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Portugal and Islands - 2019

December 2018 - April 2019
A 96-day adventure by Ladyandtramp Read more
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  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Walking Within Lagos' Old City Walls

    January 8, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    Last Fall, we booked a room at the Lagos Uptown BnB after reading some good reviews about its good location, cleanliness, wifi, a great breakfast on a rooftop terrace, a reasonable price and its wonderful smiling host, Fernando. Well, we have enjoyed our stay here so much, that we have extended it by 3 days. Donna is only a 4 minute drive away. Perfect!

    Due to renting a car from a Lagos company, Luzcar, we have been able to explore several lovely places with ease, and Google Maps has been very helpful. We had picked it up from the airport in Faro and will return it here in Lagos before our short stay in Faro.

    Today, we decided to walk through the historic centre of Lagos. The walls and churches can be seen from our terrace at the BnB, but the winding narrow streets are hidden from our view.

    Lagos’ history is strongly linked to Henry the Navigator who lived from 1394-1460. The town was an important naval center, a boatbuilding hub that supplied the caravels that started Portugal's ‘golden Age of Discovery’ in the 15th century. We visited Henry's fabled school of navigation a few days ago, that was based at Sagres, 40 kilometers west of here.

    Disaster struck on November 1, 1755, with a huge earthquake whose epicentre was reported to have been 200km southwest of the country and registered 9 on the Richter Scale. The coastal areas of the Algarve were devastated by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Fernando told us that it wasn’t the earthquake that did all the damage. It was the tsunami. Many people ran from the city when the earthquake struck and were killed on the beach when the wave came just a short time afterwards.

    The old city of Lagos is surrounded by a historic stone wall that is about 1.5 km long. Donna drove here and we entered, from the back of town, through an arched entry hole in the wall. From there we wandered around the winding narrow back streets while checking out the old architecture and entering some very nice little shops.

    In the Gil Eannes Plaza, we were able to get a little information about Lagos in the tourist office. The lady mentioned that there was a free exhibit next door outlining the history of the thousands of Christians who were taken hostage by privateers (pirates protected by the government) who made a profit from the ransoms. The exhibit explained the role that a religious group, The Order of the Most Holy Trinity, had, in going on expeditions to negotiate a fair price, depending on social status and jobs, to free the captives.

    In the plaza, there is a very unusual statue of King Sebastian, the 16th-century boy-king (he became king at the age of three). A very misguided attack on Morocco in 1578 resulted in the 24-year-old king’s death, along with 8000 of his troops, including most of the male line of the Portuguese royal family. This ultimately resulted in Portugal losing its independence to Spain for 60 years. A myth developed around Sebastian based on an idea that he wasn’t really dead and would one day return to rule Portugal. The statue sculpted in the early 1970s, looks like a cross between a spaceman and a tartar. Very odd.

    In the old town, there is the site of Europe's first slave market opened in 1444, selling slaves that were captured in, and transported from Africa. The white building with arches that houses a museum was built in 1691 and served as a customs office. Abandoned for many years, the small gallery now hosts a permanent exhibition explaining Portugal's shameful trade in human cargo, and the role that Lagos played. Displays included confiscated personal possessions and a skeleton of one of the poor individuals, unearthed nearby.

    We went into two very old churches. The second church, Santo Antonio, blew us away! We were not allowed to take pictured of its amazing interior but we found a postcard of the inside and took a photo of that. This small church is a National Monument. There is not a spot in that church that hasn’t been carved, painted, or tiled. Lots of oohs and aaahs here! There were several interesting stories of the ministry of St. Anthony in plaques around the inside, often accompanying paintings of the story. All the carvings were gilded so gold was everywhere. What a place!    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Algarve's highest point, Foia, Monchique

    January 9, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Today started out as a cloudless day, so Fernando suggested that it would be a great day to plan a day trip to the highest mountain in the Algarve, Foia. It is 902 m high and part of the Serra de Monchique range. The views from the top are supposed to be spectacular. Supposedly on a clear day you can see Cape St. Vincent and the Atlantic Ocean in the west, Faro in the east, and the Serra da Arrabida, near Lisbon, to the north.

