"Where was the favorite place that you visited?"
This was naturally the most common question I got asked when I came back from my trip. I gave a different answer to this question almost every single time. Because in that moment, it felt true. Ruin bars and thermal baths in Budapest? Of course that was my favorite. The immensity of snow-covered Swiss Alps? Of course that was my favorite. The gastronomic experience in Hong Kong? Of course that was my favorite. And a full year later, I still can't choose a single location. Every place that I visited had its own unique character and story that take a special place in my heart.
But I can answer this question unequivocally: "What was your favorite moment?"
My favorite moment in my trip was the moment I finally climbed to the top of Castle of the Moors in Sintra and saw what was in front of me. No pictures or words can do this moment justice, but here's my best attempt.
Sintra is about an hour train ride away from Lisbon. Friends and several travel sites recommended that I take a day trip out to Sintra during my stay in Lisbon. Sintra is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, places in the world chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as having cultural significance. The remnants in this area date back to the Stone Age, and you can just sense an aura of antiquity and purity as soon as you step out of the train station. I felt like I had traveled back in time to the Middle Ages as I walked through the village outlined by hole-in-the-wall shops and surrounded by mountains beyond mountains.
I walked around the village, popping in and out of shops and reading through tourist booklets. I kept walking and walking... and realized that I was actually hiking up a mountain. There were tour buses going up and down a bigger road but I was delighted to find a clear walking trail that seemed to lead to some of the landmarks. So I filled up my water bottle and started to hike up.
All the tourists were taking the buses up, and I could not travel both so I took the road less traveled and that has made all the difference... or something like that :P Amidst the greens and blues, past exotic gardens and soaring trees, all I could hear was my own footsteps, breathing and sounds of mother nature - birds chirping, winds blowing and rivers flowing. The air was perfectly crisp and clean. It was a damn long hike but worth every minute, sweat and hunger pangs. I sang to myself, took a lot of horrible photos and thought about life a lot.
Saw a few palaces on the way up to Castle of the Moors - the sign I followed. I don't remember their significance but they were beautiful. It felt like I was living a Lord of the Rings fantasy.
And then after what felt like forever (by this time the sun was starting to set), I finally reached Castle of the Moors. And this is where an epic Lord of the Rings soundtrack started to play in my head. Really though, there are moments in your life that warrant background music, and this was one of them.
I was standing inside an ancient military fortress that dates back to the 8th century with visible battle ruins that penetrated its stone walls and natural tear down caused by centuries of time. It is perched atop a mountain, looking out to all of Sintra and beyond to the Atlantic ocean to the rest of the world. It is literally where land ends and ocean begins.
I watched the sun slowly sink deeper into the ocean from the top of the castle. As I looked out, savoring every second of the view illuminated by the sunshine, I was dwarfed by such vastness that swallowed me - I was overcome by my smallness, my insignificance in time and in space. It's a soothing, childlike feeling.
A moment of unforgettable, pure and captivating beauty and perspective. That was my favorite moment.
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