by Craig
Portugal - what an interesting place. I can't say that I had a strong understanding of the country or the culture before we arrived here. My knowledge was limited to the cities of Port (home to the lovely, sweet fortified wine of the same name) and Lisbon - the large capital city and of course, the beaches of the Algarve. While we only saw a small portion of the country I will attempt to summarize my thoughts.
Upon first crossing the border between Spain and Portugal the differences were initially subtle but it didn't take long to realize we were indeed in a different country. While the landscape remained the same - rolling and very rocky agricultural fields, it was clear that the methods by which they are worked are quite different. In Spain, the fields were larger, more cleared and most had been recently cultivated or were already starting to come up in the first crop of the season. It didn't necessarily look like industrial farming but there had definitely been tractors and other machinery involved. Conversely, the fields in Portugal seemed smaller, less formalized in their layout and somehow, more rustic. When I saw the first highway onramp sign that said that horse and buggies were not permitted (should have stopped and snapped a pic but didn’t), it became clear that the rural areas of Portugal were perhaps working in a different decade than other areas of the EU.
We ended up staying on the coast in the area around Peniche- about 45 minutes North of Lisbon. In the countryside around our rental, we saw many fields being tended by hand. In many ways, it was really refreshing to see this connection between the people and their land, even if it is out of necessity. It appeared that the wealthy farmers own a horse but very few can afford a tractor. As such, the residents are efficient with the resources they do possess. Every square inch of arable land is used to grow something. The smallest patch or sliver of land between two roads or houses is being used to grow some sort of produce – all lovingly tended it would seem.
After chatting with some locals who spoke English and having a better understanding of the Portugese economic climate, it became clear that this country has really struggled since 2008. Unemployment has been between 14-18% and many more are severely under-employed. A practical manifestation of low employment levels and low disposable income is the fact that locals do not use the toll highways. It took us a little while to figure this out. It slowly dawned on us why we felt so odd travelling through Portugal – we literally had a 4-lane highway to ourselves. I had been driving down this beautiful, smooth 120km/hr limit highway for a while when I realized it had been at least 30 minutes since I had seen another vehicle – going either direction! Imagine driving down the TransCanada on a sunny Tuesday afternoon and not seeing a single car. At first I thought – hmm – is today some sort of Stat Holiday? - No. Is today Sunday? No. Is this highway actually closed and I blindly drove past a sign in Spanish back a ways saying that the big bridge up ahead is out (ala Dukes of Hazard)? I hope not. Then it just started feeling creepy – like was there some sort of recent apocalypse that I was unaware of? Yikes! Where the heck is everyone!?!? Ah there – finally up ahead – a little Renault coming the other direction – maybe they were the only survivors.
Upon first crossing the border between Spain and Portugal the differences were initially subtle but it didn't take long to realize we were indeed in a different country. While the landscape remained the same - rolling and very rocky agricultural fields, it was clear that the methods by which they are worked are quite different. In Spain, the fields were larger, more cleared and most had been recently cultivated or were already starting to come up in the first crop of the season. It didn't necessarily look like industrial farming but there had definitely been tractors and other machinery involved. Conversely, the fields in Portugal seemed smaller, less formalized in their layout and somehow, more rustic. When I saw the first highway onramp sign that said that horse and buggies were not permitted (should have stopped and snapped a pic but didn’t), it became clear that the rural areas of Portugal were perhaps working in a different decade than other areas of the EU.
We ended up staying on the coast in the area around Peniche- about 45 minutes North of Lisbon. In the countryside around our rental, we saw many fields being tended by hand. In many ways, it was really refreshing to see this connection between the people and their land, even if it is out of necessity. It appeared that the wealthy farmers own a horse but very few can afford a tractor. As such, the residents are efficient with the resources they do possess. Every square inch of arable land is used to grow something. The smallest patch or sliver of land between two roads or houses is being used to grow some sort of produce – all lovingly tended it would seem.
After chatting with some locals who spoke English and having a better understanding of the Portugese economic climate, it became clear that this country has really struggled since 2008. Unemployment has been between 14-18% and many more are severely under-employed. A practical manifestation of low employment levels and low disposable income is the fact that locals do not use the toll highways. It took us a little while to figure this out. It slowly dawned on us why we felt so odd travelling through Portugal – we literally had a 4-lane highway to ourselves. I had been driving down this beautiful, smooth 120km/hr limit highway for a while when I realized it had been at least 30 minutes since I had seen another vehicle – going either direction! Imagine driving down the TransCanada on a sunny Tuesday afternoon and not seeing a single car. At first I thought – hmm – is today some sort of Stat Holiday? - No. Is today Sunday? No. Is this highway actually closed and I blindly drove past a sign in Spanish back a ways saying that the big bridge up ahead is out (ala Dukes of Hazard)? I hope not. Then it just started feeling creepy – like was there some sort of recent apocalypse that I was unaware of? Yikes! Where the heck is everyone!?!? Ah there – finally up ahead – a little Renault coming the other direction – maybe they were the only survivors.
