8 days in beautiful Porto
We arrived in a windy and chilly Porto at 7 am last Saturday, dropped our bags somewhere, and immediately, and unknowingly, started walking towards the famous Luís I Bridge that spans the Douro river. The city was quiet, just a few people walking with purpose up and down the streets-and we naively thought we had it all to ourselves. We stopped for a pastel de nata, a palm-sized egg custard in a crispy pastry shell that’s a staple Portuguese pastry. Delicious. Creamy and crispy and the perfect amount of sweet. Wandering through the hilly streets, by the time we made it to the (terrifyingly) tall bridge overlooking the beautiful city, we were already mentally planning how to extend our stay.
I’d already figured out how to push back our flight when we arrived at Gazela’s, a highly regarded, affordable and authentic lunch spot. We ordered the restaurants now-world famous creation, the cachorrinhos, and immediately ordered a second. The cachorro translates literally to: hot dog, and cachorrinhos means: a pressed hot dog. The sandwich is served on crusty bread, dog sliced in half, and with melted cheese. While they may call it a hot dog here, Gazela uses something closer to what we would think of as a sausage. It was perfectly spicy, warm and sharp and contrasted perfectly against the crispy bread. We ate it at a table on the patio, watching people shop at the nearby artisan market while drinking the coldest beer we’ve had yet in Europe and snacking on a plate of fries. This restaurant has gained international notoriety and was known as one of Anthony Bourdain’s favorite spots in Porto. Considering the celebrity status, I was delighted to find the servers were kind and funny; the restaurant was down to earth and, best of all, cheap. For four beers, two sandwiches, pickled vegetables (I am desperate for vegetables in any form), and a plate of fries we paid 20 euros. After the kind reception all day, by the time we had checked into our place for the night, we had extended our stay by four days, making this our longest stop yet.
the famous cachorrhinos
We’ve done a lot here with all this extra time. While London wasn’t the place to get lost and wing it, Porto surely is. We’ve slowly wandered the cobblestone streets, taken tours around the city, in the port wine cellars, and on the river; I learned some watercolor tips from an artist; we explored areas that aren’t on the “must do in Porto” lists and had the chance to live a little more like a local might by working in the library and going to a yoga class. It’s been nice to have the extra time to traverse the absurdly hilly city. While nothing is really too far from where you are, the hills in both directions and the frequent stops to gaze at your surroundings, surely adds some extra time. And we definitely didnt have the city to ourselves. Turns out, Porto is a huge tourist European tourist destination (lol at my philosophy of going into things completely blind). We found that out just a couple hours later as people spilled out of the winding neighborhoods and into the streets by the thousands, but it didn’t detract from the charm of the city any.
Wildfires have been burning all around us while we’ve been in Portugal, making us adapt our plans based on how easily we could breathe that day. We could see them burning for miles as we flew in, an unreal glowing orange in the morning sky. There were three days where the smoke drifted into town and choked the city, making it nearly impossible to be outside long. We were told by many locals that people set these fires with the goal being to then sell the torched land. Apparently, the destruction is a frequent occurrence here.
2 pm on the worst day of the fires
The light at 10 am inside our rental-completely unedited
On one of the smokiest days, we left the city for a nearby beach in the hopes that the wind would be blowing in our favor. It was. We spent hours exploring the other-worldly tide pools. On the way back, we got onto the train with a group of Portuguese teenagers.Their loud chatter filled the train car, rapidly speaking Portuguese over one another, laughing and flirting. Typical teenagers, no matter the country. Portuguese is such an interesting sounding language- the teens’ words tumbled into one another and were impossible to tell apart. It’s a language filled with sounds I never expect. Many of our old neighbors were Brazilian (hi Isa!) so we’ve heard more snippets of Portuguese than the average American but being in Portugal and hearing it all around us, emphasizes just how foreign it is to my ears. A local explained why my spanish knowledge doesnt help me understand Portuguese as something to do with the opposite open and closed vowels in each language. Portuguese has much more influence from the French language while Spanish is much more influenced by Arabic and has similar pronunciations to Italian. Which makes a lot of sense why Italian was fairly easy for me to pick up. In a way, it’s been a relief to not know the language at all (except “thanks”! Obragado!). English is widely spoken here and it’s let me fully revel in my ignorance and my identity at the moment as a tourist. Between that and the locals’ friendliness, its been easier to ask questions here.