    We picked up a Donna at 10 and within a few minutes, we were out of Lagos and into the rolling countryside filled with orange trees and farms.

    Soon we saw forests of eucalyptus and pine trees. Eucalyptus was brought to Portugal from Australia in the 1800s. It is a fast growing and invasive tree that has replaced many of the oak trees that originally dominated this area. The Portuguese use eucalyptus to produce pulp and paper as the trees can be harvested in a short period of time.

    Forest fires love this tree. The oil produced by the trees, combined with the litter created by the falling bark makes eucalyptus forests a serious fire hazard. In August of last year, a huge fire started in the mountains and couldn’t be controlled. We saw evidence of its path almost everywhere we went on this trip, as well as new eucalyptus trees starting to grow from the base of their parent trees.

    We continued on a road past a picturesque dam to the small village of Marmelite. Marmelete is a main supplier of cork, as well as a producer of Black pork. We noticed that there were many beehives in the hills around the town and little stores sold jars of honey and wax.

    We drove along a valley, where old-looking agricultural terraces could be seen, and animals were grazing. We passed a huge marble quarry with giant blocks of rock and arrived in the town of Monchique.

    To get to the top of Mount Foia, we had to follow a curvy road with several scenic lookouts. Chestnut trees, maritime pines and cork oak trees lined the road as we continued our way up to the top.

    Finally, we reached the summit and what a view we had. A 360 degree beautiful vista, and clean air. There are various military communication installations making some of the area around the summit of Fóia 'out of bounds' but the area is quite large and we were able to explore the summit a bit. Chris and I just had to climb a big rock pile there, while Donna took a few photos.

    A womens’ handicraft co-op was open and it was full of beautiful Portuguese treasures. It is too bad that packing light doesn’t allow for any big purchases. The crafts were lovely.

    Once we had our fill of being at the top we headed back down to a cliff side restaurant that Fernando had recommended, Luar da Foia, where we ate a house specialty of homemade grilled black pork and mashed potatoes with Super Bock beer while admiring the fantastic views over the mountains.

    Once we ate, we decided to head to the fortress town of Silves but a good opportunity presented itself in the form of a surprise park just outside of Monchique - Parque da Mina.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Parque da Mina, Mine Park

    January 9, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    I am grumbling somewhat as I write this, as I have already written and published a footprint about the lovely mine park and after pushing the wrong button, lost everything that I had written! Oh well, I won’t be pushing any new bottoms on the screen this time!

    After driving to the top of Mount Foia and having a lovely lunch in Monchique, we felt that we still had time to drive the short distance to the former capital of the Algarve called Silves, but ... on the way, in the Valley of the Bull, we saw a sign for Parque da Mina inviting us in. It piqued our curiosity so we turned in and followed the road a short distance to a parking lot. We had been tempted. Needless to say, we never made it to Silves!

    We weren’t sure what lay ahead but at the end of a long path under an arbor, we were pleasantly surprised to see a lovely stone mansion, that turned out to be 300 years old. It felt a little like we had travelled back in time and could see how a well-to-do, land-owning family had lived in this area of Portugal so many years ago.

    As we rounded a corner of the careful maintained house, we saw that the front door of the house was open (yay), and we walked in. What a treasure!

    The house was packed full of practical and not so practical artifacts used in daily life. There were some extensive and eclectic collections of clocks, plates and even smoking pipes that reflected the family’s interests. Each room was a wonder.

    The first room we went into was an office filled with old writing tools. We noticed a colorful painting that, upon closer inspection turned out to be a grisly little scene of hunting dogs bringing down a wild boar. The master was there with his knife at the ready, lunging in for the kill. Quite a painting for an office!

    The next room was probably our favourite. There was just so much to see in it! This must have been a living room where the family spent most of their time. We saw musical instruments and games and an old Vitrola near the fireplace. But this is where we also saw several stuffed animals and mounted animal heads on the walls. Two polar bear pelts were on the floor and a stuffed two headed goat was standing nearby. There were two large turtle shells that were wonderfully carved and the backbones of something. Obviously the family had enjoyed the good life and someone had travelled a lot.

