We took the train from Porto to Lisbon today, which adds trains to our list of modes of transport on this trip. Plane, automobile, bus, ferry, metro, and now, finally, train. I guess that means we will be going home soon? Actually, it’s another six days, but the trip is definitely winding down.

The train trip from Porto was relaxing and uneventful, which is exactly how you want it to be. The first part was along the coast.

On our bus trip up to Porto we saw strange clumps of … something … in the trees and on the electricity towers. Like this.

We did a bit of research and discovered that they are actually stork nests. Storks are protected in Portugal, and near feeding areas they build nests on every available surface. Here is what it looks like when you zoom in. And this one doesn’t have as many nests as some of them.

Storks also nest in the trees. The dark clumps you see here are all stork nests.

In some areas you can see 30 or more electricity pylons and large trees filled with stork nests at the same time.

When we arrived in Lisbon we checked into our apartment and discovered that we have a balcony. A welcome glass of rose seemed like the perfect way to end the day.

Tomorrow we will … probably wander aimlessly around the city, like we usually do. Or maybe we’ll go on a walking tour of Lisbon, or perhaps take the train to Sintra. But we’ll definitely eat good food and have a glass of wine.