Obsessed with the detail at the train stop
Some of those questions have led me to notice some generational divides in the pride the Portuguese feel for their nations former conquests. Much like the younger generation back home, the young Portuguese’s I spoke with took a more nuanced and critical approach to their colonizing history. Before we came to Portugal, I knew that the Portuguese were big explorers and I knew that they had colonized Brazil, but that was about it. I didn’t realize the extent to which Portugal, a country about the size of Indiana, had revolutionized the world for better or worse. Portugal was birthed as a result of the reconquista (the movement to re-Christianize Spain and take it back from the Arabs). Up until this point, Portugal was considered apart of Spain. In the 12th century, Spain brought in Christian help from England to drive out the Arabs, and as a thank you, gifted a small portion of modern day Portugal (that included Porto) to Henry of Burgundy. In short, Henry had some sons, they wanted more than to be under Spain’s thumb, they rebelled and claimed Portugal as an independent kingdom in 1139. By 1255, the Portuguese had waged enough battles to claim all of the land that is now modern day Portugal and these boundaries have remained largely unchanged ever since.
Once Portugal had its kingdom established and a very prosperous and powerful alliance with England (the oldest, still standing alliance in Europe’s history), they began to push out from their small corner of the world and establish trade routes and colonies around the globe. They started their global colonization by charting the first course around Africa, establishing trading posts and colonies along the western edge of the continent as they went. Looking to avoid the expensive journey through Eurasia on the Silk Road, the Portuguese pushed for sailing routes to Asia. The explorer, Vasco de Gama established their first colony in India in the early 16th century and had ports reaching all the way to Nagasaki. In 1500, during one of the early voyages to India, the Portuguese landed in Brazil. Portugal became a world superpower thanks to its powerful grip on trade routes and, lesser known, it’s sugarcane production in Brazil through enslaved people’s labor. It’s estimated that of the 4 million enslaved Africans in the America’s, 40% of them were in Brazil working on sugarcane plantations and stolen directly from the ports that Portugal controlled in Africa. Portugal’s global empire began to decline in the late 1500’s as the Dutch, hungry for their own trade routes and global dominance, began to attack their trading ports around the world. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake dealt a devastating blow to Portugal, and the nation's recovery was further hindered when Brazil, one of its last financial strongholds, declared independence in 1822. Post WWII, sentiments for empires to grant their colonies freedom rose around the world as India gained independence from England; the pressure forced Portugal to also release its Indian Colonies in 1961. Despite the early decline, it took Portugal almost 400 years to lose all of its colonies, through war or revolution, with the last colony, Macau, finally gaining independence in 1999. Over its 900 year long history, Portugal had colonized 50 countries in total in South America, Africa, and Asia.
many azulejos (tile work) tell the story of their conquest
Despite its prosperous history, portugals most recent history tells a story of financial hardships. Since 1910, Portugal has suffered through 10 recessions. Early in the trip, we learned that the Portuguese generally have a, surprisingly, welcome attitude to tourists. I’ve been trying to figure out all week, how the locals don’t get burned out by the swells of foreigners and haven’t come up with a better answer other than its a big chunk of their economy. The most recent tourist boom here in Porto has contributed significantly to their economy since 2019, giving locals more opportunities to start businesses and invest in their Porto. As a result of the hardships, Porto has a grittier look than most of the western cities we’ve visited with buildings falling into ruin on one corner and a beautifully renovated building right next to it. Aside from local investments, some buildings are being renovated by by expats from America, and beyond, as they flock there to afford a lifestyle we can’t back home. I wonder how Portuguese’s feel about their nation changing as a result of welcoming others after a proud history of conquering them. Everywhere we go, I’m more and more acutely aware of the paradoxes of tourism and how globalization shapes our world.
This is our last week on the Iberian peninsula. And this week we’ve made some exciting new plans for November! On Halloween we’ll be flying to Copenhagen for a pet sitting gig (freeee accommodations in an incredibly expensive city)! I’ve been interested in Denmark since I was a kid and read in Time magazine that Danes are the happiest people in the world. I’m excited to understand why in a little more than a month.
Adeus!
