It was raining cats and dogs when we got up this morning so we had to alter our plans a bit. In addition, Barb needed to go to a pharmacy to see if they could fill one of her prescriptions because she realized she did not have enough of the medication to make it until she got home. After breakfast, we headed off to a little town near here where we knew there was a pharmacy.
One of the pharmacists spoke very good English and she explained to Barb that she needed the prescription from her doctor. To make a long story short, Barb pulled up the prescription on the CVS website, took a picture of it on her phone and emailed it to this little local pharmacy. That was good enough for the pharmacist but she said they wouldn’t have the medicine until about 5 o’clock this afternoon. We said that was fine. The pharmacist said that we had to pay in advance which we were happy to do. And this is one reason a number of retired people are moving out of the United States to places like Portugal. The cost to Barb here was $10 whereas she pays $144 for the same thing in the US!!!
After we left the little pharmacy in Ferrel where the pharmacist had been so helpful, we decided to drive over to the old fishing village of Peniche. It is a surfing mecca and was a nice, charming place. It was still raining but we were able to drive around a bit. We did stop along the coast to admire the rock formations and the surf.
After leaving Peniche, we headed for Obidos, which is an old walled city. It is quite famous here and a big tourist attraction in the summer. Fortunately, for us, the rain and time of year greatly thinned out the crowds. It was a charming little place with all kinds of shops and restaurants. You can still see the old walls and all of the streets (using the term loosely) and alleyways are paved with cobblestones. And just a word to the wise, it is not flat, so if you ever come here, wear good shoes with gripping soles.
After Obidos we found our way back to the hotel to chill out for a couple of hours before we head back to Ferrel to pick up Barb’s prescription. We’re getting quite used to the roads so it will be an easy drive.
We are driving a compact SUV, a Kia Kauai, and it is a good car for here. It is a standard transmission which is true of many of the rental cars here. You can get automatics but they are more expensive. As far as driving here – if you don’t like round-abouts, don’t drive here because they are everywhere. If you don’t like little, narrow, winding roads, don’t drive here. The freeways are good for making time between places, but once you exit the freeways, you are back in the land of round-abouts and narrow, winding roads. People here do drive fast and they often tailgate- it’s just the way it is here. All of that said, with Google maps and a little patience, it’s pretty easy to get around. The adventure continues as we head north to Porto tomorrow.