Western Europes forgotten Country

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Most people were in suits whilst I was in my backpacker jacket and cargo pants. But I had my big arse zoom camera so I could get away with being classed as media. Yet after going through about 8 wines from the Douro Region at the wine festival I had to ask the question. I asked the question in that intellectual inquisitive style of voice “I’ve noticed that a lot of these wines are from the Douro region. Where is that exactly?” He answers in the simplest way he knew how. “You know the river that runs just there (he points to the one a block away.) Well that’s called Douro and it stretches to the valleys where the wines are harvested.” So it was clear I am just a dumb tourist. Portugal was the first time in a long time I did absolutely no research prior to or during.

I had only been in the city for just over an hour and was given a free ticket to the Vino (wine) Festival across the street from the hostel. 3 euro for the glass was all I had to pay for as much wine I could muster. So for 4 hours I was swirling, sniffing, appreciating the taste like a pro. Sometimes I did struggle to get my nose over or under the rim of the glass. But apart from that it was the only give away that I didn’t know what I was doing. I even looked at the bottles before choosing my potential swig… That was until that fateful question.

I came into the Portuguese fixture as more of a catch up round from a previous journey. For some reason it always missed a visit. I have heard so many positives about this place and when I heard a friend from a previous journey was going there and had a car for half the trip I thought why not. European flights are so cheap. I was meant to go to Morocco but mentally I needed a bit more western time before tackling Africa again with a clear head.

We met up in Lagos, which is in the Algarve region in the countries south. The area combines surfing beaches with a backdrop of dramatic cliff face. It was just finishing winter and around 14 degrees but was sunny most of the time and the sun had enough bite to sunbake.

One of the more unusual sights is seeing the Portuguese fisherman casting from a great height. It doesn’t matter where you are in the country if there’s coast, they’ll cast from afar. Take the Algarve where the dramatic landscape makes this practise look absurd. These cliffs are around 20-30m maybe more and yet they find the energy to reel in.

I really appreciated coming to Portugal -now - more so than if I came during a previous journey because I have been to many Portuguese influenced nations. Brazil, Mozambique, Goa India and you can tell that they had a set structure on how a city should operate and be built. Take the roads in Lisbon when we tried to drop the car off but the city doesn’t provide a left hand turn. In Brazil numerous times we drove 2kms to turn than 2kms back to go the right way. In Lisbon we drove around the world realising its best to do a right than another right followed by a right again to go straight, the original left. Get it?

When Portugal conquered than developed countries they replicated the buildings like the connecting three storey buildings with limited balcony space. They saw it fit to not acclimatise their design to the environment. I still blame the Portuguese for me getting robbed at knifepoint in Belem Brazil in JP3. As with Belem the towns here all have the marble like cobblestones on the roads and footpaths. It looks good and it suits the climate here but Belem where it is on the equator and has torrential downpours for 2 minutes every 20 minutes. It doesn’t make sense. What this does, is cause the footpath to be very slippery almost unwalkable.

Because of the sunny weather I forgave Portugal for doing it in their native country. But then I went to Sintra, which is slightly elevated. It rained the day I was there and it looked quite lush, the landscape had plenty of fauna introduced from various places around the world (Including Australia represented by the Agathis Robusta, the Bunya pine and the Norfolk Island Pine. Wattle can be seen throughout the country too). Anyhow, because of the rain and green vegetation I left a bit clueless as to why after all these years they haven’t come up with an alternative surface.

Sintra is a world heritage site with many various sites to see in a small space. It has been described as one of the world most stunning towns. That’s due to its various buildings spanning centuries. The Moors (not Moops) built the Castillo dos Mouros in the 8th or 9th century. Palace of Pena is the other main site to see. They are situated on top of the hill, which back in 1493 Christopher Columbus used as a means to find a safe landing in Lisbon during rough seas whilst sailing under Spain’s flag. Apart from the hill, which takes on a forest like look, the main town has narrow streets to weave in and out of.

On the way back from Sintra I caught the train back to Lisbon. It’s about 40 minutes. I read 3 pages of my book and I am asleep. I wake up as the only person on the train. In a daze I exit the train and walk out of the station via the Metro exit. I am now at Restauradores near Rossio and a sea of people are covering every space. There was yelling and chanting but in a slightly musical way. I see placards some with education, others regarding money and can you believe it I am in another protest. What is the world trying to do here?

It seemed a peaceful protest and since I have put myself near the middle I thought I’d better take a few quick photos. Ask someone what the hell is going on here and go to my hostel to pick my bags to leave that day (bus to Seville was pre-booked). Most people were young, some serious some just there supporting but socialising with a cerveja (beer) in their hand.

I asked 3 guys what it was about. One said, “It’s about our lifestyle. It is not good here. We are the first generation, which is earning less than our parents.” Another chimed in “Yes and everything is getting more expensive.” “It’s not going to become another Egypt is it?” I questioned with a grin on my face. “No this is peaceful. It doesn’t mean too much. We just like to protest here in Portugal!” The first guy said enthusiastically as he took another sip of his cerveja. It was more of a little note to the government that the nation is aware. Our brief conversation ended with me shaking his hand and saying “I hope things improve for you in the future.” He replied “I find it very unlikely. But oh well.”

