Advertisement
Published: February 24th 2024
Dear All
Yay! Greetings from Portugal, country number 93! I arrived here at the beginning of our February half-term for a six-day trip from Porto to Lisbon. Although I count it as a new country now, I actually first set foot in it, quite literally, around 20 years ago. I was visiting a friend in Salamanca in Spain over Christmas, and one day we drove over the border around 75 miles to the west into Portugal for a quick Portuguese coffee. I noticed at the time the dramatic change from cold and dry to mild and humid. And now that I'm again here in the Portuguese winter, the climate feels similar - relatively mild and humid. I didn't count that visit as a proper visit to Portugal though, and thus it still remained one of my five remaining European countries to visit, until now of course. Only four more to go now!
My journey here was actually a rush-y one. Although I aim to arrive at airports at least three hours before a flight, for an easier, less-stressy time there, my flight to Porto from London Gatwick was a little earlier than the ones I usually aim for. I
was darned if I was going to wake up earlier than my usual school day time of 5.50am on the first day of my holiday though, so this time I aimed to arrive just two hours before take-off. After a wet and breezy twenty-minute walk to the train station, I realised I'd forgotten my second mobile phone, which I take with me on my trips to take photos. I ended up taking an Uber back home to fetch it, and then Uber-ing it back to the train station again! I arrived at Gatwick in good time, but I didn't like the rush. Then the plane was delayed for an hour-and-a-quarter due to a technical issue. I had arranged for my AirBnB host to meet me at my accommodation at 2.30pm. If I wasn't able to make this, I'd have had to have waited until 6.30pm! (I'm not sure why they don't get a lock box, and I left this as part of my private feedback message to them). The plane arrived at Porto Airport around an hour late, and then I had an issue with the electronic passport gates as I'd unwittingly got into the wrong line, the European Union
passport line. I was initially chuffed as I was one of the first off the plane and thus got there in good time for my onward train, but then ended up right at the back of the "UK and other passports" line after a security guard noted my mistake when I couldn't get through. I then ran to the airport Metro station to get a train a couple of stops to change to the line to where I was staying, and only just caught this half-hourly train that would get me to meet my host at my accommodation in time. I was so glad to make it - I wouldn't have liked to go another four hours without downing bags, and would also not have liked to have let my host down on my first day there after they had especially left work to meet me. Again, not sure why they don't get a lock box like everyone else has...!
In the end, the accommodation was lovely, and I had a whole three-bedroomed flat to myself. I was staying in a town to the north of Porto called Póvoa de Varzim, at the end of one of Porto's Metro
lines. I always like to stay in authentic places outside of tourist areas when I travel, and this place was just that. It was in a typical Portuguese apartment building, and had a fantastic window-enclosed balcony at the back with an awesome view over lots of backyards, with washing hanging out, an orange tree, and even a few cockerels crowing in the morning! The town is also on Portugal's lengthy western coastline, facing the wild Atlantic Ocean, which I really wanted to see too. After downing bags and having a nice rest, I was ready to explore.
I first headed a short walk to the very windy and wild Portuguese Atlantic coast. I was initially hoping to fit in a visit to Nazaré during this trip, to glimpse its world-famous huge waves, but that didn't turn out possible this time. However, I was able to marvel at the wild wild ocean from Póvoa instead, and it was absolutely mesmerising. I'd left England wet and windy, and it was even wetter and windier there. The waves were crazy, the roughest I've ever seen on a beach. I'd say they were around three metres high or so, though they can apparently
reach up to 25 metres high at Nazaré! This was definitely not a sea you would want to get into, and walking along the beach you really had to watch out for the rogue waves which were actually quite frequent. I loved it!
