diariesof - Portugal #5 - Excerpt

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travel inspirations

Portugal ISSUE #FIVE

#05 Autumn 2016 | Lu€15 www.diariesofmagazine.com



WELCOME

in pursuit of an authentic experience Portugal has been on our travel list for a long time even though we have been to Portugal an infinite number of times. The reason we keep it on our list is because we want to get to know the less well-known places; to leave behind the coast and slip into the interior; to go off the beaten track to visit the lesser known regions, such as the North and the Alentejo, for example.

How did it feel to travel to such a popular destination? Did it feel crowded? Did it feel ‘touristy’? Lisbon and Porto were more crowded than the rest of the country, without feeling claustrophobically crowded. You can still visit museums without feeling glued to the rest of the visitors; it is easy to find quiet, lovely spots away from the masses and you will find it uncomplicated to engage in a chat with an alfacinha (resident of Lisbon) or a tripeiro (resident of Porto). Our contributors Daniel and Gabriele found solitude on the days they trekked along the Vicentina Coast. Birgit and Søren had lonely bicycle rides along the Douro. We found quiet streets in tiny villages throughout the country. We were alone as we rode horses on the beach and when we met the dolphins in the Sado estuary. It is quiet when you camp by the dams, rivers or lakes. So no, Portugal did not feel crowded or touristy. Instead it felt vibrant with life. Don’t let the Portuguese fatalism deceive you. The eternal saudade of the Portuguese and their permanent nostalgia for the past hide a happy people. On your next visit to this country look at their honest smiling faces. It is guaranteed to make you feel at home.

Anabela and Jorge Valente

Cover Photo Umbrellas over Agueda’s pedestrian zone Photography by Anabela Valente

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diariesof has chosen Portugal as a great 2016 destination. The leaders of the travel community have also discovered Portugal in the last couple of years. Whichever the means (magazines, guides or internet sites), the entire travel community is spreading the news: Portugal is the ideal tourist destination. We found out why that is. It’s because Portugal offers the best options regardless of one’s taste. This tiny country has two coasts (a wild and a mild one), mountains, natural parks, wildlife, modern cities and traditional villages, design and popular culture, rich gastronomy and prize-awarded wines… all of this enveloped in plentiful sunshine and served with an irreproachable service that comes with a smile. For the sceptical, a look at the World Travel Awards (the Oscars of tourism) should be persuasive. In 2015, Portugal won 12 of the awards on offer and in 2016 the country saw this number more than double to 26!




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CONTENTS

7 diariesof Portugal

contents

44 EXPLORE

Horseback Riding In Melides

NATURE

Costa Vicentina With Rui Daniel

70



22

CONTENTS

CITY I

Lisbon

contents 3 EDITORIAL 14 FACTS&FIGURES 16 POSTCARDS I

22 CITY Lisbon

INTERVIEW

38 António Freire

a Bagpiper

About Her Music

42 Luís Lamas A Life With Horses ESSENTIALS

Essentials of Portugal

EXPLORE

44 Horseback Riding In Melides

118 Enchanting Villages ADVENTURE

54 North to South Motorcycle Diaries

92 (Bi)Cycling The Douro Valley NATURE

70 Costa Vicentina With Rui Daniel

104 Water Source of Life

92

84 PORTRAITS Face to Face

132 CARING

Dr Clown - Ensuring the happiness of hospitalised children

ADVENTURE

138 FOOD

(Bi)Cycling The Douro Valley

Bom Apetite

142 ESSENTIALS

Essentials of Portugal

ADVENTURE

North to South Motorcycle Diaries in Portugal

54

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40 Raquel Barreira


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CONTRIBUTORS

Paulo Lobo was born in Portugal in 1964. He has been passionate about photography since his childhood and became familiar with the art very early, as a self-taught enthusiast. He later improved his technique in many workshops. Paulo has exhibited his work, constantly, throughout Luxembourg continually since 2003. In 2007, Paulo started working as an editor and photojournalist for WUNNEN, a magazine devoted to architecture and decoration. paulobo.com

Philippe Hurlin has been working as a professional photographer for over 30 years. He has worked for well-known magazines such as Le Figaro, Match, Géo, Time and Stern. With a photographic reporter’s sharp eye, he always carries a camera, even when he is on holiday, taking special pleasure in photographing the everyday life of the places he visits.

Pedro Narra was born in 1974, in Setúbal. He lives near the Natural Reserve of the Sado Estuary, which he considers as his natural photography studio and one of the most beautiful wildlife refuges in the country. He has travelled to Antarctica, Asia and Africa in search of endangered species, which he has recorded on film. His work is regularly published by the National Geographic, Portugal.

Anabela Valente Born in Portugal in 1973, Anabela discovered her passion for travelling soon after finishing her language studies. She feels she is lucky to have been to all the continents including Antarctica, but she knows that there is so much more to be seen and experienced with all the senses. In 2015 she quit her job and is now full time editor for diariesof.

Jorge Valente Born in Luxembourg in 1979, Jorge is co-founder and photographer of diariesof. He has always been an outdoor child and nowadays still chooses to be outdoors in his free time. A motorbike aficionado, Jorge has been out on the bike even when the thermometer shows -10° C. Naturally curious, he loves to explore new places and to meet new people.