    Going down a few winding stairs, we went into a big and dark ‘cellar’. There were several exhibits showcasing the different industries that would have been necessary to support the household - agricultural tools, woodworking tools, a distillery for making ‘moonshine’, tools for making shoes and boots, horse bridles and saddles, a little general store, and so on. We also saw old photos showing how the local liqueur/brandy, medronho, was made from the fermented berries of the strawberry tree which grows on the property. The place was really full of old items.

    I guess as one of the wealthiest and largest properties in the Monchique region, Parque da Mina had to have everything to make themselves. self sufficient. The house was surrounded by agricultural fields, forests and a working mine that produced iron-ore and copper so they needed a lot of specialized things.

    Going upstairs, we peeked into a room where the sewing machines and flat irons stood at the ready and read on a plaque that all families of means employed their own personal seamstresses.

    We passed by the sitting room where the descendants may have sipped some tea and learned the news of the day from a vintage radio perched upon the side table. The bedrooms were tastefully decorated and, since Portugal is a traditional Catholic country, the saints protected and watched over the family while they slumbered.

    There was even more but I won’t go into everything. It was an amazing house and well kept up. Apparently, there are still some family members living in the town.

    We went outside and a gentleman approached us and invited us to try some of the estate’s medrohno (moonshine) with an alcohol content of 48%! We slipped our samples of that fire water and he generously offered us more. (Hic)

    From there, we followed a trail to the mine and through an aviary and a petting zoo. We had an enjoyable afternoon trying to imagine how people had lived so long ago in such isolation.

    Sometimes it’s more fun to take a detour to explore a place you’ve never heard of rather than stick to the original plan and, for us, this turned out to be one of those times. It’s rare to see a historic home so meticulously maintained and to find so many authentic and vintage collections displayed in each room.

    Silves will have to be on another day, but we have time.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Medronho, Firewater of the Algarve

    January 9, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    It seems that every country that we have visited, has their own brand of homemade moonshine, or firewater.

    Portugal has Aguardente de Medronhos, or simply Medronho.

    In the mountains around Monchique, there grows a wild tree, Arbutus Unedo or the Strawberry tree, that produces a small fruit that looks more than a small lychee fruit than a strawberry. Local farmers pick the innocent-looking berries of the trees growing on their land and distil their own brandy at home. Producing up to 30 litres for their own use is allowed.

    From October to December, people pick 7 - 10 kilos of ripe, red-orange berries to make one litre of brandy. The berries are put into a barrel and stays there to ferment for 2 to 3 months.

    Distillation is best done in the traditional way - over a low fire and by using a copper alambique as a distillation device. Afterwards, the liquid is tested by rubbing some of it on your hands. It’s a good Medronho if you can smell the fruit after the alcohol has evaporated.


    The people call this strong spirit, ‘firewater’. This makes sense: ‘água ardente’ is Portuguese for ‘burning water’ and the liquid, with an alcohol content which varies between 40 and 50%, burns like heck when we swallowed it.

    Medronho is Portugal’s best-known fruit brandy. Traditionally, farmers in rural Portuguese areas would start the day with a shot of Medronho in order to ‘wake their spirits’.

    Because of their high pectine content, Medronho berries are also used to make jams and preserves. Rich in antioxidants, they’re viewed as good for your health. In folk medicine, the leaves are used as well; it’s believed that kidney and bladder problems could be treated by drinking tea made of Medronho leaves.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    A Walk Towards Luz & A Traditional Meal

    January 10, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    More walking uphill? Sure, if it means a beautiful view from the top of the cliffs between Donna’s resort and a town called Luz.

    We met around 10:30 a.m. and leisurely walked up a steep hill overlooking the ocean, to see what was on the other side of that big hill. Well, all the views of the ocean and surrounding countryside were lovely and on the other side of the hill, there were lots of white condos on a pretty beach, close to the small fishing village of Luz. Retired and vacationing Brits have moved into this area, we were told.

