Portugal

leaving from Lisboa again

2011-08-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

flying home from Lisboa, had a wonderful walk around the city in the afternoon/evening.

Oriente train station at night

I am always happy to be in Lisboa, it truly is a beautiful and friendly city. There are always lots of street performers in Lisboa, this is one I have not seen before. I am sure there is a trick, but I have not figured it out. Hard way to make a living....

Obidos-Medieval Moors VS the Christians

2011-08-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

The Moors were theatrically evil and dishonorable and the actors played the part to the hilt.

Of course, the noble Portuguese won against the odds and the crowd had a wonderful time cheering the hero and booing the villain during the jousting and sword contests.

Obidos-Medieval

2011-08-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

Pet dragon

A painfully realistic leper

This beautiful medieval town has been well preserved. When I was there for this festival there were just enough people to make it interesting. One thing that impressed me was how polite and mellow everyone was. There was great food, meat cooking on spits and over wood, bread being baked in outdoor wood burning ovens and traditional pastries, wine, olives and cheese. Also very impressive was the fact that every serving piece, cups, plates, saucers, etc. was made of a simple brown pottery. NO plastic utensils, bottles, no trashcans filled with trash because no trash was generated! Amazing and wonderful.

Obidos-Medieval festival

2011-08-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

great performers at the festival, what made it so pleasant was that everyone looked like they were having fun. Not crowded with visitors, just the right number for a great ambience.

Some videos below. The band was fantastic, and the monks who were constantly being met with "temptation" and then punishing themselves were having a great time overacting.

Buçaco Forest

2011-08-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

I took a bus from Coimbra to the Bucaco Forest.

The Buçaco Forest was first settled by Benedictine monks in the 6th Century. Papal edict of 1622 declared that women entering the forest would be excommunicated.

The Discalced Carmelites, an order of barefooted monks, took over in 1628. They built a monastery and surrounded the 250-acre (105-hectare) forest with a wall. Over the centuries, the monks and the government foresters who succeeded them have planted nearly 400 Portuguese varieties of trees, shrubs, and flowers while importing some 300 species from as far away as Mexico, Chile, and Japan.

sugar porn-Caldas da Rainha

2011-08-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

all Portuguese towns have wonderful pastry shops. They all have mouth watering window displays and immaculately laid out interior displays of many kinds of sweets. But I only observed these graphic examples in the town of Caldas da Rainha.

Caldas de Rainas

2011-08-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

Caldas da Rainha was founded by Queen Leonor, wife of King João II. One day in 1484, while traveling from Óbidos to Batalha, she found a group of peasants bathing in foul-smelling waters by the roadside. She stopped to inquire about this oddity and was told that the waters possessed curative powers. She decided to try them for herself. She was pleased to find that she was quickly relieved of some affliction she had been suffering (exactly what is not known). On that site, the queen ordered a thermal hospital built so that others may enjoy the relief that she felt. Construction began the following year, 1485.

Caldas is also known for ceramics

view from my hotel window

copied from Wikipedia
Caldas da Rainha is a very plesant town with a daily fruit market and some surprising pastries that I have only seen in this town.

Ponte de Lima

2011-07-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

Beautiful town on the Lima river, (up stream from Viana do Castelo) famous for Vinho Verde region.

beautiful small well preserved and maintained medieval town, gardens and river walk on the other side of the bridge.

town square

square in another part of town, note the staute of the bull under the tree, in Portugal they do not kill the bull. many towns have as part of the annual fiesta an event where the bull is lead around on a rope.

a old depection of the bull on a rope, in Ponte de Lima he is lead across the river, general merriment ensues

Porto river Durho

2011-07-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

port caves and barges across the river

narrow streets down to the bridge

waiting for something....

photography, old school..

2011-07-05T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have these photograhers at other locations, I observed these at Bom Jesus a huge church near Braga. I always felt a little sorry for them, surely with everyone carrying a digital camera, must be a hard and slim living.

It is a old process, black and white with the processing done the old way in the dark space behind the camera curtin and a bucket of water to stop the processing. So just when I thought these guys never get customers, here is what I observed.

Viana do Castelo

2011-07-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Viana do castelo is a very pleasant town at the mouth of the Lima River.

from the museum of traditional dress, there is a big festival here later in the year where everyone wears the costumes

salt water public pool at low tide

more of the traditional clothes

view overlooking the town (not my photo)

Viana de Castelo and Newfoundland

2011-07-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

This information is from the Viana do Castelo city page

The Ship Gil Eannes was built at the Estaleiros Navais of Viana do Castelo (Viana do Castelo's Shipyard) in 1955 her mission being to support the cod fishing fleet in the seas off Newfoundland and Greenland.
Although her main purpose was to give hospital assistance to all the fishermen and ships' crews, Gil Eannes was also a flagship, a post ship, a tug and an ice breaker, guaranteeing food supplies, nets, bait and fuel for the cod fishing ships.

1975 she reinitiated activity as a commercial refrigerated cargo ship, regularly carrying cargos of dried cod from Norway to Lisbon, in the service of the Cod Commerce Regulatory Commission. In that same year, she was required by the Portuguese Government to participate in Angola's independence, as a hospital ship.
After her arrival from Angola, she was again equipped for commercial voyages, having navigated through the seas of Norway, Canada, New England, South Africa, Republic of Cameroon and Spain. Between these voyages she, made some stops for maintenance at Viana do Castelo’s Shipyard and Aveiro.
Having ceased activity in 1984, she went from quay to quay in the Port of Lisbon until she was sold as scrap in 1997, already in a much deteriorated state and plundered of the equipment that she once had.

Faced with this ignominious end for the emblematic hospital ship, Viana's inhabitants were mobilized by the Mayor's office of Viana do Castelo, to bring her to the city where she was born, rescuing her from her fate of being scrapped, in order to be displayed in the seaport of Viana do Castelo as a living memory of the maritime past of the city and of the country.

In 1998 she underwent an extensive refit at Viana do Castelo's Shipyard, with the support of various institutions, companies and citizens, becoming the property of the Gil Eannes Foundation.

best art so far, Ponte de Lima

2011-07-04T03:50:00.000-07:00

Ponte de Lima library had the best art of all so far. The children had painted pictures from the books the children,s librarian had read to them. ~The librarian said the ages were from 6 to 10. I was quite impressed, I offered to buy some of the art, I loved them so much, the librarian was quite pleased, but said that since I was there just for the day, she did not have time to contact the children.

Vila de conde(on the Porto metro line)

2011-06-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Vila de Conde used to be a traditional fishing village, there are lots of services for the old fishermen, there is a health center and medical center for them. The picture of the fisherman is cerca 1960.
There is still a small industry in boat building and working on boats. I thought it very pleasant, well worth the 35 mintute trip on the metro.

day care or day camp, I loved all the children with the a color hat for each group

Night of the sardines at the end of the Metro line (Porto)

2011-06-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

at the end of the metro line are two beach towns, Vila de Conde and Prozoa de Varzim (not sure about the spelling)
I went there in the morning and found out that they were very pleasant and that Varzem was having a festival that I was enchanted by. So I walked around until I found a nice, cheap room above a family restaurant.
It is the fiesta of Sao Pedro (St. Paul ) who is apparently also the parton saint of this town that used to make its living from the sea. The town was so beautifully decorated and everyone was so excited about the fiesta that I decided to spend the night. I wondered why I was able to get a room (very basic, with a spotless shared bath) so cheaply but then I figured out (later) that it was because no one went to sleep all night!

the saint with sardines

the saint again with more fish

processions and dancing in the street

this went on until at least 1 am( when I had to find my room)

fires in the street and everyone grilling sardines (yes they were wonderful and I eat lots)

Porto and port

2011-06-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Port aging in oak in the caves across the river

One of the famous English brands of port

There is some very expensive port to be had here, the really old port 20 years or more and that is highly rated by all the wine "experts" sells for 100 US or more. I think that expensive or cheap, port would give me a raging mirgaine, so I will have to pass. Vinho verde(young white wine is wonderful, very inexpensive,I have bought some really delicisous ones for 3 to 4 US.

