Portugal Recap

None of us had been to Portugal until this trip. I know many friends who have been there before but did not honestly give a lot of attention to visiting Portugal until we were planning this trip.

Coming off a more typical working lifestyle leaving Canada, arriving in Portugal first feels like you are just coming into “vacation mode” at first. You decompress, you do the usual “tourist” things you come across, but then you begin to consider “what is next” as you experience and immerse yourself in the local culture.

Once we got our bearings, Tabuado just felt like this quiet, sleepy place where we could find a daily routine on those quiet days when we had no plans, or easily walk or taxi into the nearby towns when we wanted to explore. As mentioned in other posts, just going to the coffee shop/bakery was great on practically any day. Even though we did not speak the language, the locals were still very helpful for a quick hello or to help out when needed (also, thank you Google Translate).

On the two days that we took the train to Porto, we similarly had an amazing experience, but in a different way. The big cities have the more impressive landmarks, typically that big cathedral and in the case of Porto, the amazing historic bridge, Ponte Luis I. However, the big cities are also often too touristy for us and Porto was no exception – inflated prices, cheap knock-off tourist trinkets, too crowded, etc. Nonetheless, we are happy and grateful for the experiences.

Portugal is also blessed with extraordinary and unspoiled natural terrain. From our observations and discussions with locals (I’m sure there is more to it), Portugal is a generally clean country and has less industry, a great climate, food, agriculture, and overall amazing people! From our paddleboarding adventure to our tour through the Douro Valley, there is something special about this place that just hits right.

Aside from our amazing adventures as a family, my solo day also sticks out in my memory when I went to Madrid and back in 14 hours to get our rental vehicle. While I personally love Spain (we are here as I write this), leaving Madrid to road trip to Tabuado was an enjoyable 5.5-hour drive. While obviously very different as well, the best thing I can describe it as is travelling west from Alberta to British Columbia in Canada. West of Madrid, the countryside seemed very much like the cattle ranches and semi-arid climate east of Calgary. Crossing over into Portugal is a bridge over a very distinct valley, followed by majestic mountains, valleys, and tunnels.

Before moving on, we wish to share some Portugal trivia we have learned during our time here:

• Today, the waters of the Douro Valley are stable and controlled by five dams. However, before the dams were constructed over the past century, the waters of the Douro varied greatly and could be cause for drought or flood. In many places along the valley, there still exists red and white “measuring sticks” to indicate water levels.
• The traditional boats that carried grapes from the vineyards to Porto would typically take 4-5 days to travel downstream to Porto to deliver them, whereas, the upstream journey would take 4-5 weeks in contrast!
• The many terraced vineyards across Portugal were originally introduced by the Romans, which allowed the locals to reliably produce wine. These structures better retain water naturally and provide steady moisture for growing during the dry summer periods of the year.
• Vinho Verde is a type of wine and wine region where we were located in Northern Portugal. Compared to modern techniques of rows of horizontal vines, traditional vines in this region were more vertical or growing up trees in the vicinity of a farmer’s yard, growing other crops as well. The consequence of this method was that the grapes were often “under-ripe” meaning “green wine”(literally, “vinho verde” in Portuguese). However, modern vinho verde can be white, rose, or red and typically has a slightly carbonated taste to it, similar to a sparking wine.
• During the Spanish Inquisition period, Portugal’s Jews went to great lengths to hide their religion. In the town called Mirandela (where we visited), the Portuguese would hang preserved pork sausages from their rafters to keep them fed through winter, but Jews don’t typically eat pork! So, they had to get creative lest they be turned in by their neighbours to the authorities. They turned to food and invented Alheira de Mirandela, which they made using kosher chicken and breadcrumbs, enclosed in a casing, and smoked in a similar manner to pork. They hung this on their rafters and avoided suspicion.
• Portugal had a dictatorship until 1974 (Estado Novo) and many believe that the economic growth here was stunted during that period. However, by the 1980s, while many of the industrialized countries were in a recession, Portugal was having more of a renaissance economic period of development.
• In rural areas, in particular, there are shrines everywhere to Our Lady of Fátima (we saw many of these). These shrines are meticulously cared for by locals and apparently, on May 13 of each year, you can find community gatherings at the shrines for prayers to Our Lady. This corresponds to the events of Fátima and the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• The Portuguese have a history of exploration and colonization, including in many Asian counties such as Japan. There is a claim that the Portuguese “obrigado” for “thank you” inspired the Japanese word “arigatou” to express thanks.

Our five weeks in Portugal were a great introduction to this country and while we say goodbye for now, we will definitely return in the future to explore more!