Follow him on pedronarra.com

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© Pedro Cunha

contri butors


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CONTRIBUTORS

Gabriele Rumbolo is an Italian photographer and travel addict. On top of these passions he is interested in the sports aspect of his job. Five years ago he fell in love with the small archipelago of Cape Verde where he now spends every winter. He specialised in wave shooting and is lucky to be able to shoot the top riders in the world in surfing, kite-surfing, windsurfing and SUP. Follow him on fb/gabriele.rumbolo

Birgit Vanggaard Borg and Søren Borg are a Danish couple with a passion for travelling that they have nurtured since their youth. They are now full-time world travellers. They are on a seven year challenge to travel the world on their bicycles, carrying their tent and their pillows. They left Denmark six months ago, and they intend to return there after having ridden through Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. Follow them on worldbiketravellers.dk

Rui Daniel was born in Luxembourg in 1977. He is a piano teacher in Leiria, Portugal. When not teaching Daniel travels. He has visited 107 countries and it is his goal to get to know every country in the world. He is particularly fascinated by the less visited countries, because the people there are generally friendly and welcoming. Follow him and his adventures on fb/backpackingwithruidaniel

Francisco Costa and Inês Lopes share their passion for food, wine, photography, cooking and travelling. He is the chef, while she is the photographer. They grew up in the countryside. Francisco dreams of the days he helped his grandmother collect olives and stuff the typical chouriços, whilst Inês recalls stomping grapes for wine. Together, and with the help of four loyal assistants (two dogs and two cats), they maintain a blog where their passions meet. tudoquebonito.com

Flavio da Costa was born in Luxembourg in 1977. He is a graphic designer and photographer for his own company F. Communications. Always trying new ways of exploring the potential of images; he likes to travel around the world meeting people and exploring new countries. His way of thinking? The impossible is often the untried… Follow him on flavio.lu

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contri butors


Farol

that is how lighthouses are called in Portugal and there are 52 of them. Each lighthouse emits a special pattern of light which serves as their identity marker. Ships can identify the lighthouse through this combination of flashes.

Pastel

Catholic monasteries of the Middle Ages are responsible for the wide range of famous Portuguese pastries today, including: the pastel de Belém or pastel de nata (custard tart) from Lisbon and ovos moles from Aveiro.

151867 2 As of 2013, Portugal has 15 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list. 14 of these are cultural sites and one of them is natural.

Portugal was a pioneer in the abolishment of the death penalty. Capital punishment for civil crimes was formally abolished in 1867, but no executions have been carried out since 1846.

1494

Portugal has two Nobel laureates. In 1949, António Egas Moniz won the Nobel Prize for Medicine and 50 years later José Saramago won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

During the Age of Discovery, the Treaty of Tordesilhas, signed in 1494, established the eastern half of the ‘New World’, including Brazil, Africa and Asia as Portuguese.

‘ When the traveller sat in the sand and declared: “There’s nothing more to see” he knew it wasn’t true. The end of one journey is simply the start of another.’ ~ José Saramago

in Journey to Portugal, 1984


FACTS&FIGURES

facts & figures Portugal has had the same defined borders since 1139, making it the oldest nation-state in Europe. Afonso Henriques was proclaimed the first King of Portugal in 1139 and the country remained a monarchy for almost 800 years thereafter, until 1910.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge, over the Tagus River in Lisbon, is the largest in Europe being

17 kms long. It celebrates the 500th anniversary of the discovery of a sea route between Europe and India, by the Portuguese Vasco De Gama.

In 1755 a huge earthquake measuring a magnitude of 9.0 struck Lisbon. It destroyed much of the city and it was followed by a tsunami and fires, which devastated the city. In total 85% of the buildings were destroyed and 275,000 people were killed.

Portugal has more than 800 kms of coastline. The country is a surfer’s paradise, said to have 364 days of surf. In 2011 the Hawaiian Garret McNamara surfed the biggest wave ever caught, which was an astonishing 27.5 metres high!

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1139 17 1755 800


‘Selfie Time in Porto’ Porto Two girls enjoying the late afternoon light on the banks of the Douro River. The iconic Dom Luís Bridge in Porto is a must-photograph symbol of the city. It was the project of Teófilo Seyrig, disciple and partner of the famous Gustav Eiffel. The bridge over the Douro River connects Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. Anabela Valente


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POSTCARDS Send your photos with a description to jorge.valente@diariesof.lu


‘A green grape leaf’ Douro Valley Porto is produced in the Douro valley. The wine itself is usually red, though white varieties exist. It’s a sweet wine, most commonly served as a dessert wine. There are more than 100 varieties of grape which can be used for the production of port but Touriga Nacional is considered the best. Jorge Valente


‘The Flintstones house or the house in the rock’ Fafe An ideal house that blends with its surroundings and shows how respectful man can be towards the environment. This house represents a powerful symbol of a perfect marriage between the need for human comfort and the desire to preserve nature.