    We walked back down, hopped into the car and went to dine in an authentic Portuguese restaurant that Fernando had recommended that we try out, called Prato Cheio. On Thursdays, a typical Portuguese meal called Cozido a Portuguesa is served as a specialty. The meal includes a variety of meats (pork, beef, chicken), sausages ( chorizo, blood sausage), and vegetables ( collard greens, carrots, potatoes, turnips, rice, beans, cabbage) that are slow cooked for around 4 hours. Each region in Portugal has their own version of this meal. The restaurant was full of locals. After more than 1/2 hour of waiting for our food to come, we were finally served 2 giant plates of these boiled food to share. So much food. A little bit of everything. Not my favourite meal but definitely filling!

    We waddled out of the restaurant and went to the riverside promenade in Lagos where we wanted to check out a small fort on the water.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    The Little Fort in Lagos and a Red Sun

    January 10, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    In the 1600´s the coast was under regular attack of pirates and the Spanish. This led to the construction of a string of forts along the coast. The small Lagos fort, used to guard the river mouth from attack, has a small drawbridge to enter from the land and thick carved stonework walls.

    According to the stone inscription over the main door, it was completed between 1679 and 1690. Until the late 20th century, the fort was used as a service depot for military forces and housed services linked to maritime activities (supplies for lifeboats etc).

    There wasn’t a lot to see, a chapel and old photographs of people, but we did enjoy going up on the rooftop terrace to see the views and some fun, weathervane-like artworks.

    After spending some time trying to find our parked car, we went back to Donna’s place and watched the big red sun drop into the ocean.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Silves

    January 11, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We would have totally regretted it, if we had not visited the old town of Silves. What stories the walls of the castle would tell, if they could.

    Silves is a town built on the banks of the River Arade. Originally, the river was navigable and linked the interior to the coast. The town, which is built on top of one of the largest underground aquifers in the south of Portugal, straddles the river and has some walls that date back to the time of Moorish occupation (713).

    I read that by the tenth century, Silves, then called Xelb, was the capital of Al-Gharb, the area now known as the Algarve. In 1189 King Sancho I, whose statue is beside the front entrance gate, recaptured the town for the Portuguese with the help of a hired army of Northern European crusaders. Silves was recaptured by the Moors two years later until finally falling to the Christians in 1249.

    Today Silves is an attractive town dominated by one of the best-preserved castles in the Algarve, built between the 8th and 13th Century. It was restored in the 20th century. The Moorish Fortaleza, which boasts a complete set of red sandstone walls and detached towers, occupies twelve thousand square meters on top of the hill that overlooks the town. Iron Age remains have been found, along with a well, a governor's palace and the Cisterna Grande, a thirteenth century water cistern that once served the whole town.”

    The Cisterna stands 7 meters high, 20 meters long and 16 meters wide and is supported by six columns. It is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Moorish maiden.” The cistern has a capacity of 1,300,000 litres, which means it can supply enough water for 1,200 people for almost a year. Donna mentioned that more water than what that cistern can hold is pumped out of the Middlebrook well in Elora by Nestle on a daily basis. Wow.

    After spending a fair bit of time walking on the castle ramparts which offered impressive views of the town and surrounding countryside, we had tea and coffee in the Moorish-style garden that has recently been re-created. It was fun trying to imagine Silves in its heyday.

    Not far away from the castle, was the cathedral. This Gothic cathedral called Sé de Silves was built in the 13th century on the site of a mosque. Although destroyed by the earthquake of 1755 and rebuilt afterwards, the building still has Gothic characteristics: pointed arches (ogival) portal, interior of three naves with Gothic arches, transept, chancel and side chapels. In the Chancel there is an image of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (14th century) holding the Child. There are many tombs of nobles and bishops. In the middle of the transept is a symbolic gravestone where king John II was buried until his body was transferred to Batalha in 1499. There are also some baroque chapels with gilt carved woodwork. Nowadays, this cathedral is considered by many to be the most important Gothic building in the Algarve.

    Down the road from the cathedral is an archaeological museum, which was well worth a visit. It had exhibits of Roman, Moorish and prehistoric materials. In the lowest level of the museum there is a very well preserved Arabian well (15 metres deep) with a staircase. The staircase was actually only found a few decades ago.

    I don’t think that anyone should miss visiting Silves on a trip to the Algarve. The history that that little village has to share is pretty awesome.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019
    1

    Marinha to Benagil on the Ocean Cliffs

    January 11, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We had planned on doing a boat trip in the afternoon to see the big Benagil sea caves near Carvoeiro but Fernando advised us against doing this today. The ocean had whitecaps and he didn’t think that it wouldn’t be a pleasant trip.

