Mid-October, 2023 – End-April, 2024.
The vagabonds fly from England to Porto in the northern part of Portugal where we haven’t yet visited.
Porto
Porto is the second largest city in Portugal. Centered along the Douro River, on two significant hills, it is less polished and less pretentious than Lisbon with whom it has an intense rivalry.
The name and origin of the country of Portugal stem from here. The Roman settlement of Portus Cale was at the mouth of the Douro River near present day Porto. By the 800’s the term Portugale was used for the area between the Minho River (in the north) and the Douro River. In 1139 the region broke away from its neighbors to form the independent country of Portugal with Afonso Henriques, as its first King. Below the Douro was Moorish territory; over the next 100 years the Portuguese gradually drove out the Moors to claim its current national boundaries.
We start our tour of the city with a hike uphill to the Clerigos Church and its 225 foot high tower built in the mid-1700’s that is often a symbol for the city. It is in a Baroque style with a small, oval shaped, granite and pink marble nave sporting ornate carvings and statues.
Then we stop by the train station (originally a Benedictine convent) to view the impressive tile (azulejos) walls that cover the entire lobby. They tell romanticized stories of peasant life and of scenes from Porto’s history.
The next day we take a guided walking tour of the city, starting at the Avenida dos Aliados, the main drag between City Hall and the large Praca da Liberdade (liberty square). It is broad and lined with grand granite buildings.
The tour takes us all around the center city. The guide points out the large manor houses from the 1700’s that filled the center city. Later, when the rich families moved out to more fashionable areas, the houses were subdivided into small, three or four story apartments. By the 1960’s and 1970’s these had fallen into disrepair and many were abandoned. But in the last 15 - 20 years, and with the infusion of EU investments, the areas have become habitable again with lots of stores and housing. The rise of tourism has also helped bring money into the economy.
Next stop is Porto Cathedral (Se do Porto). It is a fortress-like Romanesque structure from the 1100’s with fine granite stonework and a good view of the city. The original city wall surrounded it, but there is little left of that wall or of the bigger medieval wall that defined the center city.
Below the Cathedral is the Ribeira section of the city near the river. It is a maze of narrow streets with 3 or 4 story stone buildings, apartments and restaurants. Many serve tripe, the dish for which Porto is famous. Legend has it that the city slaughtered all of its mature livestock to stock Prince Henry the Navigators’ voyages of exploration, keeping only the tripe for themselves. Then Porto’s cooks devised many ways to prepare it.
After dinner we walk back to our apartment through the main square and come across a huge gathering of students dressed in their black capes (reminiscent of the Jesuits who ran most schools in Portugal since the mid-1500’s) and standard uniform of neat suitcoats, slacks (for men) and skirts (for women) which removes any notion of social class (since all are dressed alike).
There are a thousand students, at least. This is the night for initiating new students into the various student organizations or societies. The older students corral the recruits into the designated spots for each society; when they arrive practiced cheers and songs erupt at the top of their voices. This continues for a long time as more and more students join the gathering. Eventually, there is a music concert in the square. The gathering feels traditional and choreographed, yet with a spontaneous, youthful, wild energy.
By the way, it is said that J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, spent quite some time in Portugal. The student capes inspired the uniforms she selected for Hogswart students; the initiation is reflected in the sorting hat ceremony, and the founder of Slytherin House takes his name from Salazar (Slytherin), the former dictator of Portugal.
The next day we tour the Palacio da Bolsa, the home of the Associacao Comercial do Porto – the organization of trades that has guided (some say governed) commerce in Porto for the last 180 years.
The palacio was built in 1842 as a Stock Exchange and trial court. The building houses an elaborate Hall of Nations meeting space . . .
. . . the exquisite court room . . .
. . . and the magnificent Arabian Room decorated in Moorish style and used for parties.
Across the Douro is the working town of Gaia, where the great port wine warehouses are located.
