jobs in Ecuador, Chile and Argentina after Mexico. By the time I got to Chile about three weeks later, I was feeling pretty bad. In Argentina a couple weeks after that and the man I was working with said “You have Hepatitis. I’m taking you to the hospital.” They confirmed Hep A and I flew home the next day.
Moral of the story: NEVER buy any food or drink from street vendors in foreign lands.
My wife ate the entire fruit cup from the street vendor so she must have a stronger stomach than me. Meanwhile just TWO small pieces of that fruit immediately set off a chemical reaction in my stomach so violent that I could hear my stomach loudly growling. At that point I could feel the countdown of impending eruption. After I hit the bathroom of the Portuguese official, either the director of their Museum of Modern Art or somebody just below that, I was fine for the rest of the trip.
Most likely the snow cone syrup was sitting in the heat for days, maybe weeks, so yeah, that could definitely give you hepatitis.
How fortunate you literally “got it out of your system” that one time! Saved your trip.
My experience in Portugal was on the coast in the Algarve with my daughter. We had a wonderful time. Can’t wait to hear your experiences.
Spontaneous generation of a virus from syrup sitting in the heat? I rather suspect a filthy vendor.
My husband and I are here in Albufeira now and loving it.
That's about 35 miles from Lagos where we were. Do they have large sandstone cliffs and caves there too?
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