Porto (as in Portugal)

2011-06-28T05:39:00.000-07:00

very interesting city, quite different from Lisbon, loved the bridges ,
I am staying Almada Guest House from 6/26-6/29

Porto is known for: (quoted from Lonely Planet book section on Porto)"Porto put the ‘Portu’ in ‘Portugal’. The name dates from Roman times, when Lusitanian settlements straddled both sides of the Douro’s banks. The area was briefly in the hands of Moors but was reconquered by AD 1000 and reorganised as the county of Portucale, with Porto as its capital. British-born Henri of Burgundy was granted the land in 1095, and it was from here that Henri’s son and Portuguese hero Afonso Henriques launched the Reconquista (Christian reconquest), ultimately winning Portugal its status as an independent kingdom.In 1387 Dom João I married Philippa of Lancaster in Porto, and their most famous son, Henry the Navigator, was born here. While Henry’s explorers groped around Africa for a sea route to India, British wine merchants –forbidden to trade with the French – set up shop, and their presence continues to this day, evidenced in port-wine labels such as Taylor’s and Graham’s."

This is the city that originated and named Port Wine, and gave birth to one of world history's legendary figures, Prince Henry the Navigator.

Ponte de Dom Luís I (Bridge)

Completed in 1886 by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the double-decker bridge's top deck has a pedestrian walkway, with vertigo gaps in the metal grates.

Sao Benato train station in Porto

2011-06-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

Prince Henry and the Moors in Morocco,(I think) Is is just me or does he have a cartoon character face?

some things I will not try in Porto

2011-06-27T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am a pretty adventurous eater and will usually try a lot of new foods or things that are prepared in a different way.

However there are 2 dishes here in Porto that I am not going to attempt.
1. Tripe Locals are fond of tripe, it is a traditional and dish here, supposedly going back to the time of Prince Henry the Navigator during Portugal.s age of exploration when sailors got the best part of the cow and tripe was left for the locals. However, much a tradition and it may indeed be wonderful, I am going to pass on tripe.

2. Francesinha (meaning Little Frenchie or simply Frenchie in Portuguese), made with bread, lots of ham and sausage, and sometimes another cured meat covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato and beersauce served with french fries.
Just too much for me!

Amarante

2011-06-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

Amarante, about 45 minutes from Porto has a small medieval core on the Tamega river. A pleasant walk around the church and along the river with giant treesThe patron saint is São Gonçalo’s. His image on his tomb has been partially eroded by the touch of devotees over the ages, touching his feet are supposed to insure a coming marriage.

MERCADO DO BOLHÃO- I love markets.

2011-06-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

mercado in Porto, Portugal. I am staying very near the mercado.

cherries are in season, and I have eating lots of them,, they are wonderful here in Portugal

Rabbit, probably for dinner.

Stone villages above Lousa

2011-06-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

Talasnal is the villiage I walked to along a very well marked trail, I went up and down the same way, but the trail could also be done as a circuit hike. Not too bad, about 5 miles, all uphill (and down). The only thing that made it ardous was it was intensely hot, but bearable because the air was dry, not humid like our summers.
Schist is a metamorphic rock which can be easily split along the plane,making it a building material for these ancient villages.

Once I got up to the village I spent some time just absorbing the place, there was a small restaurant and shop there. The owner also served liquors that he made from all sorts of mountain herbs and flowers.

Lousa, swimming in the river

2011-06-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

There was a wonderful swimming place in the river about 3 km above Lousa. On a hot afternoon, it was a wonderful family place. (and it was very, very hot). Lovely clean water and beautiful stonework. I also noticed that there was a total absence of signs of any kind. In the US we would have all sorts of signs prohibiting this and that, reminding people not to do stupid things, and all sorts of posted rules.

Not even one sign here. In general children are well behaved and supervised by parents, and a certain behavior seems to the norm and expected.

Lousa

2011-06-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Lousa is about 1 hour away from Coimbra. I wanted to be near the Schist villages in the mountains above the town of Lousa. It seems that many travelers confuse it with Luso, also near Coimbra.
There are some walks from Lousa up into the mountain villages. These are built of stone(Schist) and were abondoned as living villages because a living could not be made there. Some are now being turned into vacation houses and as traditional touristic attractions.
Lousa was having a festival of Sao Joa as well and I had hopes that being a smaller place it would have a traditional festival that celebrated customs and traditions. I was sadly disappointed, however, it was a terrible mix of loud carnival rides, horrible live music, and a large section of tacky venders and fried anything.

church illuminated for the festival (quiet part of town!)

Fortunately the festival was not close to the quite town square or my hotel.

nice local market on Saturday morning

Coimbra, sardinas in the neighborhood

2011-06-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Each neighborhood had its own celebration, with music, dancing. Grilled sardines and caldo verdo are traditional and so delicious.

Coimbra, great street theature

2011-06-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

The nights of Sao Joa are being celebrated here. Coimbra had a wonderful street play that went from one end of the town up the cathedral. Romance and high comedic drama as the story unfolded in a parade that stopped at squares to advance the drama. Very well done, the local crowd was appreciative as I was.

these ladies were part of the play

Togas, not just for parties

2011-06-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

In Coimbra as in Lisboa, the students wear black uniforms and capes, called togas. I think they look quite elegant, but they must be hot.

always a good rule...

2011-06-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

Just so you know the life rule "never eat anything bigger than your head" also applies to macaroons-

What is it with the rooster?

2011-06-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

From the airport to every city, you can find this symbol, brightly painted, iconic or ironic depending on the context. This national symbol of Portugal - the rooster (galo), symbolizes honesty, integrity, trust and honor.

Apparently there is a legend as follows:

The origin of these legend comes from the city of Bracelos where "it really happened!" you just have to believe!

One day,, there appeared a stranger who was suspected of having committed a crime. He was arrested because nobody believed him when he said that he was on his way to São Tiago de Compostela to fulfill a vow. .And so he was condemned to be hanged. But before the execution, he asked to be taken to the presence of the judge who had pronounced the sentence. His request was granted, and they took him to the house of the judge, who was dining with some friends.

Strongly proclaiming his innocence, and, to the amazement of those present, pointed to a roast chicken on the table and exclaimed: "As surely as I am innocent, will that cock crow if I am hanged!" There was an outburst of laughter and comments, but in the end, nobody touched the cock.

When the pilgrim was being hanged, the cock stood up on the table and crowed. No one any longer doubted the innocence of the condemned man. The judge rushed to the gallows and horrified saw the wretched man with the rope around his neck. But the knot was caught and thus prevented him from being strangled.

He was immediately released and sent on his way in peace. Years later, he returned to Barcelos and built the monument to the Virgin and St. James.

Coimbra library and BATS!

2011-06-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

University of Coimbra Library.

Biblioteca Joanina, thisBaroquelibrary was built between 1717 and 1728, during the reign of King João V of Portugal.