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Flavio da Costa


‘Inseparable friends’ Costa Vicentina Four inseparable friends go to the beach together. There, one prays, one learns, one toils and the other enjoys. Who are they? (There’s a Portuguese saying that goes ‘In Portugal, Braga prays, Coimbra learns, Porto toils and Lisbon enjoys.’). Jorge Valente


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’The Militão windmills’ A-Dos-Eis On a windy hill facing the ocean, three lonely windmills wait patiently for Don Quixote. These are remnants of the 500 that once stood in the region. They are well preserved and still operational even though it is not clear if they still are used to grind cereal. Anabela Valente



2 3 diariesof Portugal Text by Anabela Valente Photography by Philippe Hurlin, Paulo Lobo, Jorge Valente


The Miradouro Portas do Sol offers gorgeous views over Alfama and the river. The cupola belongs to the National Pantheon where a number of important famous Portuguese are taking their final rest.

Lisbon

Amália Rodrigues once sang that Lisbon smells good. Her Lisbon smells of flowers and the sea; of roast chestnuts in the streets and coffee in Rossio. It smells of Fado and Fado smells of solitude. Lisbon smells of the moon and of smiles on the faces of girls. It smells good. It smells like Lisbon... With no intention of romanticising the capital, it is prudent to remind you that Lisbon is also a city with all the unpleasant smells of a big city. That said, there is a lot of truth in the lyrics of this song, as a visit through the city reveals. Lisbon holds the title ‘capital of the

eldest country in Europe’ and the best way to discover the history of this sole Atlantic capital is by walking through its neighbourhoods. The sinuous alleys of Alfama. Situated in one of the seven hills of the city, we made our way on foot to the São Jorge’s castle. Our visit had to start here - the birth place of Lisbon. Archaeological excavations have unveiled evidence of settlements from the 6th century BC.


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CITY

The most popular public transport is the tram. These refurbished trams keep the charm of old times and are a favourite amongst tourists and locals alike.

The district of Alfama extends all the way from the castle to the river Tagus. It is the oldest in Lisbon. Its name Alfama is derived from the Arab al-hamma, meaning place of fountains or baths. The Moors settled here in the Middle Ages and were responsible for the construction of the castle. Muslim influence is also visible in the charming small streets and squares of Alfama. This is the place to ignore your map and follow your intuition or your nose. Choose an alley according to your preferred smell: one direction will take you to grilled sardines, the other to fried liver steaks. If the evening is your companion, let your ears decide. There are many Fado singers in different restaurants. Choose with your heart. When the crusaders reconquered the

city and brought it back to Christianity, the mosques were either destroyed or converted into churches and the Moors expelled. They didn’t go very far, settling just outside of Alfama, at the Mouraria (as the name indicates, the city of the Moors). The Mouraria was spared by the quake that destroyed the city much later, as was Alfama. The two districts are all that is left of medieval Lisbon. It is said that it was here that Fado was born, do you smell it? Raising the splendour of a country. It was from Lisbon that many of the Portuguese caravels (small sailing ships) left during the Age of Discovery. Portuguese explorers brought riches and prosperity to an otherwise poor country, through their discovery of oversea


The sun going down behind the Torre the BelĂŠm, one of the icons of the city. This is another one of several UNESCO World Heritage sites of the capital, and was built during the Age of Discoveries. It initially served as a small fort at the mouth of Tagus.


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[top] View over the statue of São Vicente, Lisbon’s patron saint with the Monastery São Vicente de Fora in the background. São Vicente holds a vessel with two crows: symbols of both the saint himself and the city of Lisbon. [left] Lisbon Oriente Station in the Parque das Nações was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in 1995.


[top] The Jerónimos Monastery is another UNESCO World Heritage site in the capital. It is one of the prettiest examples of the Manueline style and is carved in limestone. The style is characterised by its rich, ornate décor and sculptures that use many maritime motifs. [right] Two tombs, carved in a neo-Manueline style, lie in the lateral chapel. They belong to the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and the great poet Luís de Camões (here in the photo). Both are important figures of the Age of Discovery.


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CITY

Detail of the cloister in the Jerรณnimos Monastery.


Avenida Ribeira das Naus is a new area where you can sit and enjoy the river on a Sunday.

routes. Lisbon’s Golden era can be seen at its best in the neighbourhood of Belém. Here the Manueline style of the architecture expresses power and wealth. A tour through the Jerónimos monastery left us jaw-dropped even though we were already familiar with the style. The ornaments of its façade and cloisters left us in awe of a grandeur that is both past and present. Belém is also home to other prominent buildings. There is the Palace of Ajuda and of Belém, with its gardens which were once used by the royals. This is the place to savour the perfume of the flowering blooms...

Like a phoenix from the ashes. From Belém we moved closer to the present: to the Baixa Pombalina, whose architect was the famous Marquis of Pombal, secretary of the state of King Joseph I. He was responsible for the reconstruction of the city after the calamity that befell it on November 1755. There was a violent earthquake, followed by a fire and a tsunami, all together destroying 85% of the city. In the years that followed, the Marquis built an elegant downtown district in Baixa using an innovative earthquake resistant construction. The Rua Augusta is a pedestrian street that


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