Passion et Liberté: Portugal

After my first visit to Portugal I told myself that this is a country in which I want to come back. Now I consider it one of my standard destinations. Partly because of surfing, partly because of the beauty it contains, and partly because of the warm and good people of this region. Portugal is the pearl of the Pyrenean peninsula, were it's hard to find a small corner that is not overcrowded by tourists. Therefore, Portugal has an adventures and discovering charm, where except of urban centers, you can find medieval castles and places in the local style which exude the spirit of those colonial times. Just a short drive away one can retire to the beautiful and windy coast, where no one is anywhere, where the sun kisses the beach and the waves are living their routine all year round, where the cliffs are like those at the end of the world, and the beach and sand dunes are miles long.

In Portugal, I almost forgot to write or take pictures. We took a little time for ourselves. We passed through Lisbon and Coimbra, to the Atlantic coast, visited Porto and settled in a small village along the Atlantic coast called Madalena. We were in the company of our Irish friends Billy and Maria. Basically we camped, slept, and drank, barbecued, bathed in the Atlantic, hung out with other campers, barbecued and drank, shared food and barbecued again, helped one another after rainy days, barbecued and drank. :)

Definitely one of my favourite larger towns in Portugal is Porto. Located at the mouth of the River Douro. Represents a mixture of styles and periods, with narrow medieval streets, extravagant Baroque churches, small squares and a historical center protected by the UNESCO on their world heritage list. A lot of buildings look like they are falling apart. However, the city is under constant renewal.

View at the River Douro, the old part of Porto in the background and the original old boats that were used to haul the barrels of "Porto" for those people looking for fun.

Pictures from the old part of Porto, small squares, traditional style with a finish with colorful tiles on the walls.

Now, who doesn’t know what “Porto” is, or more accurately “Porto wine”, or more precisely “Vinho do Porto”, here’s a picture. It is a drink that will most likely be on your list when visiting Portugal, created and is exclusively produced in the valley of the River Douro in northern provinces of Portugal. It is a sweet red wine (can be white also), something like a dessert wine. It can be found manufactured in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India, Argentina and the United States and is called “Port”, but the real “Vinho do Porto” is considered only the one from Portugal. It is made from grapes in the Douro region and subsequently added Aguardente spirit to stop fermentation. In that way the sugar remains in the wine and the wine gets a little heavier note and a higher percentage of alcohol.