Teak, tropical hardwoods, and oak with elaborate carving and decoration make this an amazing library.

I read that "Inside this temple of books lives a colony of bats, which come out at night and feed on the occasional insects. Every evening, before leaving the library, thecaretaker covers the magnificent tables with leather towels, and the following morning he cleans the library before opening it to the public.
Went to the library and can confirm that the bat story is true!
The friendly guard showed me the cracks behind the bookcases that they roost in during the day.
What a great symbiotic relationship, most places would have called an exterminator instead of using the bats as "bookworm control"

Coimbra music(fado)

2011-06-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Coimbra Fado is a type of music in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. It was adopted as the music of the university students of this city, also known as Student Fado (Fado de Estudante), but is usually considered the typical music of Coimbra.

It is performed with the traditional Guitarra de Coimbra (a kind of Portuguese guitar originating in Coimbra), with classic acoustic guitar and male voices.I went to a fado performance last night at a chapel that has been beaurifully converted into a bar/cafe. It began at 10:30, normally I would have been asleep, but since my internal clock is still 5 hours earlier, I could stay awake. The chapel setting was appropriate, since the audience, unlike a bar setting in the US where music is preformed, there was total silence and reverence. NO one talked during the performance, even the waiters serving were very careful not to clink a glass. It seemed like a shared expeience, since the audience knew many of the lyrics and mouthed the lyrics along with singer. The accompanists could stand alone with very precise and complex fingering on the Portuguese guitar (photo) and a Spanish quitar.

For my typical 2 drinks (3 puts me to sleep at any hour) I found out I can drink the wonderful light and local vino verde, which is a young, white wine that is made locally and a cherry liquor like drink that is also made locally and very popular here. Gingha (the cherry drink) is VERY sweet, thnk of double sweet cherry Mansechevitz and you get the idea (would be good poured over ice cream or in a torte). I will be having the vinho verde again, but not the gingha!

My favorite grafitti in Coimbra

2011-06-23T06:38:00.000-07:00

Since Coimbra is a university town the grafitti reflects this somewhat...there are lots of marks that seem to reflect a youthful angst and youth against the system.

here are my favorites seem about town.

Coimbra, university town on the Mondego river

2011-06-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

I am in my first city in my travels.
(not my photo) but a nice view of this university town on the river.

I am staying here: Casa Pombal

I have the attic room which I quite like. here is the view from my windown.

and here are some flowers growing in the botantical gardens and a typical street in the town, the locals refer to the old town (12th century) and the new town (only 14th-15th!). Once again, I am reminded of how young comparatively speaking every thing in our country --with the notable and tragic exception of what remains of the native Americans.

overlooking Lisbon (Lisboa)

2009-09-21T14:15:00.000-07:00

seen from the train

2009-09-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

On my way back to Lisbon from Marvao I passed through many small towns, each with beautiful tile work at the train stations which displayed some charactertistic of the town. The conductor looked out at each stop to see if there were any passengers, until we got almost to Entrecampos, a stop close to Lisbon I had the train almost to myself. Probably not a good indicator for the future of train travel in Portugal. The last tile is an image that is often seen of Queen Isabel, who according to legend was very generous to the poor which did not sit well with her husband the king. As Isabel took bread to the poor, her husband confronted her; she said she was merely carrying flowers and when she opened her cape, roses came tumbling out.

Percebes(goose barnacles) and yes I ate them

2009-09-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

and they were good!
Hold the shell with two fingers of one hand and with the other pinch the neck as close to the shell as possible. Pull away the skin, leaving the meat and shell attached. Bite off the meat and discard the rest.

Trolley down to the sea

2009-09-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

I took the trolley from Sintra down to the sea, about an hour of riding down to the sea. This trolley has been running for over a hundred years. Now, of course, it is more of a tourist thing, but nice that it is still running.

One of favorite meals

2009-09-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Grilled sardines, wonderful, I had these often.

photographer in the fish market

2009-09-21T12:12:00.000-07:00

I find mercdos fascinating and the kinds of fish and other sea food was amazing.

Azuelojs ...(Tiles)

2009-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

The practice of using tiles for decoration began with the Moors, although, of course, their religion forbade depection of human forms. There are beautiful examples of this art everywhere you go in the country.

From the mercado
from the Government office in Lisbon

one of my favorite museums in Lisbon

2009-09-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

Vasca Da Gama sits in the entrance, he is probably the most revered figure in the history of Portugal and one of the most successful in the European Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India.His explorations enabled Portugal to gain an early advantage in the wealth related to the trade of spices and other exotic and valuable goods. Incredible wealth poured in Portugal for centuries, reflected today in the churches and public buildings.

I have seen these faces from the
portraits in the Marine Museum on the subway, I love the picture of the fisherman, the painting of the young man is of Bartholomew Diaz, 1451 – 29 May 1500, a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European known to have done so.
The older man is Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal. However, he obtained Spanish nationality in order to serve the Spanish Crown and set out to search a route to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. He became the first European to lead an expedition across the Pacific Ocean. This was also the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth, but he died before completing the voyage.

The interesting Maritime Museum was one of my favorites.The museum starts with the hero of Portugal's golden age of power and wealth, Vasco da Gama

(1469 - 1524). He followed Bartolomeu Dias' route to the Cape of Good Hope and continued sailing into unknown waters along the eastern coast of the African continent. He eventually located a route to India. By 1511, the Portuguese mastered the Spice routes and had access to the Spice Islands. In 1513, Portuguese trade extended to China and Japan.
All kinds of boats and maritime artifacts fill the space that is part of the Belem monastary, which is a huge complex.

Sintra, Palace de Pena

2009-09-21T02:54:00.000-07:00

this palace was a summer residence for the Portuguese royal family. The construction took place between 1842-1854. King Ferdinand was involved in the mixture of many design elements which give the palace an almost unreal effect. Among others, the King suggested Vault arches, Medieval and Islamic elements be included, and he also designed an exquisitely ornate window for the main façade (inspired by the chapter house window of the Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar).

After the death of Ferdinand the palace passed into the possession of his second wife Elisa Hensler, Countess of Edla. When I was touring the palace one of the guides told me that the second wife was not allowed in the main part of the palace in public because she was (gasp!) an opera singer much younger and not royal, a trophy wife of sorts. The second wife who outlived Ferdinand, then sold the palace to King Luís, who wanted to retrieve it for the royal family. The palace was frequently used by the family. After the Republican Revolution of 1910 it was classified as a national monument and transformed into a museum. The last queen of Portugal, Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country in exile.

Do we have enough Olive oil?

2009-09-19T13:56:00.000-07:00

I am bringing home some olive oil, the olive oil here is the best I have ever tasted. Too bad I do not have this kind of storage space in my house. ( these huge jars are in the castle in Tomar)

Marquis de Pombal, man in charge

2009-09-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

(this Information is credited at the bottom of this posting)

Marqis de Pombal, born Sebastiao de Melo was prime minister of Portugal. He implemented English economic measures in Portugal and abolished slavery in the colonies of Portuguese India restructured the country's tax systems and reorganized the armed forces. Further important reforms were carried out in education, by Pombal: he expelled the Jesuits in 1759, created the basis for secular public primary and secondary schools, introduced vocational training, created hundreds of new teaching posts, added departments of mathematics and natural sciences to the University of Coimbra, and introduced new taxes to pay for these reforms.