    Instead, he suggested that we drive to Marinha and walk on the trails on top of the cliffs to see the caves. So that’s what we did. It was a bit rugged but we survived.

    We saw more than caves. We saw a pirate ship ... or was it a junk ... or a caravel? We couldn’t identify what it was but it was interesting.

    We also saw three crazy young men jumping from rock to rocks on the cliffs. We couldn’t watch them for long though.

    The sun was starting to go down so we decided to drive back to Lagos.

    We have had a good time in the Lagos area. Donna leaves for Tavira tomorrow and on Monday we will go to Faro. We will meet up again on the following weekend, in the university town of a Evora.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    The Storks Around Lagos

    January 12, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Oh how we have enjoyed looking for storks and their nests on the chimney stacks!

    Legend has it that in the old days in Portugal, it was considered very bad luck to kill a stork. The punishment, so the story goes, is that an offender had his hand chopped off. Now that really is bad luck.

    I read that for many years the stork has been a protected species worldwide. In Portugal they are almost revered. Unfortunately, these beautiful creatures migrate from southern Europe to the Near East and Africa where, despite still being protected under law, many countries do not enforce the law, or they have very light penalties, that do little to deter hunters. A lot of illegal killing of storks and other protected species still takes place when these birds migrate.

    Portuguese farmers appreciate and protect storks because the birds eat small mammals, lizards, snakes and large insects, thus saving the farmers having to use expensive pesticides on their crops. This in turn protects the bees that pollinate the crops for better harvests, as well as providing valuable honey and by-products produced from bees wax. Storks often build their nests close to marshlands or wetlands, where they can eat frogs and fish too.

    We have noticed that storks build their huge nests up high, perched on tall chimneys, telegraph poles, electricity poles and even church steeples. They return to their nests each year and we have seen places where there are a series of nests on neighbouring poles. We were told that the offspring choose to build their nests close to their birth nest. Fernando told us that it’s against the law in Portugal to demolish or disturb a stork’s nest. If a stork builds a nest on your roof, it’s a sign of good luck!

    Storks apparently divvy up their parenting duties equally. At this time of the year, storks are building their nests using sticks and sadly, garbage like plastics. The female lays her eggs in March or April and they take approximately 5 weeks to hatch. Once the chicks have hatched, both the male and female take turns in looking food for their new family and they share the responsibility of raising them safely. The stork has no vocal chords and, therefore, its sole means of communication is clacking its beak. The noise of the “chatting” is heard for quite some distance, especially in the mating season and while raising their young.

    There’s a story of a pair nesting on the tall chimney on the road from Faro to São Brás that never produced a baby. One day the male disappeared and the female went into a decline, to the point where she was taken to a bird sanctuary to help her recover. When she was deemed well enough, she was released back to her nest, to find the male had returned. Not long afterwards they had their first offspring and lived happily ever after.

    Many of the storks in this area migrate to Africa for the winter months and Fernando said that the skies above Sagres are filled with thousands of storks gliding on thermals until they suddenly take off, in one big group, to warmer areas. Watching these big birds with their huge wing spans soaring in the skies above is a fantastic sight.

    We have seen more storks but are collecting better photos to add to this footprint in the near future.    Read more

  • LadyandtrampPortugal and Islands - 2019

    Lagos Saturday Market

    January 12, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Donna is leaving today and driving to Tavira for the week. She had a final swim at her resort and joined us in Lagos at the Saturday morning market.

    Every Saturday the local farmers come out early and fill the shed beside the bus station with their fabulous goods. From live chickens, to olives, to fruits, to hot chilli chains, to eggs, to homemade sweets and jams, and almonds and flowers freshly picked by old women in the fields. You can find everything here and its all fresh, local, cheap and served to you with a smile of a friendly Portuguese farmer.

    After buying some aloe hand cream and olive oil soap, we visited the nearby fish market.

    On the roof of the building, there was a restaurant where we had coffee and tea in the sun and said our goodbyes to Donna. We will meet up with her in a week in Evora.    Read more

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