Exploring Setúbal After Quarantine!

Written by: Carina Olivar

Finally, after 5 days, quarantine was over at last! This was exciting as we can now go shopping and dining at restaurants. We attended our last virtual meeting this morning then quickly took advantage of our quarantine-free day. I was extremely excited to see the supermarket and was amazed at the variety of fish. There were even some fish that was a meter long! After we walked to the supermarket and enjoyed pastel de nata, we headed to Praça do Bocage to do some shopping.

At mid-afternoon, we gathered to attend traditional Portuguese dance classes. We had an energetic dance professor who wasn't afraid to call us out and made sure we did everything correctly! At first, we all seemed a bit hesitant as none of us are really the "dancing-type," but once the music started we all got the hang of it! It ended up being a very fun experience despite the fact that many of us were exhausted at the end.

After that, we went back to the hotel and decided to relax after the tiring dance. However, it was a very hot day and therefore a perfect time for the beach. We were able to make new friends and mingle with other pods as the quarantine was over and headed to the beach together. As we soaked in the sun, we contemplated our excitement for the ongoing trip and future endeavors. Overall, it was a great time!

Towards the end of the day, we were all thrilled as we finally got to experience the long-awaited welcome dinner. We headed to Restaurante O Novo 10 and got to sit wherever we liked. Some of us stayed in our pods while others decided to meet new people and sit with other groups. The welcome dinner seemed to have a set menu for us as the waiters brought out food continuously without us asking. They first gave us bread and butter. The bread was more like a whole loaf rather than the sliced bread you'd expect in the US. Then they gave us Tropico and coke for drinks, followed by a salad. For the main entree, we received homemade chips, cuttlefish, and the famous choco frito you see everywhere in Setúbal. The cuttlefish tasted like chewy vinegar mozzarella to me whilst the choco frito was like thick calamari. Whilst waiting for dessert, we talked about our lives and got to know each other better. The dessert you could pick from was what seemed like a tiramisu-like cake and flan. The flan was absolutely delicious. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!