Then the disastrous earthquake on November 1, 1755 estimated at 9 on the Richter scale, struck Lisbon. The city was razed to the ground and 90,000 people killed from a population of 275,000. A tsunami followed and fires burned for five days destroying 85% of the capital. Sebastiao de Melo (Marquis de Pombal)and the royal family were out of the city at the time and escaped injury.

His first actions were to put out the fires and bury the corpses. Downtown Lisbon was specially designed by architects and some of the first earthquake resistant buildings in the world were constructed. He was created Marquis de Pombal in 1770 and continued to rule Portugal until the death of Joseph I in 1779. He is regarded as one of Portugal's greatest statesmen.

Bibliography

Maxwell, Kenneth, Pombal - Paradox of the Enlightenment, Cambridge 1995.

The inquisitor will see you now...

2009-09-19T08:44:00.001-07:00

Information excerpted from Wikipedia(the picture is from the castle in Tomar, do not know if this room was actually used for the "trials" but it looks like it could have been. In Evora and Estremoz and also Tomar there are remains of Jewish communities who were living there or had a brief repreive from when they fled to Portugal from Spain, where the Inquisition began earlier.

Many place the true beginning of the Portuguese Inquisition at 1497, when many Jews were expelled from Portugal and others were forcibly converted to Catholicism. As in Spain, the major target of the Portuguese Inquisition was the Sephardic Jews who had been expelled from Spain in 1492 (see the Alhambra decree); after 1492, many of these Spanish Jews left Spain for Portugal, but they were eventually targeted there as well.

As in Spain, the Inquisition was subject to the authority of the King. It was headed by a Grand Inquisitor, or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope but selected by the king, always from within the royal family. The Grand Inquisitor would later nominate other inquisitors. In Portugal, the first Grand Inquisitor was Cardinal Henry, who would later become king. There were Courts of the Inquisition in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and Évora.

It held its first auto de fé in Portugal in 1540. Like the Spanish Inquisition, it concentrated its efforts on rooting out those who had converted from other faiths (overwhelmingly Judaism) who did not adhere to the strictures of Catholic orthodoxy; as in Spain, the Portuguese inquisitors mostly targeted the Jewish "New Christians," conversos, or marranos.

The Portuguese Inquisition expanded its scope of operations from Portugal to Portugal's colonial possessions, including Brazil, Cape Verde, and Goa, where it continued investigating and trying cases based on supposed breaches of orthodox Roman Catholicism until 1821.

Under João III, the activity of the courts was extended to the censure of books, as well as undertaking cases of divination, witchcraft and bigamy.

According to Henry Charles Lea,^[1] between 1540 and 1794, tribunals in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Évora resulted in the burning of 1,175 persons, the burning of another 633 in effigy, and the imposition of penance on 29,590. However, documentation of fifteen out of 689^[2] Autos-da-fé has disappeared, so these numbers may slightly understate the activity.

The Portuguese inquisition was extinguished in 1821 by the "General Extraordinary and Constituent Courts of the Portuguese Nation" .

Knights Templar chapel, Tomar

2009-09-19T08:37:00.001-07:00

The scale of the chapel is impossible to convey with a photo. The design is based on the temple in Jerusalem, and the circular design allowed the Knights to enter on horseback for special ceremonies.

Tomar and the Knights Templar

2009-09-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

The castle and monastery are of an enourmous scale, I detoured from the self guided tour to go the bathroom and got completely lost, took me a while to find my way back to where I had left off my tour. The day I was I had the complex mostly to myself, which gave the site a more mysterious air than if there were many others with me in the castle and monastery.
The information below is excerpted from this website, Templars in Portugal

From the period of 1143-1190, the Knights Templar presence in Portugal became stronger by the year. . The Portuguese Templar Master, Gualdim Pais decided to construct a new fortress in the area, which he commenced one year later in 1160 to be built in Tomar.

The castle itself is known by the name, "Convento de Cristo" and remains an impressive epitaph to Templar abilities in architecture. Within its ancient fortifications lies an eight sided chapel, which was a standard style of Templar architecture. This octagonal form of building which the Templars are believed to have developed from the Muslim's "Dome of the Rock" in Jerusalem, served a threefold objective to the Templar masons. Firstly its eight walls formed a superior edifice of structural stability. Secondly it called to mind the overall shape of the Templar Cross Patee, which can be easily formed within the confines of the octagon. Finally, the octagon, especially when combined within the circle, formed a sacred geometry associated with Gnostic beliefs, for which the Knights Templar were said to share an affinity. It is rumored that within this octagonal chapel, called a "Charola", neophyte Templar knights were initiated on horseback.

The Templars influence ended in the rest of Europe when King Philip of France in 1307 began to pressure the church to declare the Templars heritics, and many were tortured and burned at the stake, the order was disbanded and King Philip was able to take over many of the Templars wealth.

Grand Master Jacques de Molay, who had confessed under torture, retracted his statement but was declared guily of being a relaspsed heretics and burnt at the stake. Both men were declared guilty of being relapsed heretic and sentenced to burn alive in 1314. According to legend, he called out from the flames that both Pope Clement and King Philip would soon meet him before God. Pope Clement died only a month later, and King Philip died in a hunting accident before the end of the year.

With the last of the Order's leaders gone, the remaining Templars around Europe were either arrested and tried under the Papal investigation or absorbed into other military orders such as the Knights Hospitaller, some were allowed to live out their days peacefully. S Templar organizations in Portugal simply changed their name, from Knights Templar to Knights of Christ. The hierarchy of the order was the grand master, knights, chaplains and sergeants. Only the knights wore the white cloaks with the red cross. I have not been able to find out the meaning of the globe shaped symbol below the cross.

Caba da Roca

2009-09-18T03:12:00.001-07:00

At the end of my visit to Sintra I took the last bus out to Caba do Roca, the

the Western most point in Europe(that is, of course the part connected to the mainland)

Sintra Moorish castle

2009-09-18T03:08:00.001-07:00

The remains of this Moorish castle also occupy the high ground in Sintra.

Constructed by the Moors in the 8th or 9th Century A.D.,

Marvao

2009-09-16T13:26:00.001-07:00

Marvao had intact walls that you could walk all the wall around and get a high 360 view.
Like most of these castle fortress towns Marvo has a history of Roman , then Moorish and finally an organized system of forts by the kings of Portugal. Portugal was one of the first countries in Europe to become a unified state before Spain and while Italy was still a collection of city states. Several of these towns had evidence of a Jewish population.

Until the 15th century, some Jews occupied prominent places in Portugal. But in 1497, under the pressure of Spain and the Church King Manuel I of Portugal decreed that all Jews had to convert to Christianity or leave the country. 5000 Jews were massacred in Lisbon (1506), deportation to São Tomé and Príncipe and later Portuguese Inquisition in 1536.

Castelo de Vide

2009-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

This town is famous for its spring water, I saw people filling their water jugs from the fountains in this small town. This is also on a hill looking over the Spanish frontier and the plains toward the east. Like most of these old towns ladies lean our of their windows and talk across the narrow streets. One of the fountains was the little boy peeing, I always thought this kind of fountain stauary was just a cliche, but this one is for real (although I did not see anyone filling their water jugs from this fountain). From the castle you can see the rest of the town, especially nice at sunset.

