Portugal!

I am so delighted to have gone to Portugal. It is a country deeply tied to Spain by geography, history and language. That is to say, the two cultures are closely related. It was so interesting to be surrounded by a language so close to Spanish that I could understand most of it.
I rented a car with two Brazilian friends. We drove to Salamanca (where I am going again next week, so you should get some info about that city soon) then to Oporto, a couple of small cities along the coast south of Oporto, and Lisboa. We finished the trip with a quick stop in Évora.
I was ecstatic the entire trip because my friends kindly and patiently helped me to speak Portuguese! It took a lot of courage to try, but was such a joy to find myself communicating in another language so quickly. Positively unbelievable!!
I loved it. I love Portugal. The countryside is beautiful. It has been poorer than Spain for a long time. So although to my eyes Spain seems highly agricultural, Portugal is even more so. It has been less developed and depends heavily on the exportation of food and other materials. I see Extremadura as being similar to New Mexico in that way. Almost all of Portugal is similar to New Mexico in the same way.
I will load up a few photos before I finish my homework and put myself to bed. Tomorrow I'm renting a car again and driving to another area where I can hike around all weekend with a friend.

 Oporto

 Guilherme y Claudir en Nazaré

 Lisboa

 Yo en Nazaré

 Lisboa^     Lisboa->
y Ruinas Romanas con una Catedral detrás en Évora                                                            

I am so grateful for the time I have here. I have now passed the halfway point of my entire trip, though I'm not yet halfway through my time in Cáceres. I have the feeling that the time is about to start zooming at an insane pace. Gracias a todos. Hasta Luego.