Snow White and the Capuchos Monks

We started the day with some fresh loaf of bread and jar of jam- like true Europeans. With our bags on our backs we got an early start and headed down the foggy forest road to the village center of Sintra. After realizing our favorite mode of transportation (walking) was nearly impossible, we hailed a cab and headed up the mountain to the Converto dos Capuchos, a former monk convent. Less than a dozen monks lived on the expansive property at a time. The monks spent hundreds of years perfecting the decorations of the convent with seashell mosaics and cork woodwork. Cork is Portugal's top export and can be harvested from the bark of Cork Trees ever nine years. The monks definitely used the cork trees to their advantage and covered every door, window and frame with the spongy material. Due to our early morning we were the only people in the convent, so we (once again) had free exploration! The convent is nuzzled between giant, moss-covered boulders. You barely could tell it was there, but a small cross above a cave-like opening gave hint to the entrance. We ducked our heads beneath the boulder entrance and discovered the convent. We went inside the small convent and walked through the old, dark, narrow hallways. It felt as if I was Snow White stumbling upon the Dwarf's home because the doorways to the bedrooms were only three feet high and one foot wide. I do not mind small spaces, but the site of those tiny doorways made my heart skip a beat. We exited the convent through the Door Of Death (clearly marked with a skull and crossbones) and meandered into the forest. The monks had built chapels into the hillside, wedged in between boulders.

            After our time at the Converto dos Capuchos we took a cab to the Moorish Walls. Imaging a miniature version of the Great Wall of China. Equally as high, but about 1/7 of the width of the Chinese wall. We were eager to hike the entire wall, but didn't consider our travel bags that we had to lug around. After hiking for an hour, admiring the view of our tiny village and spotting Lisbon in the far distance, we headed back to Lisbon.

            For our final night in our final port we had a celebratory dinner and enjoyed each other's company. It is crazy that I have now left my last port. The saying, "time flies by" doesn't quite capture my experience on Semester At Sea. Time has gone by in the blink of an eye, yet Spain feels like it was ages ago. My friends and I have been joking around and frequently asking, "is this real life?" To which we answer- no. Semester At Sea has felt like a wonderful dream. I've always dreamt of studying abroad and this experience has been all of the different scenarios I've dreamt about blended together. It has been an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to nine countries in 66 days and SAS has given me a bad case of the Travel Bug.

This won't be my last post for my SAS voyage- we still have to sail across the Atlantic! Wish us luck!!