From Lisbon to Porto? I was not well! Lisbon knew I needed one last revenge night out before leaving for Porto, I went there and did it! For me, this 'Alfa Pendular' service pieced together my first and second leg of my Portuguese trip, literally in hungover pieces but 'Oriente' served up breakfast fixings! It was no 'Chinese High Speed Rail' service, but you know Europe moved me!
During the planning stages of my summer holiday, I already knew that flying between Lisbon and Porto made absolutely no sense! Booking my train tickets saw me bridge the gap between Lisbon and Porto by train! To be honest, I did good to book that railway transport because I was going through it! Yes, I had enjoyed the delights of 'Bairro Alto' through to an ungodly hour, those nights always start with good intentions! I made my way to 'Oriente' with enough time to spare, I had literally rested my eyes so I was definitely still under the influence! Oriente felt very different, I had been used to ultra modern train stations in China and South Korea! How it was so very different, I had my paper confirmation in hand and it felt so strange because I just show my passport to the staff in China! Was I embracing those Portuguese changes? I had no choice but to adhere to their way of doing things! Beer for breakfast? Oh, Europe knew me very well because I needed that 'hair of the dog!' My savoury pastry and Madeira cake slapped! Oh, help!
Standing on the platform felt correct, I wouldn't miss my connection and for that I felt grateful! I had booked a fast service from Lisbon Oriente to Porto São Bento, the medium speed train would take me under three hours to reach Portugal's city on the Duro! Now, this train wasn't completely direct because I would find out that Porto boasted two stations, my service would travel via Campanhã. I just wanted to board that first Porto bound 'Alfa Pendular' service on that July morning! Now, for me I was ready and waiting to depart like the bulk of the passengers who were also standing on that shared platform! Where was our Porto bound train? I checked the time, my train was running late! Now, I was half expecting a little delay because it was either going to be me or the train, that was a whole choice! A little over ten minutes after the scheduled time of departure, my Porto bound train pulled out of Oriente with me firmly in my seat, what a drama! I'll be honest, it felt weird lo be leaving Lisbon, from start to finish it had been a blast!
Yes, it took about thirty minutes or so, then our train had finally left the city of Lisbon. With no scheduled stops on the way until Porto Campanhã, I was able to completely relax into my comfy economy style train seat. Now, that seat was wide and comfy, the legroom wasn't bad at all and I am not a tall person! I was able to conveniently stow my suitcase above me in the overhead rack. I sensed that the train was on the newer side, there was a modern yet simple design going on. With a relatively new speedy rail system, I was impressed by Portugal's own high speed service. The weather outside was gorgeous, it was not hard to take many photos of the idyllic countryside as my 'Alfa Pendular' sped in northward direction. Of course, I was content with the photos that I was able to capture! With a maximum speed of around '220 mph', that train was running a little slower than the ones I was used to in China. A lot slower, in-fact! I had to get used to that European railway system, I was on a different set of tracks and that was perfectly fine! Let's go!
That train journey didn't see any refreshment carts pass through the many carriages, I needed to find my own form of refreshment! I really didn't need another beer or did I? Yes, I bought to regular cans of 'Sagres' because what kills you, well it can cure you! Those two cans kept me going because sleep wasn't happening, I wanted to enjoy the views that were zooming past me! Now, when I think about it, I really need to return to Portugal in the future with a rail friendly itinerary taking in places such as 'Braga' and 'Guimarães' in the north and possibly 'Santarem' and 'Albufeira' going further south. In that moment, I didn't have the capacity to think about any future Portuguese trips because I needed to focus on that journey in-real time. As Porto neared, I felt a sense of relief because I had some anxiety before the trip about taking the train in Europe! For me, the systems are so different, in actual fact there was no need for me to fret because Portugal made things flow. I wanted to know what my 'Campanhã' transfer would be like? Yes!
Naturally, my train from Lisbon arrived late into Campanhã. I stepped onto the platform at that first 'Porto' station with my eyes peeled for the next service! It ended up being a quick platform change because those super regular São Bento trains were operated by a local service. I didn't think much of Campanhã but I was literally there for a few moments before I boarded my connecting service. That second train didn't take long, I was living to see those Duro River views of Porto! I was looking forward to seeing those blue and white tiles at that historic railway station. I had clocked this 'National Monument of Portugal' on a Lockdown travel documentary, needless to say I had big plans to visit this former convent in the heart of the city! The weather at that moment was perfect as I stepped off that final train, the platforms were alive with a mix of locals and tourists, it was a lot! Tour groups in a train station? Yes, I had to navigate my way out of the terminal station during that chaos! Was I ready for Porto? That, I was about to find out!
Now, now Portugal! I had to gather myself as I stood in the stations interior, the attention to detail within that 20th century train station was above and beyond! Gradually, it felt real that Porto had finally showed up! Portugal's rail network didn't let me down, for a government owned entity I was impressed! From that shaky start in Lisbon, I was able to take that train through the beauty of Portugal's greener pastures, clocking some truly lovely countryside. Those beers rescued me! My day in Porto had just started, I had made the right choice to arrive by train because that second Porto station was located a few streets away from my hostel, it was all falling into place! My tour of Portugal continued to go by smoothly, no mistakes had been made! I would highly recommend taking the train between such points in Portugal, so much so I wouldn't rule out a Portuguese railway return in the future! São Bento saw me go on my merry way, into the streets of Porto with a lot to explore before that Ryanair flight to Brussels! Go, go!
Muito Obrigado!
Desperately Seeking Adventure