Portalegre

2009-09-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

I liked Portalegre even though it was a Sunday and everything was closed, but I think it is normally quite laid back.
Portalegre is another city in the Alentajo region that I spent some time traveling around in.

walking through a cork forest

2009-09-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

I walked down from Marvo on a medieval road (probably earlier) to the small town at the botton called Portagem. I always get a special feeling when I am stepping on a the same stones that people have walked on for hundreds of years. The stone work on the road was beautiful and the cork trees fascinated me. There was a Roman era bridge at the bottom, you can see the castel of Marvao from the bridge. There were also chestnut trees that the region is famous for, these trees looked ancient. It is amazing to me that the cork tree can survive the shearing of the cambium layer and still survive and grown, I know of no other tree with this characteristic. One wonders how this property was discovered, perhaps thousands of years ago. The trees that were recently sheared of the bark layer were almost brick red, the ones sheared several years ago had aged to a darker color.
The cork tree forms a thick, rugged bark which over time the cork cambium layer of bark which can can be harvested every 9 to 12 years to produce cork. The harvesting of cork does not harm the tree and a new layer of cork regrows. Portugal has for 50% of the world cork harvest. Cork Oaks cannot legally be cut down in Portugal, except for forest management. Cork Oaks live about 150 to 250 years. Cork can be harvested when the tree is around 25 years old, then another 9 to 12 years is for the second harvest.Cork harvesting is done entirely without machinery.

leaving Estremoz

2009-09-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

The bus station in Estremoz is the old train station. Although Portugal still has a functioning pasenger rail system, buses have taken over some of the routes. This platform seemed sad to me. Inside the station are some beautiful tiles showing the glories of past Estremoz. Estremoz like other cities that are less important than in the past have a lesser population than in the middle ages, but this has also made them preserve the old buildings and monuments.

Estremoz

2009-09-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

one of the reasons I went to Estremoz on a Saturday was because of the market. Every Saturday, there is a combination flea market, produce market and sellers of crafts and local pottery. I do love mercados, I think that you get the best feel for a country or a region when you go to local markets. Lots of incredible produce, and items that were new to me. I really wanted one of the brass or copper pots, there several less than 15 euros (about 20 US) a real deal, but I just could not face the idea of carrying them around for another week. (the first picture is of snails, if you cannot tell. I also liked the statue of pan in the market, he seemed to have a very knowing look. Also lots of women dressed in the traditional black that is worn for the rest of a women's life after her husband dies. You do not see this very often in Lisbon. The hams are cured meat are incredible, but unfortunately due to some short sighted and ignorant customs regulation, no form of these cured meats can be brought into the US.

Evora, bones and all

2009-09-14T03:11:00.000-07:00

Evora, like all these towns in this part of Portugal has an ancient and varied history. In the public square in Evora, there were public burnings of victims of the Inquisition in 16th century, as recent as the 1970's there were emotional debates on agarian reform, I have read that during this period, there were some collectivism of the big estates, although read now they mostly have reverted to the original owners. Now, it is a very peaceful place with more tourism than some other towns in the region (although compared to Spain and Italy very minor). I visited the cathedral which was begun around 1186, and like almost every other cathedral site there was a mosque here before. The flags of Vasco de Gama's ships were blessed here in 1497. The intertior of the cathedral is gothic with lovely tile work and paintings. I thought the large icon staute of the Virgin Mary was interesting, note the half moon symbol under her feet, an important symbol in pagan times for goddesses of fertility and the moon. Evora also has a Roman temple that was walled up in the Middle Ages and later used as the town slaughterhouse, apparently walling the temple up helped to preserve it. There are also some Roman baths inside the municipal building that were uncovered during some plumbing work there. As I passing by an I took these pictures of the uncovering of bones of more history.

Probably the most visited attraction is the chapel of the bones in another church in Evora. The sign over the portal says (translated)We bones here, for yours we wait.

The 17th Franciscan monks constructed this as a mento mori--reminder of death and the murals in the ceiling illustrated various reminders that we are all mortal as the bones remind us.

Last day in the Azores

2009-09-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

Faial my last island

2009-09-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

My last island, at least for this trip, before flying out to Lisbon tomorrow. Horta, the largest town on the island which I can pretty much walk around in under a half hour, is famous for a sailor stop crossing the Atlantic. Every sailboat crew is supposed to make a painting of their boat and crew on the walls surrounding the harbor. This island also had the most recent volcanic activity, some of which was quite devastating. you can read about the 1957 eruption here

Jesus, a bit player next to Mother

2009-09-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

I always try to take a picture of any church alter that is open and veneration of Mary with Jesus regulated to a much smaller icon or a side alter seems to be the dominant pattern. I do not have enough knowledge of the particular brand of Catholic here to know why this is so, although I know that the Jesuits were the predominant group. Perhaps Mary was the counterpoint to the sterness of the Jesuits, but only a guess.
The first alter is on Pico, the second in Horta on the island of Faial.

centuries of toil, but sweet on the vine

2009-09-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I have never eaten so many grapes in one day as the day I went to the vineyards of Pico. It was time to harvest and every family I passed wanted me to sample some of their grapes. So of course I could not refuse such gracious generousity.
The black volcanic land along the west coast of Pico island looks like the last place one would try to grow anything. But it is divided up into small plots some the size of large flower-beds, others more like tiny gardens. Each is separated by low walls, most are no more than waist high. Gnarled and ancient grape vines, some white, some such a dark purple to seem almost black are growing in each. They are ancient vineyards that have been designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for their unique design. . In order for this planting to take place, the stones had to be cleared, so they were piled up and used to make walls in which the vines were planted. The walls not only divided up the vines but sheltered them from the harsh Atlantic winds and provided extra warmth which would help the grapes to ripen. Walking along the walled plots you find it hard to imagine how grapes could grow in what appears to be lava, you can see the actual flow marks of the lava beside the woody grape vine. These plots are hundreds of years old and I can only imagine how complex the ownership of each plot must be. Most vineyards are divided into extremely small plots of land, called "currais," some of which contain only a few grapevines and the overall effect resembles a series of rectangles assembled in a complex pattern.
According to what I have read, the wine made from these grapes was world famous and sought after for hundreds of years, the Czars of Russia liked these wines for their tables.
The human labor that made these is amazing and I can only imagine the heartbreak that must have been felt to see these vines die after the vine-disease in 1852. Not surprisingly this was also the time of the first great wave of immigration to America and Canada.

casa de Cha..Horta island of Faial

2009-09-06T09:47:00.000-07:00

There is a wonderful little place in Horta called Casa de Cha..House of Tea. Beautiful garden and small house with curved spaces and soft jazz. Eugene and his mother were there. Eugene serves the tea and his mother bakes the pastries. I had a yellow tea from Ceylon that I have never had before and a bananna cream pie made from the banannas in the garden. I may have to go back later for the chocolate cake, Eugene says it is really diet food because after you have their chocolate cake you are not interested in any other, all other chocolate cake falls short of his mother s chocolate perfection.

Lajes do Pico, it was and is all about the whale

2009-09-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

Lajes do Pico was one of the major locations for the hunting of whales, primarily the sperm whale, because of the whale oil. This was literally a factory operation, with the processing of many thousands of whales that the men hunted offshore. Today the small village of Lajes survives on whale watching and the beauty of the coast along the slopes of the mountain of Pico.

Lajes or nearby,

2009-09-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

I think people here on Lajes, island of Pico appreciate the beauty of their island and love living here. I know how fortunate I am to be able to share this place for a short time.

in living memory they hunted whales

2009-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

I took these from framed photos on the wall of a cafe in a very small town on Pico island. What is amazing to me is how relatively recent the hunting of whales is. According to the whale museum in Lajes the hunting of whales continued up to 1985, which means that many people still living have hunted the whale and worked in the processing of the whale. Thankfully the whales are no longer hunted here , although Norway and Japan still do because they are not signatores to the international law that forbids killing of whales.