Funny the things that start going through your mind. Turns out, there was nothing sinister happening – it is just that no one can afford to drive on the toll highways - even though they are only a couple of Euros to get somewhere in half the time. As a matter of fact, there was very little traffic on the secondary roads too. Maybe people just can’t afford gas / cars period. Which ties back into why the fields are cultivated by man / beast. Interestingly, the roads were not the only parts of Portugal that seemed sparsely utilized. The small towns that we passed through were virtually deserted. While the weather wasn’t the best while we were in this region and many people many have been staying indoors, we were continually asking ourselves - again – ‘where the heck is everyone?’ Adding to this feeling of desertion were the long lines of condo developments strung along the coastline. While some looked like they may just be closed and buttoned up tight for the season, it was clear that others have been abandoned – either partway through their lives or perhaps before they were even finished being built. Apparently, there are a significant number of large-scale developments in both Spain and Portugal that were in the midst of being built when the economy took a real turn in 2008. They have been mothballed ever since which is quite sad to see. In my online search for more information on this topic I came across an interesting blog on the more general topic of abandoned places in Portugal:
https://urbexzone.wordpress.com/category/portugal/
https://urbexzone.wordpress.com/category/portugal/
The next day we went exploring 30 minutes inland to a very interesting hilltop medieval village called Obidos. This was the first walled village and castle that we have really been able to explore and the kids absolutely loved it! We walked along the ramparts and got a great view looking down into the steep, narrow streets in the village below with nary a handrail in sight. Something that would never happen in N. America! The castle portion of Obidos has also been converted to a high-end hotel called a Pousada which is the Portugese version of a Parador (see our night in a castle post – coming up) and was our first exposure to how cool these castle conversions can be. An interesting fact about Obidos is that it was the traditional wedding gift given to all Portugese Queens from 1148 until 1883. This left me wondering exactly how one gift wraps a medieval town?
Well, enough of all that. Despite mixed weather during our time on the coast, we were able to do some exploring and see some cool stuff. Turns out, Peniche is home to one of Europe’s most famous surf breaks: the appropriately named “SUPERTUBOS”! When I met some Israeli surfers who were staying at the same place we were and I showed some interest in which break they were surfing, they instantly invited me to come along the next morning and offered me a spare board and wetsuit. Wow – nice guys! I thought, this was going to be great and was downstairs waiting for them first thing the next day - as arranged. Then we got to the beach and I saw this:
Not massive but a really fast beach break with tons of power closing out in some pretty shallow water. It reminded me a lot of when we were at Pipeline on the N. Shore of Oahu a number of years ago. It didn’t take me too long watching these guys and talking to their buddy who was sitting out because he dislocated his shoulder 2 days earlier in the surf to decide that I had no business going in there. Thanks for the offer though!!
Another day trip that we did was an hour south down to the capital city of Lisbon. We finally figured out where all the people in Portugal are - they are in Lisbon! A typical bustling, lively European city with plenty of great shops and restaurants. The locals are primarily very well dressed and seem to be quite fashion conscious - young and old. We wandered around the older part of the city for the whole day, eventually making our way up to the hilltop castle called Castelo de São Jorge. This is a Moorish castle occupying a commanding hilltop overlooking the historic centre of the city and the mouth of the Targus River.
OK - onto the local dishes.
As you would expect, being on the coast, seafood is everywhere. The scallops and squid and fish that we tried were all very fresh and deliciously prepared. One local specialty is called Bacalhau - which is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context - dried and salted cod. I tried it at a local restaurant and it was crazy salty! The salting is part of the curing process and then when they want to cook it, they soak it in water for 2-3 days to re-hydrate it and get most of the salt out. It tasted like mine needed another couple of days in the water.
Pastéis de Belém - These delicious flaky custard tartlets have been made and served warm with cinnamon and icing sugar sprinkled over them for more than a century at the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém in Lisbon. They can now be found throughout Portugal and are rather tasty!
Thanks for sticking with me for what somehow turned into a rather long blog - I guess that is what you get when you try to sum up your impressions of an entire nation.
As you would expect, being on the coast, seafood is everywhere. The scallops and squid and fish that we tried were all very fresh and deliciously prepared. One local specialty is called Bacalhau - which is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context - dried and salted cod. I tried it at a local restaurant and it was crazy salty! The salting is part of the curing process and then when they want to cook it, they soak it in water for 2-3 days to re-hydrate it and get most of the salt out. It tasted like mine needed another couple of days in the water.
Pastéis de Belém - These delicious flaky custard tartlets have been made and served warm with cinnamon and icing sugar sprinkled over them for more than a century at the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém in Lisbon. They can now be found throughout Portugal and are rather tasty!
Thanks for sticking with me for what somehow turned into a rather long blog - I guess that is what you get when you try to sum up your impressions of an entire nation.