Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil a... ... read more | Joined | March 9th 2004 | Trips | 0 |
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Idyllic small towns and border crossings
Once again, I love your fabulous historical perspective and analysis, and great photos! In my few months in Portugal, I, too, visited incredibly charming small towns--Obidos, Evora, etc and didn't even bother with the crowded Algarve. The Portuguese prefer English partly as you said, because of that old treaty with England, but also because they were invaded and occupied by Spanish Felipe II-Felipe IV, 400 years ago--memories are long there. Regarding border crossing, it's not so easy for everyone. With the Schengen Treaty, we Americans are supposed to stay in Europe only 3 months, but I'd been there three years with no border problems. However, since Portugal wants to keep out the Spanish Roma and African immigrants, borders can be tighter. I was nabbed in 2004, crossing the border from Salamanca to Porto. Three Roma people and I were taken off the bus. While I was told to get to Lisbon immediately to clear this up, (which of course, I didn't do), the three Romas weren't allowed back on the bus.