Lajes do Pico (Calheta) boats, boatbuilders, churches

2009-09-04T04:28:00.001-07:00

As you would think, boats are incredibly important on a island and the craftsmanship is of a high order. Some whale boats have been beautifully restored here, the ones on the quay are of course still in use. I loved the fact that photos of the builders, whalers and others involved in the history of this place, some dead and some probably still living lined walls of the boathouse. The picture of the boatbuilder holding his tools with such pride is one of my favorites.

Grapes and Lapas (limpets)

2009-09-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

It is time to begin harvesting the grapes, most are made into local wine but these were in the store here in Lajes do Pico, they were wonderful.
And I have limpets (a mollusk that lives on the rocks here) .They were wonderful with olive oil and garlic and local bread that you use to sop up the juice.

cultural notes

2009-09-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

pimento and cafe, must have both for life in the Azores

I have seen these coin operated claw games, strikes me as very strange.

The variety and wonderful quality of the bread here is amazing, some I can eat and some I cannot. There are several varieties made with corn meal and those tend to work better for me. (most of the small hotels I have been staying in include breakfast, this is the "bread bar" at one of them.)

Parque Sete Fontes (a short history of emigration in Azores)

2009-09-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

quoted from the Wilkipedia article
Since the 17th century, many Azoreans have emigrated, mainly to Brazil, the United States and Canada. Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, especially the cities of New Bedford and Fall River. Northern California was the final destination for many of the Massachusetts immigrants. In 1919, there were approximately 300,000 people in the Azores while there were 100,000 Azoreans in the United States. The tile in the park is from this painting (not in the park) Leaving the Azores - Painting by D. Rebelo

There have been several waves of immigration but a larg number left when the grape vines which produced wine died as a result of an introduced virus,I think in the 19th century.

One source said that "In just a little more than two decades, starting in 1859, almost one hundred thousand Azoreans left their homes for North America. As a consequence, the Azores lost almost one third of its population, the majority of which were between the ages of 18 and 40 years old." If true, this is amazing, I had no idea that the large numbers of immigrants was so recent.
So it appears that there have been several large waves of immigrants from the Azores, even today, people tell me that most young people have to leave the islands in order to make a living. On the other hand, there are many Americans were born on the islands and are returning to spend the last years of their lives here.

This boat has a sign that my friend, N. translated as:
'With reluctance comes the parting, tinted with hope and pain; Two hearts, one life, a courage founded on love.

my five course meal.

2009-09-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

stone

2009-09-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

Some of the uses of the lava rock is quite charming, but the houses and barns of stone reflect a huge labor that must have been difficult and back breaking. The stone could be as old as the earliest settlement in the 15th century, or more recent, impossible to tell just by looking. I find the skill of placing the lava blocks truly remarkable.

View from my window

2009-09-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hotel Neto in Velas has a fascinating view of the harbor that puts in the middle of the departures and arrivals that harbors experience.

There be dragons

2009-09-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am sure by now you have made the connection between Sao Jorge and Saint George, who conquered the dragons (or pagans if you believe the dragon stands for the old pagan beliefs)

The main church in Velas has this dragon sculpture in front of the church.

bless my garden and my mountain

2009-09-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

I liked the stone St. Francis in this garden walking down from Ponta Farol

Pico the mountain on the island across from Sao Jorge dominates the landscape. Tomorrow, I take the ferry to Pico island. Have not decided whether to climb up the volcano (not active at the moment)

amazing dahlias

2009-09-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

all the flowers here are amazing, but this must be the season for dahlias, these are the dahlias of dreams, the climate and moisture must be exactly right to produce such brillance. (I photographed these walking back down the road to Rosias after walking to Ponta Farol)

sound bites

2009-09-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

more very strange bird sounds, the video is dark because the birds only fly near shore at night. I cannot figure out the behavior for the cries they are making. I read that this flying around is common during the breeding season, but it would seem very late in the year for breeding. They are not feeding, only flying, crying and swooping. This continues very late at night. Any experts out there know more about the Shearwater bird behavior?

The video below I took because of what you do NOT hear, no cars, no planes, no machine of engine sounds of any kind, only the wind, the bells on the cows and an insect noise now and then. One of the immense appeals of this place is the total tranquility. I think that even in peaceful places in the world the total absence of machine sounds is rare.

Pico, view from Sao Jorge

2009-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

Forestal das Sete Fontes

2009-08-31T09:23:00.000-07:00

I love tree ferns, they seem so primitive and indeed they are little changed from the time of dinosaurs.

view from the top of the hill

Jesus in the side chapel

2009-08-31T08:41:00.001-07:00

Even though the photo of Jesus is bigger and appears first, he is NOT in the main altar but only in the side chapel. Mary is the queen that reins over this church in Rosais. (Sao Jorge). I have seen this arrangement quite a few times in the churches in the Azores. Note the ginger lilies flowers, they made the whole church smell wonderful.

Sunday walk Faja do Alem

2009-08-30T09:57:00.001-07:00

The more I see of the way people live in these very small settlements, the more I like it. I love simplicity, and the way of living is simple but immensely rich. They appreciate the wonderful local food, make their own wine and drink lots of it, value the silence the beauty and the importance of family. This settlement that I walked to is only accessible by foot, people still live there, you can imagine how healthy they have to be. The winch at the top of the page is for hauling things up and down, but as for people feet are the transport. I am so lucky to have a chance to see these places, and grateful that I can walk to them.

bull on a string and matadors with umbrellas

2009-08-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

If this reflects the national character, I like it! I believe it is against the law to kill the bull here, but as far as I know this type of event is tradition. I saw the sign for this very local event in the grocery store so decided to check it out. I always look at local grocery store bullentin boards to see if there is something of interest to the locals, and often this is also the kind of event I like as well.

up to the Serra and down to the Fajas

2009-08-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Here I am back in Calheta at the end of my walk. The other pictures are scenes along the trail. The old man standing in the doorway was in one of the only houses in a very long climb up the hill. Even though I could understand little of what he said, it was clear that he wanted me to stop and visit and have a glass of his home made wine so of course, I did. I found out later, (from a chance conservation on the bus to Velas) that he was at least 80 years old. the changes he has seen in his life are mind boggling. I hope that I can still walk up that mountain and work in the fields when I am his age. Other scenes along the trail, a very contented cow (all cows are contented here!) and a strange tree called a dragon tree, I do not know if it grows anywhere else, but I certainly have never seen such a tree.

This map shows the walk I took today, about 8 miles (10K) well within my personal range, but the up and down aspect made it more tiring. There are also parts of the trail where the loose lava rock is like walking on marbles. ( No I did not fall, but it required my full attention!) So I was glad to see Faja dos Vimes, where my very dependable taxi driver Martin picked me up right on the agreed on time.
Here are some photos looking down on the fajas that I walked through, as you can see I had to go up the hills and down again to get to one fajã to another.(if you have been following along my diary, you remember that fajas are the areas at the bottom of the hills that is where the lava stopped and the rubble and slides from above accumulate to make rich soil, with the slopes intensely terraced to grow crops)

Cory's Shearwate

2009-08-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

Last night I heard some strange sounds I have never before, a mixture of sounds; some like a cat, some like children and some a sad keening. I had no idea what this could be but I walked out on the quay and realized that these birds flying overhead were Cory's Shearwaters. I had read that they could be seen on these islands but now realized I was lucky enough to be seeing and hearing them. I was very impressed and enchanted with the birds, their flights and the strange mixture of sounds they were making. I used my camera to make a video(do not expect to see anything on the videos at the bottom of this post, this is so that you could hear some of the sounds)

Below is an expert from the Audubon web site with infor. on this bird. You can read the rest here.With a few, deep beats of its long wings, the Cory's Shearwater rides air currents just above ocean waves. The largest shearwater in North American waters, it patrols the warm, summer ocean of the Atlantic for squid and fish. Seldom seen from land, this seabird returns to rocky islands only to breed. Along with petrels and fulmars, shearwaters are called tubenoses, because a little pipe, fixed to the top of their bill, covers their nasal holes.