On our final day here, we walk over the bridge to see Gaia, and tour a few of these old port houses some of which were founded in the early 1600’s. Of course, we learn about port wine and storage, and taste the wares.
Port Wine
The grapes are grown in the Douro River valley (vale do Douro) about 60 miles east of Porto, mainly in the 17 miles between Regua to Pinhao. The soil is largely acidic schist (shale-like stone) layered in steep terraces on the mountainsides through which the river flows. The schist allows the winter rains to collect deep within the mountain so that the vines have to struggle to reach down (up to 30 feet) to find moisture during the dry summer.
History: In the 1600’s, during a trade war with France, the Brits boycotted French wine and principally sourced wine from their ally Portugal. According to legend, British traders added brandy to the wine to reduce its bite and better preserve it for the sea voyage back to England – and port was created! In 1756 the Marques de Pombol demarcated the region as the only place that port wine could be produced – making it only the third designated wine producing areas in Europe.
The quintas (wineries) learned over time that their port ages much better in the milder climate near Porto than the very hot summers in the Douro Valley. Flat-bottom, 20-foot boats (rabelo) were built to float the wine barrels downstream to Gaia (across from Porto) for warehousing – a three day journey.
Usually the wine was sold to warehouses owned by the Brits who (being business people) used the natural port of Porto to ship the wine to the world when it was ready.
Types: All port is made from the same varieties of native Portuguese red grapes – usually touriga, tinto cao, and tinto barroca. The different types of port are created by the way the wine is aged:
Tawny port: aged in smaller barrels for at least two years (up to 30 years). They develop a nutty, oaky flavor and brown (tawny) color through high contact with the wood. They are usually a blend of several vintages.
Ruby port: aged in large barrels for two to three years. They retain a stronger fruity flavor and keep their red color because they have less contact with the wood. Note: Ruby, Vintage, and Late Bottled Vintage all start as ruby port; the difference is in the grape quality and the aging technique.
Vintage port: The best vintages of ruby port are submitted to the local wine institute for evaluation; if scored highly enough they can be labeled “vintage”. They are bottle-aged for at least 10 years (up to 30 years or more), and develop subtle, complex flavors. Unlike tawny and ruby port which are often blends of different years, vintage is from a single year’s wine.
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) port: Wine from years that don’t score highly enough for “vintage” are aged for around 5 years in large barrels (for less exposure to the wood). They are bottled from a single year and are ready for drinking when bottled; they are smoother and lighter bodied than vintage, but more affordable. (The style was developed after WWII when vintage port became too expensive for many Brits.)
White port: Made from white grapes, these are typically dry-ish and drunk young as an aperitif before dinner (something like sherry).
Douro Valley
The vagabonds are inspired to go east, up-river about 60 miles to the vineyards from which port is made.
The river valley is a steep-sided canyon laboriously terraced with rock walls over the centuries to support farming of grape vines, olive trees, and almond trees.
So steep is most of the land that tractors aren’t practical, and tending the vines and harvests are done by hand. There are just a few small villages, hundreds of vintners and dozens of large quintas (farms), many owned by the big port wine houses – no fancy castles or chateaux. The name of the valley means “river of gold” – perhaps because of the way the sun shines on the water.
The valley is low-energy and rural, plus it rains heavily most of the 3 days we are here. Still, there are many hospitable, modern, and even fancy quintas tasting rooms and production facilities.
And many small, traditional cellars too.
It was fun to explore the valley, learn the history, and taste the wines in their native terroir.
Coimbra
Time to head south to the Algarve; we do so through the Dao River Valley to Coimbra. It is an old, university town with lots of energy and history.
The first king of Portugal, Afonso Henriques, made Coimbra his capital in 1139. The university was established in Coimbra in 1308; it is the third oldest in Europe and is the most respected in the country. Antonio Salazar, later the dictator of Portugal, was a professor of political economy at the university.
