Our Adventures in Portugal

We knew next to nothing about Portugal before we came so it has been a great history lesson and a very beautiful place to visit. The weather here in October has been great, in the seventies most days. The area is very much like northern California, an arid climate great for growing GRAPES. At the same latitude as San Francisco (38degree’s north) wine production is at the very heart of Portugal. We visited Porto a city in the north of the country that, you guessed it is named after port wines and so is the country. As we found out port wines became very popular in England back in the day, as they would withstand the high temperatures they would be exposed to during shipping due to their fortification with a white wine brandy bringing them up to an alcohol level of 20%. Red wines typicality need temperatures not exceeding 60 degree’s F or they spoil. Portugal summers are hot and the weather is not good for shipping in the winter, so port became king. Lisbon was at it’s height of riches due to the gold and other high value cargo returning to their ports, when in 1755 a huge earthquake destroyed 60% of all it’s buildings, so when we went to Porto it became obvious that Porto had not suffered the same fate, with many more churches, cathedrals and palaces surviving from that guild-ed aged. The opulence in architecture is truly amazing, no money was spared in the building of these structures. We have tried to take photos to share the experience with you our readers but like many of the places we have visited pictures just don’t do it justice, you have to be here to take in the beauty of place. Apart from all the beautiful churches and other buildings we have visited In Lisbon and Porto the stand out for me was visiting the tower of Belem. Built between 1510 to 1530. It sits on the entrance of the harbor and once had a sister tower on the other side so that cannon cross fire would protect the harbor. It was from this place the great wooden ships leaving to discover new worlds were blessed by priests and saluted by the king as they passed by into the unknown Atlantic. The most famous of these being Vasco de Gama, with the discovery of the southern most point of Africa, India and the spice islands. After which the rest of Europe played catch up to get their share of the riches. In Lisbon there is a very large square on the waters edge. In this square much of Portugal history has been played out with massive demonstrations to the public burning at the stake of victims of the inquisition. Yes the inquisition was alive and well here, we will see much more of their place in history when we get to Seville, the home of the Spanish Inquisition. Interesting a sister to the golden gate is built here by the same architect Ok, enough with history lesson. Leiann has been happy tasting different wines here that are dirt cheap. A nice 3 year old for $2 is unbelievable. She is not a big fan of ports but there are many other varieties here and she has found a couple ports she did like. We enjoy walking through the neighborhoods that tourists will never see. Riding on the local buses is always a great way to meet the people in the countries we visit. When out walking one day a young women asked what we were doing here as tourists don’t come to this neighborhood, we told her that’s why we came, to meet people like her. Immersing in the local culture is as much fun for us as is touring all the tourist hot spots. Don’t get me wrong we enjoy visiting all the tourist draws as anyone we just try to avoid the lines, crowds and meeting the folks who live here. Living with our host Raquel has been great. We have had dinner with her family and friends as well as a couple outings. We will miss Raquel and will remember her as our friend in Portugal. It’s the 27th of October the weather is still holding up and we have a couple more days of playing tourist before we go. Then onto a town we recently learned about in Spain called Merida. This was a major Roman city and many Roman structures still survive. I (Dave) love history, ruins and looking at rocks cut by workers a thousand years ago. We will stay there for three nights then off to Seville, Spain where we have rented an apartment right in the center of old town. I can’t imagine what Seville is like. If Porto and Lisbon was rich in the day of discovery, Seville is the port the all the gold stolen from the Aztec and Inca in the Americas. With all the riches looted I suspect even more opulent living occurred there. Stay tuned as we tour more of Europe and then head south following the sun to Morocco.

P.S. don't miss our photo gallery lot's and lot's of pix's for you to look at.