Appearance: A large seabird, the Cory's Shearwater weighs about 1.8 pounds and measures 18 inches long with a 44-inch wingspan. The upper parts are mostly light brown. The outer wing is dark, as is the short tail. The underparts are whitish, and the underwing is white with dark edges and a dark "hand." An indistinct, dusky mask covers the eye and contrasts with the brown head. The stout, yellow bill is hooked and tipped with dark gray. The Cory's Shearwater has a distinct flight pattern: stiff, often bowed wings; infrequent, deep wing beats; and a steady, albatross-like glide.

Faja dos Cubres

2009-08-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today I took the walk from Serra do Topo and Caldeira de Santo Cristo down to Faja dos Cubres. My taxi driver dropped my off at Serra do Topo and I set out for the 8.7 kilometre walk, does not sound too far, but the walk down to the faja was fairly steep. (this is walk # 20 if you have Acores trail book) I was interested to see as I reading the trail notes that I crossed the bridge on the main river at exactly the time mark 1.5 hours that the guide stated. So although I suppose I could have gone faster, there was no point in rushing through the unique trail and there was lots of potential for a ankle twisting or snapping mis step. The beginning of the trail was misty down to the Faja de Santo Cristo and they were no inhabitants until Santo Cristo. There are no roads accessible for cars until you get almost to dos Cubres, so the transport is foot, burro or those horrid all terrain things. If I read the sign at dos Cubres correctly there is a public 4 wheeled thing, which must a bone jolting trip as you can perhaps tell by the trail. Until you get Santo Cristo, there is only a foot path, my favorite mode of transport!

São Jorge

2009-08-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Photo notes: 1.signs of civilized place, even the smalles market has local bread, cheese, eggs, and in this case green coffe beans. 2. View of Pico (mountain with same name as the island, tallest in Portugal) 3. The local swimming hole in Calheta, my hotel overlooks this)

I arrived in São Jorge from Ponta Delgaga on an hour flight. From the first moment I stepped out of the plane I could see that this island is different from Sao Miguel. Much less populated (not that Sao Miguel is densely populated), even more green with more mist and much more vertical. A key feature of this island are the fajãs flat lands along the sea that formed by lava flowing into the ocean and landslides and collapsing cliff, São Jorge is the island that has the most. It was also the fajãs, which made the island’s steep coasts accessible and when settling and farming started on a larger scale in the second half of the 15th century.

Due to a some microclimates, in some of the fajãs coffee, bananas and other tropical fruits are grown. there was a devastating earthquake in 1980. Now many of the fajãs are abandoned and only the safest and best accessible ones are still inhabited. I walked from to top of the island down to Fajã da Caldeira do Santo Cristo, a protected nature reserve with a lake famous for its delicious clams,which according to what I read are unique in the world and only found here. Once you come down the trail, which seems remote and I on which I saw no one else there are a few houses and a small restaurant. I do not know if they served the clams there, my feeling is that I do not need to eat something of which they are so few and probably not many left just because I can.

I have the same feeling about a whale trip, I just want them to be left alone and since I have whales up close when in Newfoundland, I do not need to harass the whales again. Supposedly, the eco whale tours here practice good ethics in terms of viewing and not harrassing the whales, but just the act of being in the whale's space must be a disturbance to them. While I am on the subject, I have the same views of trophy fishing or hunting, it seems obscene to me to kill an animal so that you can hang it on the wall.(Now if you eat it and THEN hang it on the wall, that is a different thing, at least in my opinion)

Ok, back to Sao Jorge, I knew the trails that I wanted to go on and I knew that the drop off and access points would require transport of some kind. I am sure that all the taxi drivers are as excellent as the one that I found, but I am pleased with his knowledge, consideration and service. His name if you are interested is Manuel Martins, based in Calheta(where I am staying now). Since everyone here knows everyone else, I am sure you just ask and someone would point you in his direction. All the taxi drivers have a printed list of the prices from one destination to another, and at this point I will say that is not cheap. But for me still much cheaper than renting a car, plus the general hassel of driving, parking, etc.

But my cost is averaging out, that so far I have spent less than I thought, primarily because given my simple tastes in food and how good and available fresh fruit, chesse, wonderful rustic bread(which does not seem to disagree with me) and incredible olive oil. I must comment on the olive oil here in Portugal, the cheapest bottle on the shelf (about 2.60 US) is so much better than the most expensive olive oil I have EVER bought in the US. It is so wonderful, I feel almost like drinking it or taking a bath in it! And then there is the Sao Jorge cheese, a big hunk, enough to last me 3 or 4 days for about 4.00 US. I use the olive oil to dip the bread in, with some crisp apples or local grapes, and a can of the excellent sardines if I need extra protein, I am eating for practically nothing!

beach culture and surfing Riberia Grande

2009-08-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

I thought it was interesting that these boys were not making sand castles but rather a cross, which iconic for the country of Portugal. I believe this is the same cross that the Knight´s Templars wore. They were very important in taking back Portugal from the Moors and of course in the crusades as well.

Walking around Riberia Grande (big river) although the river that flowed to the sea was not big, I would assume that during the rainy season it has much more water.
So far I have not seen what appear to be tourists on the beaches which confrims what I have read that one of the reasons that the Azores are not the mass tourism destinations that Maderia is, for example.

Mosterios

2009-08-24T12:27:00.000-07:00

I had an octopus lunch in Mosterios, the picture is on this page. It was wonderful, but then I really like octopus. In Portugal the word is polvo, which could be a problem when I go to Mexico, where I also eat octopus. In Spanish the word for octopus is pulpo and polvo means dust.
I had walked down to this small village on another day, but I was tired and had to catch the bus back to Ponta Delgada, but I knew I wanted to come back. The coast is dramatic with black lava beaches where some natural swimming areas have been set aside. The water was much colder than I expected but very refreshing. I am thankful for the cold water and the black volcanic shores, it is part of what keeps this island from becoming another Cancun! It was a Sunday so there were families enjoying the day. It have read that it is quite dangerous to swim in the ocean outside of these natural protected areas and after looking at this coast I can see why. I am quite happy to stay in the kiddie pool!

Impressions of Portugal/Azores

2009-08-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

All of Portugal is well known for tiles both in everyday use and applied in a more artistic way. These are from my walk aroung Lagoa.

The flower vender is on the street in Ponta Delgada.

I like to jump start my day with an expresso and a tart, this one is almond. The coffee is wonderful. Every little bar or restaurant of any size has an expresso machine.

This quote from the travel book I am reading, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux applies to me as well I think as the traveler observes:

"Little bits of uncomplicated life..jumping to conclusions and generalizing or inventing places from vagrant glimpes"

I am aware that as I travel I am on the outside looking in, but I do believe that I am a fairly good observor. So some of my observations so far.