The university is situated on a hilltop overlooking the city. The centerpiece is the old courtyard which was once (in the 1400’s) the royal palace. The courtyard also houses the King Joao Library, one of the best baroque libraries in Europe.
Fado is the national music of Portugal. Fado in Lisbon is generally sad songs about lost loves sung by women. But in Coimbra, it is generally romantic music sung by men to court their ladies. We listen to two fado performances; one in the early evening at a bar . . .
. . . the other over dinner at a restaurant. Both performances are wonderful with hearty male voices accompanied by Portuguese guitar (a cross between a bazooka, mandolin, and classical guitar).
Salema
We return to our digs in Salema and find that all is in order. We are really glad to be back where we can obtain good, fresh, affordable fish for dinner several times a week, and settle into a routine of the day-to-day after months of travel.
Our to-do list includes attending to some needed maintenance work around the property, finding firewood for the wood-burner, figuring out how to file various documents with the Portuguese government, learning the ropes for use of the local saude (health center), acquiring some improved kitchen equipment, and getting reacquainted with some local friends.
We also return to our golf club, take some additional lessons, and work on getting our game in shape after a summer of inactivity. And we pair up with some new interesting people from Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, and England.
Of course, we take time to enjoy our little slice of heaven along the Atlantic, too.
In November our kids and grandkids from Boston visit for American Thanksgiving! They are excited to play in the sand, swim in the pool, wander through the nearby villages, enjoy the local cuisine, and watch the sunset from the beach.
Grandson Jack is in perpetual motion. He has tons of energy that he expends running, jumping, bouncing, and talking. He also has a vivid imagination; he invents games and what-if’s, and wants to tell you about them in detail and repeatedly. He also memorizes things that interest him – the current focus is Star Wars – and wants to tell you all about what he knows. He likes to try card games with adults.
Granddaughter Maggie has become very verbal; she speaks clearly and definitively describes her thoughts. She can also be demanding, although when told that what she wants will have to come later, she will usually say OK. She is a happy child and smiles often.
The two of them play nicely together; they take turns, help each other, talk with each other, and enjoy their lives.
In December we decide that the time is right to buy a car in Europe. Renting has been the right approach to date as rents are inexpensive in the winter off-season, and we have been flying to various spots in the summer. But we are planning on being here longer term and rental prices will soar as the spring and summer seasons return. So, we begin the process of visiting various car lots and researching different models. Eventually, we settle on a Peugeot model 2008.
Madeira
In January the Vagabonds take a winter trip to the Portuguese island of Madeira off of the African coast 500 km west of Morocco. Although Mary has been to Africa twice in the past, Rick has not. So, this make 6 of the 7 continents that they have visited – only Antarctica remains.
The island was discovered and settled by Portuguese explorers some 500 years ago. It is very mountainous but blessed with abundant rainfall, rich volcanic soil, and a mild climate thanks to the Gulf Stream. So, all manner of tropical fruits and flora grow to several times their regular size in other regions. In order to facilitate agriculture, the early settlers created small terraced gardens (called poios) all over the island, many braced with 2 meter or more tall stone walls.
They also dug a series of some 200 levadas, or small channels – usually one to two feet wide and one to two feet deep to convey rainwater from the northern slopes to the southern agricultural fields. There are 1500 km of these levadas across Madeira; in addition to their original purpose, the levadas are also now used as hiking paths for walkers.
Trade grew due to the island’s location. Later, in the 1600 – 1700’s, Madeira wine was produced and became popular in England. Since the late 1800’s, tourism has become a major industry.
Several hundred tunnels were dug through the mountains to connect the island villages. The older tunnels were blasted and hand dug with bare rock ceilings. Modern ones vary from about 200 meters to 2 or 3 km in length. The roads are well maintained but narrow and very twisty both along the coast and up into the mountainsides. There are few berms, so cars are often parked in one lane of the road or the other. This creates an obstacle course to thread as vehicles arrive from the opposite direction; a dodge-em, drifting dance up and down the twisty roads.