I then headed past the town's casino and its fort, on my way in fact back to the Metro station again. I hadn't planned it and previously knew nothing about it, but on the way there the train passed a remarkable stone aqueduct, heading to some regal-looking buildings on a hilltop in the far distance. This was in the town of Vila do Conde, one of the oldest settlements apparently in northern Portugal, set on the rugged banks of the fast-flowing Ave River as it empties into the ocean. I love discovering new, out-of-the-way places on my travels, and this place felt very much that. A short distance from the Metro station, I got talking to a friendly guy who owned a nearby gym, who recommended I walk along the aqueduct to the hilltop at the end for impressive views over town. I took him up on his advice, noting how friendly people seemed to have
been so far. The Portuguese thus far seemed much more personable than their rather proud Iberian neighbours in Spain. I also hadn't realised before my trip planning, that the British-Portuguese alliance is ancient, and the oldest alliance in the world dating back to 1386 and still existing today! I kind of feel that the Portuguese seem a cross between the swarthy Spaniards and the mild-mannered Brits. Their post boxes and telephone boxes are suspiciously red and British-looking. And being half-English half-Spanish myself, I felt it could be a place I'd feel right at home - this turned out to be very true, I loved Portugal!
So I began my walk along the aqueduct, called the Aqueduto de Santa Clara, dating back to the 17th century and stretching two-and-a-half miles over 999 arches making it the second-largest in the country. It was just brilliant, passing by cobbled alleyways, small farms and farmhouses, and a beautiful cemetery right before arriving at the Church and Convent of St Francis and the Church and Monastery of St Clare at the top. I just arrived in time before closing time for both the cemetery, and then the attached St Francis Church next to the
City Hall
Póvoa de Varzimclosed Convent. There was also and indeed a wonderful view to be had up there over the town of Vila do Conde, the Ave River and the ocean below. Just beautiful! While the weather thus far was windy and a little rainy, up on the hill the heavens really opened with even stronger winds. A chap I met the next day in Porto told me how his British Airways flight from London to Porto was diverted to Sevilla in Spain for four hours due to this squally weather - I was glad I had been on the earlier EasyJet flight! I high-tailed it back to the nearest Metro station to head back to Póvoa, stock up on my self-catering supplies for my time there, and call it an evening on this my first, and really quite amazing, day in Portugal. This introduction was just great, and I was very excited to be there, looking forward to exploring more the next day.
My first full day on this trip turned out to be just great. On the whole, I managed to stay fairly dry despite a few rainy interludes, one of them being pretty intense. I had swapped wet, windy
and cold England, for wet, windy and mild Portugal - at least it was mild! I took the Metro train into town, a fair journey an hour away, where I headed first to Porto Campanha train station to buy my onward train ticket heading to Coimbra the next morning, before beginning my exploration proper of this gritty yet enticing city. I took the Metro from there again to São Bento Train Station to wonder in awe at its gorgeous azulejo tiling, something which I'd already fallen in love with despite only being in the country for a day. Azulejos are blue-coloured ceramic tiles whose origins date back to the Moorish influence in 13th century Iberia. They were originally designed to keep houses cool in the summer, but they later became an important aspect of both Portuguese and Spanish architecture, though I've only really noticed it myself in the former. They have become iconic features of Portuguese streets, houses and churches, and can be found everywhere in the country. The azulejos of São Bento Train Station have become legendary since their creation in 1904, and are a popular tourist sight in the city. There are around 20,000 of the tiles in
total, dominating the station's main concourse, showing both important scenes of Portuguese history as well as typical features of rural Portuguese life.
