Portugal
shares the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, and is bordered by
the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. Its long, varied coastline, sunny
climate, and the relaxed lifestyle of the inhabitants of its charming towns and
villages have made it a sought after destination. The delight of Portugal is
that, although it is undeniably part of modern Europe, it retains some rural
enclaves where time has stood still and traditions flourish. In the southern
province of the Algarve, modern high-rise resorts line the coast and buzz
with all the trappings of a package tour destination; the capital city, Lisbon,
on the west coast, is a bright, busy, crowded metropolis surrounded by bustling
tourist resorts. Travel a few miles north or east, however, and discover a
largely undeveloped picturesque countryside full of medieval villages and towns
where life has changed little over several centuries. The Portuguese have a
close affinity to the sea; for centuries their famed mariners led the way in the
exploration of Africa and the Americas, and opened trade routes to the East. The
country became a strong colonial power, and remained so until the mid-20th
century, resulting in distinctive foreign influences on the local culture
and architecture. From Africa, for example, was imported the now traditional,
sentimental fado music, which is one of the country’s unique experiences for
visitors, particularly in the cafés of Lisbon. In recent years Portugal, long
overlooked on the list of the world’s top vacation stations, has been
investing time, money and effort into ensuring it is discovered by the world’s
travelers, just as once it was the Portuguese who discovered the world. This
new age of discovery is paying off, as increasing numbers of visitors arrive
each year and hotel and resort construction has exploded. From the
visitor's point of view the compactness of the country makes it easy to take in
all the best elements: sandy beaches, scenery, history, wonderful cuisine,
lively entertainment, charming handcrafts, thrilling nightlife, country fairs,
excellent sporting facilities and warm, friendly people. From the cobbled
winding streets of Lisbon’s medieval citadel to the cork forests in Alentejo,
and from fishermen mending their nets on remote beaches to the shopping malls
and sophisticated glitzy resorts, Portugal is a country well worth discovering.
Sesimbra like a sentry the ruins of a
13th Century castle built by Sancho II protectively overlooks the once small
fishing village This fishing village lies duly south of Lisbon and is accessed
off the motorway leading to Setúbal. Surprisingly, visitors will still it a
fishing village at heart even though it has been considerably enlarged due to
the great influx of tourists created since the late 60’s by the construction
of the impressive bridge over the Rio Tejo connecting Lisbon to its southern
riverbank.
The village lies nestled in the hollow of a small valley facing south and the
sea and also protected from the northern winds by its surrounding hills. It
became a notable location the middle 1950s when this village attracting the
world famous enthusiasts of deep-sea fishing. The Tuna and Swordfish has now
become more rare as a catch but they can still often be served as a specialty
dish of the area. Small narrow steep streets lead down to its sandy beach
guarded by its 17th Century Fort. Every morning, weather and sea permitting, the
local catch would be laid on the sand in rows for the public auction. This daily
fresh fish has given the local restaurants a solid reputation that draws crowds
from Lisbon at most weekends. The village still has many families relying on the
fishing industry. Their involvement with the sea is reflected by their faithful
attendance of the number of small churches to be found in the village.
A few kilometers away to the west is the
dramatic cliff top of Cabo Espichel. On this headland can be found the Santuário
de Nossa Senhora do Cabo that was constructed at the turn of the 17th Century as
a sanctuary and in more recent times has often been used as a location for
filming due to its singular architectural design. To the east is Serra da
Arrábida,
a virtually unspoilt nature reserve area with its small sandy beach and shallow
water. In the late 1960’s this beautiful location could be compared with any
outstanding "beauty spot" in Europe for its setting and unique
tranquillity.
Algarve
The summer months see high temperatures that attract the
beach-goers and sun-lovers from around the world, and with it's world-renowned
beaches of fine golden sand spanning the coast-line in front of the calm, clear
seas, the Algarve is a European paradise for sun-seekers.
With more hours of sunshine than California and only short periods of rainfall,
generally between November and March, the Algarve has the perfect weather and
climate.
The maximum temperatures in the Algarve fluctuate between 15°C and 31 °C, with
the temperature never falling below zero in the winter months.Faro
is the nearest airport, with many charter flights from Britain. It is the
biggest town but there are many beach resorts all along the coast from Albufeira
to Praia da Rocha. It's
also a big wine-producing region.
