Surprises in Portugal

It seems like everyone is going to Portugal, just got back or wants to go. No wonder. Renowned for its beauty, cuisine, culture and history, it’s an attractive destination. My husband and I spent a month there this summer and found all of that to be true, but there were some surprises.

 

Getting there and getting around was very easy. A quick Charleston to Philadelphia flight and a redeye to Lisbon got us there at 9 a.m. The return flight was even quicker. We planned our itinerary around the train system which is the best in Europe. They’re comfortable and efficient and a great way to meet people. It was easy to not have a car since Uber drivers came in an instant for very low cost. Furthermore, pedestrian safety is among the best in the world. Cars always yield to crosswalks.

 

The food was diverse. They say that Portugal has 365 recipes for cod, one for each day. Stacks of dried cod (which is imported from Norway nowadays) are in every store. But our food tour guide Eloise introduced us to excellent Iberian pork, cheeses, chorizo and octopus. There’s wonderful seafood of course, but also plenty of ethnic cuisine. And how nice that it’s safe to drink the tap water. 

 

It’s both modern and historic. While we sat in a square surrounded by churches built centuries ago, a busker sang and asked for requests. Soon the crowd was singing Barbie movie songs, complete with dialogue! But pride in culture runs deep. In Viana do Castelo we were entranced at a week-long festival that originated in 1772. Saints were carried from church altars and put onto ships to be blessed at sea. Citizens walked four hours in parades dressed in traditional clothes and stayed up all night to cover the streets with pictures made of rock salt. “I get tears in my eyes every year,” our new friend Rosa told us.  

 

And then there’s the politics. Portugal banned the importation of slaves in 1761, almost 100 years before the U.S. (although it continued in their colonies). But the Inquisition lasted decades long, until 1821. We were struck by how democracy was won during a peaceful one-day coup in 1974 known as the Carnation Revolution where the citizenry flooded the streets and put flowers into gun barrels, ending over 40 years of fascist rule. It was the first country in the world to decriminalize drugs and has one of the lowest drug usage rates in Europe. Interestingly, a Portuguese man who works for a U.S. company told us that work-life differences create some friction.

 

Portuguese have three weeks of paid time off by law. U.S. bosses are sometimes annoyed that their European employees don’t take work with them. A waiter shared that he and his wife enjoy a nice standard of living due to the guaranteed minimum income laws and expats were eager to boast of receiving medical care for a fraction of the U.S. cost.          

 

And then there’s the wine. No surprise that it’s so wonderful, but it’s surprisingly inexpensive. Another delight: tiny chocolate cups of ginjinha (a cherry liquor) sold from doorways all over the country.  

 

And then there’s the pastry. How many bakeries can one country support? Apparently one on every block. People linger over cappuccino and conversation so we made it our daily ritual too. It was our duty to compare the ubiquitous pastel de nata (little custard tarts) that every city creates its version of. 

 

Portugal’s tourism is increasing and it’s easy to see why. Vacationing there is comfortable, interesting and easy. Compared to other European countries, it’s less expensive and it’s full of delightful surprises.