After taking a few snaps, I headed uphill to the nearby Igreja Paroquial de Santo Ildefonso, whose facade is also beautifully adorned with these gorgeous azulejos. From here I headed on to the grand Avenida dos Aliados boulevard, headed by Porto's rather grand City Hall. I stopped off at a McDonald's for lunch, just as the heavens opened with one single clap of thunder and flash of lightning, before the sun came out and dried everything up again. Fuelled with energy, I climbed the nearby Torre dos Ciegos for awesome, and seriously windy, 360 degree views all around the city, the Douro River and Atlantic Ocean beyond. From here I headed down lovely pedestrianised Rua das Flores and a few other delightful cobbled streets, past countless little eateries and a fado singer - fado is mournful, melancholic singing that dates back to the 1820s, and is another important aspect of Portuguese culture. I really don't like it to be honest, and just feel the singer should cheer themselves up a bit! I walked past the beautiful Palácio
da Bolsa, and past the birth house of famous Portuguese sailor Henry the Navigator (1394 - 1460), widely regarded as the initiator of both Portugal's and also the rest of Europe's legendary "Age of Discovery", from the 15th to the 17th centuries. I certainly feel I would have had some form of involvement in this had I lived during this time period! My walk then took me to the banks of the mighty Douro River itself, upon which Porto was founded in 1123. At the time the city was the capital of the country, then called Portucalense, whose name gave rise to the country's name as we know it today. I wonder myself whether we get the word "port" as in a place to harbour ships from Porto, or whether it was the other way round. Still today, the city is the most important city and port of northern Portugal.
From the bank of the Douro River, stunning views can be had of the city's most famous landmark, the Ponte Luis I bridge, designed by Gustav Eiffel - indeed, of Eiffel Tower fame, you can see the likeness! The striking bridge was built in the late 19th century, spans
395m over the river below at a height of 45m, and carries a train line above, a road below, and footpaths alongside both. It really is an impressive structure, and I could have gazed at it for hours. I then climbed some seriously steep steps up towards the Sė do Porto Cathedral, for my last sight on the city's northern river bank. It was there that I got talking to a fellow British teacher also in Portugal for the February half-term, Robert from South Wales. The next stop on my itinerary was Taylor's Port Wine Cellar on the other side of the Douro, and I asked if Robert would like to join me, which he did. It was actually nice to do this place with a bit of company, and we got along well, especially after a couple of taster glasses of port at the end!
The Wine Cellar tour was just brilliant, and I really enjoyed it. I learned so much about the wine- and port-making process. While initially planning this trip, I was looking into the potential of a trip up the Douro River to see its legendary port-producing vineyards, either by river or by train. Unfortunately
Beach
Póvoa de Varzim with this being the winter time, not much was available, but I felt this visit to Taylor's was able to instead hit the spot for me. And after all, no visit to Porto could be complete without doing something in relation to its most famous export, port wine. It was probably the best alcohol-related visit I've done, after a whisky tour in Scotland, the Guinness tour in Dublin, and a wine tour in the Cape region of South Africa. Not only were the cellars and their huge barrels and vats just awesome to see, the self-guided audio tour informed you of all you ever needed to know about the port-producing process, from the Douro Valley to vineyards, from grapes to wine-treading! Yes indeed, port wine is still produced from the process of lines of people with their trousers rolled up, marching in unison to a drum beat up and down huge grape vats, before music starts to play and they then do a free-for-all dance up and down it. It looked good fun, although tiring as they do it for several hours! I was certainly ready for and appreciative of the port-tasting afterwards, in which we got to try two
Beach
Póvoa de Varzim of their varieties - chip dry and ruby red. We both agreed the ruby red was much nicer.
Although we really didn't have that much, it went merrily to my head, and the walk back to the Douro River and back again along the Ponte Luis I bridge, this time all beautifully lit up as evening had set in, was jolly. Here we parted ways as Robert headed back to his accommodation in the city centre, and I took a bus and Metro back to my cosy apartment once more in lovely, authentic and tourist-free Póvoa de Varzim.
I had had a really great start on this Portuguese adventure thus far, and was very much looking forward to exploring more of the country the next day, as I was going to train it to Coimbra for the day, before bussing it to Fátima for the evening.
I will of course write up about this in my next blog entry. Until then, thanks for reading, and all the best for now! 😊
Alex
Advertisement
Tot: 0.075s; Tpl: 0.027s; cc: 13; qc: 34; dbt: 0.0226s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
John Miranda
John & Miranda
Portugal
Our travel paths cross again .... we did a Lisbon - Coimbra - Porto trip, as part of following the football in Euro 2004.