Introduction to Portugal
Over the years my wife and I have travelled to many delightful places, some notable for their beauty, others for their history, and still others for their human interest. One destination with all these features, that keeps calling us back, is Portugal.
Located at the southwest corner of Europe, sharing the Iberian Peninsula with the much-larger Spain, Portugal can be summed up in three words: sea, sun, and "saudade". This unique Portuguese word, is something like a bittersweet nostalgia mixed with resignation – a memory of, a longing for, and a pride in the lost glories of the past, with a touch of hope for the future.
Centuries ago its explorers and traders created a far-flung empire, spreading their language and culture around the world. Of that empire, today only Madeira, the Azores and the mainland remain, all the rest having become independent (e.g. Brazil, Angola) or having been absorbed by larger neighbours (e.g. Goa, Macau). Yet even today Portuguese is the third-most widely spoken European language, after English and Spanish. Although this tiny country, in area about the size of Indiana or Ireland, was once the richest nation on earth, by the time we first visited in 1986 it was said that in all Europe only Albania was poorer. To considerable extent what little external trade and tourism existed stemmed from its six-centuries-old commercial ties with Great Britain.
In 1986 Portugal was about to change: it would join the European Economic Community (EEC) and have its first-ever democratic elections. This would mark a giant psychological leap into the 20th century, after centuries of decline under a stagnating monarchy, a failed republican government, decades of mind-numbing dictatorship, and a period of confusion, finally mixed with hope.
On the material side, while the land was filled with beautiful though badly neglected artifacts, what we noticed most were the abundance of graffiti and the neglected infrastructure. There were no freeways, many of the highways were potholed. Horse-drawn carts were common; tiny three-wheeled conveyances putted slowly along the roads and belched clouds of blue smoke. Once one of Europe's most glittering cities, Lisbon had become a shabby place, and had to be the world's most poorly-signed capital. This was definitely a "Third World" country.
On the human side, though, the people were reserved but gracious, polite, willing to attempt speaking English or French (but not Spanish), clean, pious, proud, and scrupulously honest. And even on their bad roads, a mere half-day drive would bring you to their remaining source of pride, the Algarve (south coast), with its miles of unspoiled nature, gorgeous beaches, excellent golf courses, great weather, a reasonable variety of accommodations, and low prices.
We've spent months there over the years, and have seen many changes, mostly for the better. Membership in the EEC brought equalization money for bridges, limited-access roads and urban cleanup. It also brought a huge influx of tourists from Northern Europe, with more money to spend than the locals had ever seen, and a liberal lifestyle which clashed with conservative Portuguese morality. Suddenly there were jobs everywhere, but with them came inflation. Fast-food chains moved in, and the traditionally healthy Portuguese diet began to suffer. The newfound prosperity put thousands on the roads in their first cars, with no notion of safe driving. They seemed to have just two rules: foot to the floor, and pass everyone in front of you. Soon the main Algarvian highway had the highest accident rate in Europe.
On the visibly positive side, there are more happy faces, Lisbon is once again a beautiful city, and it even hosted the final World's Fair of the 20th century, "Expo 98". Overall, we got the impression that the Portuguese have accepted the changes, albeit somewhat grudgingly, much as they once accepted their economic decline. Now life is no longer marked by crushing poverty; but neither is it unhurried, simple and predictable as it was before. What is probably most significant to travellers today is that nobody seems to have a grudge against Portugal, so it's a very safe place to visit, much like North America in the 1950s.
Although tourists most often think of Port, Rosé and golf courses, there's a lot more to discover, for the entire country is fascinating, from historical and cultural perspectives. It has great museums, magnificent churches both large and small, pristine mountain villages, rolling plains, fine seafood, a major Catholic shrine, universities dating as far back as 1288, and hundreds of miles of gold sandy beaches stretching all the way to its northern border with Spain. There are marvelous castles and palaces, but also forlorn ruins, only a few of which are gradually being restored as funds become available. (It seems that they have been so poor for so long that they have no intention of going into debt for the sake of impressing tourists.) In the north there are also the vestiges of battles and important campaigns, against the invading Spaniards and, under the Duke of Wellington, against Napoleon's occupation force.
The climate varies according to location. The Algarve, where daytime temperatures rarely fall below 14°C (57°F) in the winter or exceed 24°C (75°F) in the summer, boasts the greatest amount of sunshine, about 3,000 hours per year. Sunsets are spectacular! There are great variations in rainfall from place to place and month to month throughout the country, but you'll only find neve (snow) in the dictionary.
Subsequent articles will look at various aspects of this marvelous country, and perhaps arouse your interest in making it an interesting and inexpensive winter destination.
Questions?
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