Day 72: Porto to Montreal - Grampies Iberian Inquisition Spring 2023 - CycleBlaze

May 12, 2023

Day 72: Porto to Montreal

The staff at the Gallery Hostel have proven universally sweet and efficient. This morning at 5 a.m. they went to the garage, grabbed our bike boxes, and stuffed them into the taxi before we even knew the taxi had arrived. Then they handed us boxed breakfasts and wished us a nice trip.

Our first encounter with some kind of thoughtlessness came at the airport, where the entry was a revolving door, that worked at a fixed speed. If you happened to be an old lady with a cane (like Dodie), or someone dragging bike boxes (like me), then tough.

Only way in is this Grampie grinder.
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Jeanna & Kerry SmithGrampie grinder :-) I love it. I hope it didn't actually grind any Grampies!
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1 year ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Jeanna & Kerry SmithFortunately no Grampies were injured in the entry to the airport.
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1 year ago

At the Transat counter we found they had invented a new rule. The counter staff now had to inspect the bike box contents prior to its going to Oversize Luggage, to be inspected. The idea was presumably for the counter staff to spot any contraband non-bike items in the bike box, so maybe they could sell an additional checked bag charge. Transat is just not satisfied with the 60 euro they are getting for transporting the bike box, whatever is in there.  But Transat had not thought of the additional staff time cost needed to try to drum up an extra checked bag  charge. And they had not thought of how to open the boxes to look inside. Dodie advised them to go get a box cutter or scissors, but they refused, and sent her off to somewhere, just to get the boxes opened. Then she had to bring them back to the check in. Meanwhile I stayed with our other stuff, blocking up their check in line. Good thinking, Transat!

Dodie is sent around the airport to get the services of a box cutter knife.
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Finally at oversize luggage, the boxes remarkably fit into their xray machine.
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Dodie seems emotional as her babied box disappears.
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Goodbye Porto!
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It's a short hop, but a world away.
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Scott AndersonThis is the first time I’ve noticed that Canadian airport abbreviations all begin with Y. You know the background on that, I assume. Yes, of course you do.
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1 year ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonYou are right! Strangely we had never quite noticed. But these IATA airport codes are very complex, and even the origin of the "Y" is a story: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IATA_airport_code#:~:text=Predominantly%2C%20airport%20codes%20are%20named,Ata)%2C%20ORK%20for%20Cork%2C
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1 year ago
In Montreal, they also have not thought of bike boxes in designing their passages. This leads to customs, and the exit.
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We came to the idea that the boxes could be oriented on edge, and I played the 75 year old man card, asking the customs agent for help doing the flip. But she played her own card, claiming to be a too weak girl to help. She is in the photo - doesn't look that weak!
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We have figured out now that on end this way is in fact best. Here the boxes head into storage, to wait while we have our wild time in downtown Montreal.
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We got whisked by Sabrina into town, and I seemed to waste no time getting into my favourite things. With the grandkids still at school, I grabbed Josh's bike and helmet and headed off into the city, in search of bagels!

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Here at the Bagel Shop, thankfully nothing has changed.
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Trois douzaines sesame, s'il vous plait!
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I used mainly the Rachel St. bikeway to get to the bagel shop. There was a gratifying flow of other cyclists on it. At one intersection, not one with a traffic light, a pickup driver attempted a left turn off Rachel, but was stymied by the flow of cyclists. He tried a lurch into the cyclists, but they went around him, continuing to block his way. This elicited a burst of swearing from him. He began with "Tabernac" and "Calice" (tablernacle and chalice). It made me feel like the old days, because these have been the standard Quebec swear words forever.
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Back home with the bagels, I noticed these birds in the back garden. This is clearly not Portugal anymore.

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Scott AndersonSo do you know your local birds, or is this something new for you to be aware of?
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1 year ago
Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Scott AndersonWe are reasonably familiar with the birds that come to our feeder in BC, but these are in Montreal and we don't know them (yet).
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1 year ago
Scott AndersonTo Steve Miller/GrampiesOh, of course. This one is a female northern cardinal.
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1 year ago
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Scott AndersonWhite crowned sparrow. You’ll see this one at home too.
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1 year ago
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Scott AndersonTwo similar species. The one on the left is a white throated sparrow, and the one on the right is a white crowned sparrow.
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1 year ago
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Today's blog brought to you by this team.
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Today's ride: 13 km (8 miles)
Total: 2,957 km (1,836 miles)

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