There appear to be a lot more smokers, especially young people than in the states. I do not know if smoking is a declining or increasing trend. However, most places do not allow smoking inside, so the smokers are not bothersome to me.

The people in general are very soft spoken, the general volume level in any public place is much lower than public places in the US. Some exceptions are the occasional groups of gossiping and laughing women, and sometimes older men sitting on park benches in small towns having a animated discussion, perhaps about soccer since this is a national passion.

I have not seen a single SUV, there is very little trash on the streets in Ponta Delgada and out in the country and small towns there is virtually none. The roadsides are extremely clean and free of litter.

I am amazed at how many people know English, and more than understand are very fluent, many with not a trace of accent that I can discern.

See food/Sea food

2009-08-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Dried cod, 364 ways Bacalhau means dried and salted codfish in Portuguese. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco. Today it usually comes from Norway. Salt cod has been produced for at least 500 years, since the time of the European discoveries of the New World. The Portuguese tried to use this method of drying and salting on several varieties of fish from their waters, but the ideal fish came from much further north. With the "discovery" of Newfoundland in 1497, they started fishing its cod-rich Grand Banks. Thus, bacalhau became a staple of the Portuguese cuisine, nicknamed Fiel amigo (faithful friend). This dish was popular in Catholic countries, because of the many days (Fridays, Lent, and other festivals) on which the Church forbid the eating of meat. Here in the Azores they say there are at least 365 ways to fix salt cod. I have yet to try some, although I ate it in Newfoundland. Because salt often gives me a migraine I am hestitant, but I suppose I must have some before I leave. Pinapples are grown here, but in greenhouses.

I took these pictures around the grocery store. I do not know what kind of fish or crab these are, but the other photo is of limpets, these taste somewhat like shellfish as you might imagine.

Lagoa blacksmith

2009-08-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

Lagoa is about 30 minutes by bus from Ponta Delgada. After my long walk to Sete Cidades I needed a day with shorter walks. I was walking around and saw this blacksmith working on horseshoes.

Beginning the trail up to the crater

2009-08-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is the trail as I began from Sete Cidades;the posts that follow show the trail once I climed up to the edge of the crater. You can see some flowers called ginger lilies, they are the feathery yellow plume like flowers. Very beautiful, but very invasive. Supposedly they can spread rapidly from even a piece of the bulb. However they were beautiful on the trail and the scent was lovely, reminded me of a spicy, subtle jasmine.

Down the crater´s edge to the sea

2009-08-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

More views of the trail, this is heading towards Joa Boam, but I took another route because I was afraid I would miss the last bus. I actually went past Mosterios, which was the town I was heading for and walked all the way to the point and back into Mosterios. I estimate between 8 and 9 miles starting from Sete Cidades.

Sete Cidades (between the crater and the deep blue sea)

2009-08-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

this vista is called the king´s view and dates from a visit by the Spanish king who named the twin lakes and area sete cidades (7 cities) . There were never 7 cities there but as was the habit so often with the Spanish they named a place for what they wanted to find there. I was lucky to pick a sunny day, others have told me it is often misty and cloudy around the crater and lakes. The hydrangas were slightly past the prime bloom time, but still beautiful.

(Nick, if you are reading this, this combines your walk and #2 plus a detour to Mosterios to catch the last bus)

I think that any superlatives that I might write pale beside the pictures that I took, as you can see it was an incredible walk.

However a note on the geology....Sete Cidades is a volcano with caldera. The caldera is about 3 miles (5 km) in diameter. The walls of the caldera are about 1,500 feet (500 m) high. There are two lakes in the caldera. Sete Cidades has erupted at least eight times since ca. 1444, with six of these eruptions from submarine vents west of the volcano.

You can probably see the cones both within the main caldera and cones outside the caldera near the sea.

swimming in the copper colored pool (Furnas)

2009-08-22T09:59:00.001-07:00

I am sure you are thinking this does not look like someplace you might like to swim, but it was wonderful. The color of the water comes from the iron and sulfer that flow out of the earth as a hot spring. The water was about the temperature of a nice hot bath and made your skin feel silky smooth. The pool is located within the gardens of a park that was originally made by the American vice consul in the 1800´s and is now a public park with a 5 euro admission which includes a towel, changing rooms and cold showers, plus admission to the gardens which have everything from Sequoias to tree ferns and cycads.

Furnas..my photos and videos

2009-08-22T08:43:00.001-07:00

I am posting from a cafe (more of those bicas (very strong expresso!) and access is free so I can post some of my photos. So I am going to add more pictures and small videos from my trip to Furnas. The video I hope will let you see and hear what the experience was like. Approaching the small town around Furnas you smell the sulfer and see the steam rising from this valley. The valley itself is a hotbed (pardon the pun) of thermal activity. When I arrived a man was throwing bags of corn into one of the steaming springs. Later I had some, it was delicious and much to my surprise did not taste at all of sulfer.

Time zones and external clues

2009-08-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

I am doing better than I thought I would with the 6 hour difference in time, although during the past 2 days when I am out and about, I look at my watch and realize that it is 2 AM North Carolina time, and that makes me marval at how the earth turns, so to speak.

The rhythms of day and night and how a person operates are apparently much more flexible than I thought, at least in my experience so far.

And of course there is rocket fuel for the mind/body connection available everywhere here.

I suppose that Portugals colonial adventures with Brazil and Africa enabled them to get access to and recognize good coffee, not sure if there is something in the Portuguese character that engenders their liking for some damm strong expresso.

Um bica, cafe pingado (bica is an expresso, pingado is with a drop or so of milk)

Superlatives are useless

2009-08-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

I could say this island is beautiful, but that would not do it justice. Beautiful does not suffice for the freshness of the sea air, the thousand shades of green that give this island the name ilha verde, the sparkle of the white buildings with volcanic basalt trim and the warmth of the people that live here. As you perhaps can tell I am overwhelmed with this place. All my research did not prepare me for the reality of the unique qualities of this island way out in the Atlantic.

The place that I am staying in here in Ponta Delgada for my first week is Casa Vitoriana, and the small apartment with kitchen could not be more pleasant and I could not imagine how it could be any cleaner. Margaret the owner of the house speaks several languages and has gone out of her way to make sure that I have everything I could possibly desire.

Ponta Delgada the largest city in the islands is my base for exploration, from here I have been taking buses to my walking location for the day.

Where in the world are the Azores?

2009-08-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

Furnas, watch your step

2009-08-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Furnas with two calderas which date back to approximately 30,000 years ago. The volcanoes are very active with 10 sub-surface eruptions occurring in the past 5,000 years. The first known eruption was in 1440 in which the first colonists settled the island. The second was in 1630 and caused 200 deaths.

Furnas is also famous for its springs and geysers with thirty springs. There is a hot river which is colored by iron and a cold river which flows through the village. You can buy a dinner cooked in the geysers.

Ponta Delgada church

2009-08-13T08:57:00.001-07:00

Ponta Delgado, Azores

2009-08-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

unlike any place I have been, unlike any other I know of. Although it is tropical, plam trees, tropical flowers, it has a atmosphere created by the asture white washed and black volcanic stone buildings that give it an atmosphere that is more northern, none of the tropical flora is transfered to the architecture. The hills and fields are lush to the point of being luminescent, and the black and white cows that litter the fields seem so content that many times I have seen them sitting on their knees and eating as if from a table. As you would expect, the cheese that this island is famous for is exceptional.

In the cow picture you can see the hydrangas that are everywhere, apparently the climate and soil allow them to grown like weeds;they form hedges and climb up the side of the roadway.