DAY 7

Day 7 in Portugal is in the books! The Hornets traveled from Lisbon to Nazaré, a small beach town known for its fishing and surfing. In fact, the town is known as one of the greatest locations in the world to surf. The day was spent mostly sightseeing and enjoying all Nazaré has to offer. That included running into former Hornet men's soccer player Gabe Silveria who was playing in an international beach soccer tournament. Below is the seventh and eighth installments of a series of blogs every Hornet player will write during the trip. Today, we hear from sophomore Greta Davis and freshman Allison Mimbs.

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Allison Mimbs

OBRIGADA LISBON!!! After a fun last night in Lisbon, we are off to Nazaré! My roommate, Greta, and I had planned to wake up at 8 am to get breakfast at 8:30 for our 10 am bus ride. However, we were sooo tired and decided to snooze our alarm until 8:30. We went down for the breakfast where they have the BEST chocolate croissants!!

After bringing all our stuff down to the lobby, our tour guide, David Kniffen, informed us that our bus was going to be 30 minutes late. So with that time, we played some intense games of foosball and walked down to a little souvenir store to look around. Then we loaded the bus and were off to our next adventure!

I took a nap and read my book during a 90-minute drive. When we arrived in Nazaré, we were met with the BEAUTIFUL scenery of the ocean. We all checked in, and got new roommates. I am now rooming with Hailey (Plugge) and it is already amazing!!! We got our per diem and went over to the market for our free day of exploring. We got amazing fruit and went to the beach where we spent the rest of the day and got a little too sun burnt.

At dinner, as a team, we ate olives, lots of bread, yummy rice and fish. I was nervous about eating the fish, because it still had bones, but I gave it a try and it was yummy:) At dinner, we played mafia where the townspeople won and voted off the mafia. Sunset was at 9 pm, so we headed to the beach where we took TONS of photos. The sunset was beautiful, but it was so cold because of the wind. We decided to head back to the hotel where some of us changed  into comfy clothes and others continued walking the beach.

I'm new to the team and I absolutely love every single one of my teammates!! This is the trip of a lifetime with the best of friends:) Boa Noite Nazaré!!

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Greta Davis

This morning, Alli (Mimbs) and I woke up pretty tired. Our bodies were feeling it after walking about 28,000 steps yesterday in Lisbon. We pressed snooze a few times - our normal routine - and then got ready and packed our suitcases. We went down to a nice breakfast of fruit, coffee, and pastries (don't ask how many). Then we boarded the bus and headed to our third destination - the little surfing town of Nazaré!

On the bus, I spent most of my time looking out the window. Usually I'm one of the girls that's always asleep on the bus, but the scenery in Portugal is too beautiful to miss! Much of the team has taken up reading, so many of them were doing that or sleeping today, which resulted in a (mostly) silent bus ride. Ruben would tell you that he heard us snoring, but don't believe him!

As I was looking out the window, I noticed there weren't nearly as many cars compared to freeways in the United States. I also saw plenty of giant windmills, much like you'd see in the Columbia Gorge in Oregon. The agricultural area that we drove though was a really nice change of pace, after the booming urban area that was Lisbon!

When we got to Nazaré, we checked into the hotel, got our per diem for lunch and went exploring. We stumbled into a produce market and bought some delicious fresh fruit. Then, we made our way towards the water for some "real lunch". We found the best spot - crepes and paninis with chorizo. Chorizo is the yummy sausage that's really popular here - it's almost red like pepperoni. Ruben made it for us before we left, and it's been my favorite ever since! We bought this food off a vendor on the street, and he made it right in front of us. He spoke good English, but several times apologized for speaking poorly. We assured him that his English was much better than our Portuguese!

Then we went and ate on the beach where we all either tanned, read, or talked. After a bit, I decided it was time for a swim and ran down to the water. As I got in, the waves were super powerful and swept my feet out from under me and log rolled me! Disheveled, but so stoked I got up and played in the waves for a bit. As it turns out, Nazaré is known for crazy huge surf waves! Ruben told us about the legendary 100 foot waves here, but he didn't warn us about the 10 foot waves that'll really get ya!

After my swim, I went shopping in the stores right by the waterfront. I found some gifts for my family and a sweet treat with the freshies — rolled ice cream! Admittedly, we have had quite the sweet tooth on this trip! There have been few meals that haven't been followed by gelato, donuts or something of the sort. For this, I blame Arch (Ashlynn Archer), because she's the one that usually brings up the topic.

Then, we walked to a traditional Portuguese dinner at a local cafe that we walked to from our hotel. It was a really special dinner because they weren't open, but they helped us arrange a special dinner where our entire party of 30 fit at one table! It felt like we were true guests in their house, and they served us a three-course traditional meal. It started with salad and bread, and then to fish, clams and pork, and then finished with a type of flan for dessert! It was so delicious! Then, as a team we played our favorite table game, Mafia. Tiya (Kamba-Griffin) was our narrator per usual, and the townspeople caught Kate (Doorn) and Abbey (Kadillak) red handed!
 
Right after we caught the mafia, we ran down to the beach to watch the sunset. We took some sunset glow pictures and enjoyed watching the sun fall beneath the bright teal water! Next, the Guevara's (Mia's Parents) treated us to our second sweet treat of the day! They bought us the messiest ice cream crepes ever!

Then, I walked down to the water and looked at the stars with Kate and Mia! Finally, we finished the night off right with some good-old fashioned girl talk with most of the team at the hotel!

It's been mentioned quite a bit on this trip - our team is something special. I believe this as well, and it's evident in the way we get along. Often, we choose to be together, a package deal of 16. We hang out together constantly, and are each other's best friends. I've been reflecting on this and the program as a whole, and it's easy to feel very blessed to be a part of a team like this! This has already been the trip of a lifetime, and I'm so grateful!

Obrigada Hornet Nation! Goodnight from Portugal!

Day 6 Blog - Abbey Kadillak
Day 5 Blog - Tiyanane Kamba-Griffin
Day 4 Blog - Caty Cordano
Day 3 Blog - Kalani Hayes
Day 2 Blog - Bridgette Smith
Day 1 Blog - Caitlin Volkmann