Our rental house is located along the southern coast with a lovely view of the sea and the countryside. Each evening we sit together in our glass-enclosed patio with a glass of wine watching the sunset over the ocean.
There is a para-glider business on the hill above us; on clear mornings it fills our sky with colorful gliders.
There are, however, low lying clouds around our villa on at least half of the days we are here. These clouds inevitably bring rain, some days very heavy which hampers our activities.
Whenever the weather permits we hike around the island, sometimes with guided groups, other times by ourselves. The lavada trails make for spectacular walks. These trails varies from being non-existent – forcing you to walk on the lavada stone wall – to being 5 or 6 feet wide. The trail-edge generally leads to a steep slope down the mountain. Sometimes this slope is covered with brush or small trees, other times it is just air for dozens of meters.
When the trail is less than about 3 feet wide and the drop-off to the side is steep, there is generally (but not always) a double steel cable railing to keep the hiker from mis-step. In some places (due to the recent rain) there are small waterfall dropping right onto the trail; the passage can be slick and the water cold.
Some lavadas tunnel through the mountainside for 50 to 200 meters. Inside the tunnels are dark, the stone floor often has standing water, and the headroom is low in sections requiring the hiker to walk hunched over.
The trails, though, reward the hiker with views of the mountains and sea that are amazing.
On the far northwestern edge of Madiera we find natural lava pools along the coastline. The surf comes in hard and heavy against the big lava outcrops about 50 meters offshore. The energy of the wave bounces off of the lava creating a reverse wave that heads back toward the sea – only to meet the next rolling wave coming toward the shoreline. The result is a collision that throws up a peak of water sometimes 15 to 20 meters high! We can’t recall ever seeing a “reverse wave” like this anywhere else.
We also spend some time in Funcal, the capital city of Madeira set on the southeastern hills of the island. It is a modern town with upscale stores and facilities. Older sections have narrow, twisty streets with black-and-white cobblestone sidewalks each with unique patterns, as is common throughout Portugal. It is walkable and vibrant with tourist traffic (especially Brits, French, and German). Sidewalk restaurants serve traditional espetadas (cubed beef grilled on a wooden stick), delicious goat stew, and locally caught black scabbard fish.
Funchal has a nice farmers market with, among other treats, a great variety of local bananas.
We learn that that the banana plant grows for 6 months, then sprouts fruit which grows for 6 months before it is harvested. The “mother plant” usually produces one or two side-offshoot plants as well. After harvest, the spent mother plant is cut down and one of the off-shoots is retained to begin the 6-month growing process again. Although Madeira bananas are short so don’t meet the size specifications for sale in the EU, they are exported to mainland Portugal, and non-EU countries with Portuguese populations like Great Britain and Switzerland. We find that they are firm, sweet, and can have flavors of citrus, apple, and pineapple.
Carnaval
Back on the mainland we celebrate Carnaval (aka Mardi Gras) which comes early this year. It is as big a celebration in Portugal as it is in Brazil, and the grandest parade in the Algarve is in Loule.
Along the parade route in Loule there are a lot of people – about 3 or 4 deep – but it is still easy to see, and the people are orderly and polite.
There are 14 big floats in the parade, each with large caricatures of mostly political figures. These are very well designed and constructed giving the parade a polished and professional feel.
Walking in between many of the floats are groups of costumed dancers and / or musicians who are affiliated with the theme of the upcoming float. These include jugglers, unicyclists, gymnasts, people with pizza costumes, and children. The energy level is high and the accompanying music is upbeat.
The pace of the parade is leisurely; it takes two hours to pass us. Interestingly, the floats don’t stop at the end of the circular route, but continue on for a second loop (presumably so that late-comers can see the entire parade). We feel uplifted and happy that we came.
To Be Continued . . .