Faro
Faro is the administrative centre for the whole of the Algarve region with a
population in excess of 55.000 people. The city has both Arab and Roman ruins
but most of the present attractive older buildings were constructed after the
disastrous earthquake of both 1755 and 1532. The Moors who occupied the town in
the 8th Century originally gave the city it the name of Ossónoba and developed
it into a trading port until 1249. They were then defeated by the forces of Dom
Afonso III. With the decline of the importance of the city of Silves this town
took over the role of administration of the Algarve area. The Earl of Essex
sacked the town in 1596 with his fellow crusaders on their journey to the Holy
Land and the collection of books taken from the palace of the Bishop of Faro
became an important part of the Bodleian Library in Oxford, England. Another
interesting point is that during the 500 years of Moorish occupation there were
some Jewish inhabitants in Faro who were kept busy printing copies of the Old Testament. Particularly
attractive is the old part of the city surrounded still
by the Roman walls which date back to the 9th. Inside a spacious open square
that was once the site of the Roman Forum is a 13th Century Cathedral that faces
the 18th Century Episcopal palace. An interesting building is the neighbouring
16th Century Convent that is now turned into the home of the city’s
archaeological museum. Within it is a section devoted to the Arab occupation.
The "golden" church of Nossa Senhora do Carmo is claimed to be the
best example of gold-leaf woodwork in southern Portugal. It also contains the
macabre spectacle of a chapel lined with the bones from over 1.200 monks! Next
to the small boat basin bordering the Praça de Dom Francisco Gomes is a small
Naval Museum composed of scale model boats and galleons showing the maritime
history of the coast. Much of the city is now composed of apartments and there
are attractive shops and a particularly artistic theatre. Faro is also the home
of the Ria Formosa lagoon, a nature reserve of over 17.000 hectares and a
stopping place for hundreds of different birds during the spring and autumn
migratory periods.
The beach is almost 7 Kms distant from the city and is a long sandy spit reached
by crossing a bridge not far from the International Airport. The municipal
council has an active cultural department organizing different and various
events during the year. Near to Faro is the small town of Almancil where nearby
can be found the church of São Lourenço de Matos renown for its 18th Century
blue tiles.
To the north of Faro at the inland village of Estói there are some notable
roman ruins of Milreu depicting a 3rd Century Roman home that enjoyed more
comforts than some of the newly built villas in today’s world. The Parish
Church was built in the 16th century on the site of a previous chapel. Here, may
be found the Manor House know as "Palácio de Estoi" which is due to
be converted into a Pousada. Further to the north of this village is the town of
Santa Barbára de Nexe with a bronze age hilltop fort nearby.
The well-known developments of Quinta do Lago and Vale de Lobo, both five star
holiday areas are located west of Faro. Together they provide 7 top quality golf
courses, tennis centres, riding schools, hotels, holiday resorts and villas.
Albufeira
First and foremost, Albufeira is famed for its beaches, for the countless
shades and tones of its rocks and cliffs. Just a few miles inland and
everything changes. The green of the countryside is dotted with almond, fig,
orange and pine trees and decorated chimneys stand out against the ochre of
tiled roofs. Bucolic villages invite you to experience a way of life rooted in
the tranquillity of nature. Nightlife, sunshine, beaches and lots and lots of
animation are just some of the guaranteed features of Albufeira. Here the life
has the rhythm, as the sun goes down, meet the sun lovers at the many
discos, restaurants and bars. Sports are also a good reason to come and stay in
Albufeira. Tennis, golf, water sports and much more make the delights of the
most demanding sportsmen.
In history Albufeira was a thriving seaport and had its
own castle, that was later destroyed in the earthquake of 1755. Happily, most of
the older parts of the town that survived and have been carefully maintained. In
Roman times it was know as Baltum and later changed by the Moors to Al-Buhera.
During the Moors 8th Century occupation the town became an important trading
port. In 1532 and in 1755 the town was badly hit by earthquakes, and in the
latter, 227 unlucky people perished when the roof of the town church collapsed.
During the "War of the Miguels" the town was besieged and set ablaze.
The destroyed town consequently suffered a very long period of poverty and
really only recovered with the boom of tourism in the later half of the 20th
Century.
As a result of the tide of tourism, this "once upon
a time" fishing village has expanded since the 1960s into a major holiday
resort and now has over 15,000 permanent residents. As the sun sets the centre
of the town changes its character. A plentiful collection of bars, restaurants
and clubs start to fill-up with people, until they spill over into the narrow
streets. A fine selection of good beaches extend east and west from the town.
Praia de Balaia, Praia de Castelo, Praia de Falésia, Praia de Galé, de Olhos
d’Agua, Praia de Maria Luisa, and Praia de São Rafael, being the principal
ones. There is a small museum of 15th and 17th century Ming ceramics and a
Municipal art gallery that holds regular exhibitions during the season. A
further addition to the town is a new Virtual Archaeological Museum. A new
Marina has been completed on the west side of the town and offers a different
and attractive aspect. Other places of interest near to Albufeira are, Armação
de Pera, Boliqueime, Guia and Paderne with its ruined castle perched on an
isolated hill some distance from the village. This castle was liberated from
Moor occupation in 1248 by Dom Paulo Peres Correia. At Ponte Grande there are
impressive caverns with large arches, and also the underwater caverns of Grutas
do Xorino.
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