Scrambling Through Porto In Search of a Bank!

My first full day in Porto was a bit of a blur. I awoke in the morning after a much-needed 12 hour sleep. I got myself together, packed my backpack with necessary documents, electronics, and some tap water, which was all I had to eat or drink. My AirBnB has wifi, a bed and an unheated bathroom, but not much else. Still without a functioning phone outside of my room, I studied a map and decided to walk to the Metro station and see if I could figure out how to get back to the airport. As I walked up my street, I noticed a tiny cafe and stopped in. There, I had my first meal in about 30 hours. For a mere €1.30, I had my first Pastel da Nata and a coffee with milk. It was simply delicious!

Next I asked a postman where to find the Metro, "Onde fica a estação de metro?" He pointed and gestured, and I understood most of what he said. Soon enough I found it, managed to get tickets, and boarded. I had to change trains at a hub and find another that would take me to the airport where I could retrieve my sim card from the post office there and have a functioning phone. It went well, and now I had maps! I felt super empowered and way less vulnerable!

That done, I quickly Ubered to a Novo Banco branch, where I have funds in Euros. After waiting for someone to leave who opened the door for me, I spoke with a very nice gentleman named George, who said he was very sorry but couldn't help me withdraw anything because his branch didn't handle money after 12 pm. What?? He sent me to a different branch that handled money until 3 pm. I hustled there and waited a long time to speak with anyone. A strange thing I did not know about Portuguese banks is that you can't just open the door and go inside. The doors are locked and unless you have a Multi Banco card with which to swipe the lock, which I do not, you can't go in until someone inside comes out and lets you in. Then you have to enter your NIF number (financial number) into a computer screen along with your name and Portuguese phone number, which again, I do not have. Everyone who puts their information in is assigned a number and you wait for it to be called. I waited until everyone who did have a number was gone and approached the teller. I spoke in very bad Portuguese and tried to explain that I had an account and needed to withdraw some money. I showed her my pre-printed account statement. She called a bank manager. He was helpful and ordered my Multi Banco card, which I have to retrieve at his branch on Thursday of next week. He told me that though he would like to help me withdraw some funds, he could not, but if I would go to yet a third bank branch, my account manager was there and would help me. He told me to hurry; I had just 14 minutes until 3:00! I Ubered once again and arrived just minutes before closing. I again waited for someone to come out so that I could enter. Rather than waiting for the teller, which I knew would be useless, I cautiously approached one of the bankers and asked if I could speak to someone. She went to the computer screen and using my statement, did a work around and got me a number. I waited until 4:30 (but they close at 3?) before my manager, Christiana, called me to a desk. There she had me remove my European sim card and replace it with my American one. I tried to tell her this would not work, but she insisted. She said I needed to receive an SMS text from the bank before she could move forward with making my account functional. I cannot receive texts with either sim card. Long story short, I have to obtain a Portuguese phone number before I can use my Multi Banco card to withdraw cash for free and I must use the Multi Banco App to do any of these things, but need a text to activate the app. Sigh. She could, however, let me withdraw €500 of my own money for just €12.48, which I did. I am to call her or email her with my Portuguese phone number when I get it, which should be tomorrow.

Finally, I found a Metro station and went to the Capanha Bus Terminal to buy a ticket for my journey to Vila Franca da Beira, in central Portugal, tomorrow. I have rented a house there for a year and my landlords are eager to welcome me to the village. You might ask yourself, "Why didn't she just buy a ticket online like everyone else? It's 2024, for Pete's sake!" Good question and one I thought of, myself. Apparently, I cannot buy a bus ticket online without ... wait for it ... a Portuguese phone number! Geez. So, I purchased my ticket and decided to find a good vegetarian restaurant. The nearest was 1.7 kilometers away. It was raining by then, so I opened my umbrella and set about walking. I crossed the street in front of the bus station and there, on the other side, as though waiting for me, was an Indian restaurant! I thought it was a mirage at first, but it was real! I had a wonderful dinner. The waiter was very kind and spoke with me in both Portuguese and English. He told me he loved collecting American dollars, so I left him some. It was a very nice end to my crazy day.

I went home and packed for the morning's trip. I have to be up at 6 am to get to Capanha station by 8. I'm taking all of my luggage with me, so it'll be an Uber. Fortunately, they're really inexpensive here. I will return to Porto next week to collect my Multi Banco card from George. I will do some actual sight seeing then and will post some video, I hope. I have to figure out how to do that, first! Wish me luck!