Chris S: 9/30/12

We had a wonderful time in Porto, which in some ways felt very familiar to us. The riverfront/port area is somewhat reminiscent of Gdansk, with its straight row of colourful building facades. On the other hand, the steep hills, the streets that go off in unpredictable directions, and the locals' pride in their bridges are not unlike Pittsburgh's.

Ponte Dom Luis I: A really cool bridge with a metro line and pedestrian crossing on the top span, and with a road and more pedestrian traffic way down low on the bottom span.

Porto was also great for going out in the evenings. I already mentioned the tapas and fado we enjoyed on our first night in the city. The following night it was port tasting, where we sampled 6 nice selections, 2 of which we decided to bring back home with us.

Adeus, Porto, until we see you again.

Azulejos of Porto

The rooster has a slightly different attitude in Porto.

We were walking around Porto yesterday, and stopped into a cafe to get something to drink. October 5 is Republic Day in Portugal, and the TV in the cafe was showing live news reports. Coverage alternated between officials making speeches or raising flags and various people protesting or shouting angrily.

Perhaps some of the Portuguese people feel they have been treated as unfairly as the pilgrim of Barcelos. But who do they believe has taken on the role of the unjust judge? The government? The IMF? The EU?

If you are ever in Porto, you have to find this place for dinner. Make sure you arrive right at 9pm when they open, or make a reservation if you can figure out how to.

As we sipped our sangria, the waiter would periodically bring out new tapas-style dishes; a delicious egg and sausage dish, cod salad, green bean tempura. Every once in a while, the lights were dimmed down to just the candles, and the fado singer and guitarra accompaniment took center stage. The tiny hole-in-the-wall tavern was hardly big enough to enclose her powerful voice.

We stayed for three and a half hours.

Food. Fado. Fabuloso.

A pilgrim was passing through Barcelos on his way to Santiago de Campostela, when he was wrongfully accused of a crime and sentenced to hang. He tried to appeal, but the judge was already at dinner and would hear none of it. The pilgrim then prophesied that the rooster being eaten for dinner was more likely to serve justice than the judge was. As the noose was being tightened around his neck, the half eaten rooster stood up on the table and crowed loudly. The pilgrim was set free.

A depiction of the legend can be seen on this crucifix. The pilgrim about to be hanged is shown in the main block, and the crowing rooster is just at the foot of the cross.

Central Barcelos

We went to Barcelos to go shopping at their open-air market, which is held every Thursday.

People-watching

Picking out some delicious clementines

We bought ourselves some lunch consisting of sausage, freshly baked bread, and beans. We also snacked on roasted chestnuts, figs, grapes, clementines, and plums.

Suggested steps for driving in Portugal:

1. Rent a little car, like a SmartCar.

2. Don't worry about GPS, Google directions, or even a map.

3. Make sure you have an able co-pilot.

4. Just take the highway in the general direction you're heading, and wait until you start seeing signs for the name of the town you're trying to find.

5. Try to follow those signs, if you're quick enough to figure out which direction they're pointing to at the various round-abouts.

6. Get a little bit lost in each of the towns you're visiting, but eventually end up in the main central square and thus orient yourself.

7. Repeat.

We were driving out of Barcelos over a bridge just barely two car-widths wide.
"We came into town from up that way, on the other side of the river. You realize that, right?"
"Yeah, but some of those roads were one-way, so there's no good way to retrace our steps. I think going this way will work."
"O...k... you can only turn right up ahead here."
"Yeah... hmm... does this road lead anywhere?"
It seemed like one of the only ways to continue was a steep alleyway that led up and up, winding between narrow stone walls. "Meh, let's try this."
Miraculously, this tiny alley that looked like it led nowhere spilled right out onto a major street, and the very next round-about had a huge sign for the highway we were looking for.
Monika realized she'd have no reason to get upset at me for getting lost this time. "I can't believe this."

We spent the last 24 hours or so in Evora, a medieval city with cobbled streets, fortified perimeter walls, and a brilliantly vibrant white and gold colour scheme. Here are a few photos taken while wandering the winding alleys:

An aqueduct was built in the 16th century to supply the city with fresh water. Not long after, houses and shops begin to fill in the gaps in the arches

The driver's union of Portugal's national railway company (CP) is striking to protest austerity measures being imposed due to the Euro-zone debt crisis. Most of this week, the number of trains on any given route is being cut to about half the usual schedule. The CP website showed that the 16:55 train was the only one running from Evora to Porto this evening, but when we arrived at the station the latest news was that it would be the 19:02 one instead.

Despite the occasional firehose of unintelligible Portuguese he'd shoot at us, the ticket agent did manage to convey to us our options for getting to Porto earlier. He was even nice enough to call us a cab to take us from the train station to the bus station!

The buses are quite nice, and even have free wifi so I can post as we go!

Monasteries and light

Why's it called sight-seeing? The simple term so obviously neglects even other basic senses. Why is it deemed perfectly normal to squeeze in some sight-seeing before dinner, but odd to go do some sound-hearing?

And maybe it's actually about something more abstract anyway. Culture-immersing? Wonder-marvelling? Heritage-embracing? Experience-collecting? Routine-escaping? Sublime-approaching?

Sometimes a term is just a convenient, often simplified, cue for something deeper. But we should take care to guard against a simplified vocabulary constraining our ideas.

......

We’ve visited three of Portugal’s major historic monasteries: Jeronimos on Sunday, Tomar and Batalha yesterday. They offer equally beautiful sights, but are not equal in other respects.

Jeronimos, being in Lisbon, is the busiest of the three. For that reason I’m glad we saw it first, before being spoiled by Tomar’s amazing seclusion and atmosphere.

Jeronimos

It’s common to come across empty cloisters at Tomar, and you can allow the stillness and quiet to envelope you. You can also take a contemplative walk through the gardens or along the ramparts.