This casual drinking style in Portugal is really infectious. They do it so differently. There is a respect for it that most nations with a British background lack. And it doesn’t matter what form it comes in. The portions of beer are smaller and it’s amazing how good drinking a beer is on a lighter stomach.

Apart from wine in Porto we went on a Port tour across the now known river Douro. There are many different free tours you can go on and we chose Taylor. The tours are not out of this world but you do get to see some humongous barrels in the storage room. A taste test doesn’t do the tour damage either.

The views back to Porto from this side is incredible. Porto as a city looks different to most around the world. Buildings cluster together climbing up the hilly landscape with the Dom Luis Bridge as its main feature crossing the river. 172m long, it is the longest metal arch bridge in the world. It wasn’t until here that I realised that I do take a liking to bridges. I liked Newcastle (UK) for that reason. It was so photogenic. A semi circle bridge like the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Similar blue/grey colour with multiple purpose. The bottom for cars and pedestrians. Than 70odd metres up is its second use- for the metro line and pedestrians. At the top is a great view 24 hours a day.

I realised too that I am a bit of a tile man when it comes to shop fronts. The only things we have in Sydney are the plain tiles in front of corner pubs. This was to compensate for the bar tenders cleaning hours. Years ago there use to be only a few hours drinking time before the bar closed after office hours. So guys use to slam down as much as possible before close, walk outside and throw up just outside the steps. So to make it easier for the barkeep to hose down the vomit they put up tiles on the pub front walls. So from that dreary insight into tile shop fronts you can see why seeing designed tile work on shop fronts fascinated me and than on top of that the churches had them too. I couldn’t get enough!!

But it’s not just that that I liked about Portugal! The gardens even in winter are well kept. I went up to Braga less than an hour north of Porto and visited Bom Jesus. A pilgrimage site that is up on the peak of a hill, which looks down on the city. A 116m , Baroque stairway takes you through the trees and at every turn there is a significant Jesus scene inside a domed chapel depicting the passion of Christ. Towards the end, a dramatic staircase takes you to the top where the Baroque church lay. It’s a tranquil place where many locals use as a running track.

A few days before Braga I managed to find out that Liverpool were drawn against Braga in the R16 clash of the Europa League. The game was played in Braga for the first leg. Prior to the game the fans had drinks in the main square whilst the locals stood back watching the Poms being drunk for entertainment. Like always some drunk Pom has to swim in the square pond. Many locals tried to swap scarves with me, which seems to be a football thing sometimes. But I politely apologised, as it’s my souvenir from standing in The Kop two weeks earlier.

At the end of the game the two supporter groups clap at each other in what seems a pretty lame display. It’s a bit like ‘thank you for coming,’ ‘No, thank you for having me.’ ‘And thanks for not being dickheads and loving the game of football.’ That’s just a bit too emotional for an Australians liking.

I couldn’t get into the game at first because my camera was classed as too big and UEFA regulations say I can’t take it in. Stranded, they provided an alternative to leave it behind the bar. I tried my third world tactics of like ‘this is ridiculous’ and then making a fuss about the possible solution to hopefully get them to say ‘shut up do what you want to do’ but it didn’t work.

I ended up putting it behind the bar getting a guarantee that the barmen will keep it safe. So $4k worth of camera equipment is laying in a temporary bar stand serving non-alcoholic beer whilst I watch a drab game seeing Liverpool lose 1-0 to a pointless penalty. The crowd was poor 12991 in a 30000 stadium that’s two sided with the goal ends having no spectators. The home crowd would chant back and forth with one another. But in the end a bit disappointing.

I was lucky enough to arrive in Carnival so it was an extended holiday for the locals. They start partying really late, which takes a bit to get use to. In Portugal they have the parades in smaller towns and in the cities it’s more of a fancy dress party. Its no holds bar with drag popular for guys, groups of m&m’s, a guy went as a fisherman with rod and all. Imagine carrying that all night and getting that through the crowds? It was a really good insight into the character of the Portuguese. I was dressed up in a fat ladies suit provided by the hostel for one of the nights.

My last days were in Seville Spain. Spain is one of only a few countries that have had the privilege to feature in 3 of my 5 Journeys. And not once have I done the country properly and on the 3rd occasion it was the same old story. This time seeing what I could in atrocious conditions in Seville. The contrast in weather pattern here and Portugal was incredible. Still I did manage to do some Tapas bars, which are more concentrating on the food more so than the drink, unlike the north. Here it’s just some major portions for your tapas. I went over board and did 4 tapas and 3 beers for around 12 euro stretched out over a few bars.

The tapas bars are so classy too. For such a cheap deal I could have been satisfied at 6 euros. The Latinos present food so well it feels like a rewarding experience. And when backpacking Europe, going out to restaurants is such a rare thing. And tapas bars provide that posh feel for a backpacker yet in that casual café environment.

Portugal has made me realise that maybe there is life in Western European travel afterall. I can’t believe I was dumb enough to miss out on it previously. I would like to travel here when its hotter especially the Algarve. But if I had to choose between the two cities I would revert back to the option some locals gave me. There are two beers to choose from and that indicates where you come from either you are Sagres the south (Lisbon) or Super Bock the north (Porto). I said I like Super Bock. Even though that is true, I did prefer Porto over Lisbon. I was speaking to people from Porto when I was given the ultimatum.

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