Portugal

[photos shown above, not in very good order: 1] Castle of St George in Lisbon; 2] the 3 km winding pathway leading down from the Moors castle back to the historical village of Sintra. This alone was worth the trip to Sintra. 3] battlements of the Moor Castle (circa 900AD) overlooking the Atlantic. 4] folk dancing in the Rossio (Lisbon)on a Sunday afternoon. 5] elevated view of Rossio seen from the hilltop Sao Jorge castle, one of the cool old structures that withstood a major earthquake and tsunami that flattened most of Lisbon in 1755.

Luckily, I am constitutionally prepared for travel with all of its fits and starts. For me, being a well-prepared traveler is a luxury I can’t justify, given the huge administrative overhead, and the inflexibility that comes from locking into something only to find later that it was not the best offer. Plus, I enjoy the actual traveling part of travel, at least in foreign places where all of the sights and sounds are exotic, including the street sweeper at the train station humming a tune, or conversations during long flights on those occasions when you sit next to someone who has interesting and new ideas that they want to share. Also, travel time is a great opportunity for long, unbroken spans of reading, which I don’t do enough of except when I am held hostage, distractionlessly waiting for a train or plane. I am rationalizing here, of course. Mostly, poor planning results in always having the worst seat on flights, not getting a good hotel, and sometimes missing out on things not-to-be-missed. But these travel inconveniences don't bug me enough to do the things that need to be done to prevent them from happening.

Many times the poorly-prepared approach to travel yields unexpected benefits, as for example, my visit to Portugal. I had really wanted to spend a few days in Lisbon, but when I queried the Travelocity website for the cost of a 4 day-stopover enroute to Rio de Janeiro, it was prohibitive: eg, my round trip flight from Sana’a to Austin, including a ten day stop in Brazil was $3900USD. When I modified the search to include four days in Portugal, it brought the cost up to about $8K. So I booked the non-refundable Travelocity itinerary to Brazil and Austin, and later discovered the requirement for a Brazilian tourist visa. I had no choice, so I got off the flight in Lisbon fully expecting to have to purchase another Lisbon to Rio ticket after obtaining the visa from the Brazilian consulate. What I found out was that the Travelocity paper tickets are valid for six months. For multi-city itineraries, you can stop and stay at intermediate locations without any advanced notice, and no penalty costs. One of the perks of paper tickets… and poor planning.

Regarding Portugal, the 2 days I had to hang close to the Brazilian Consulate because pf poor planning notwithstanding, my impressions are based on walking around Lisbon and a couple of day trips to out-of-town tourist destinations, so its not like I am ultra informed.

Generalizations are always invalid, but I have to take license here, for brevity. Portugal is the Canada of Europe, overshadowed as a tourist destination by other, more obvious spots, not that there is a much of an initiative by the Portugese to export an image to the world. There is a contentedness that doesn’t acknowledge or need external validation; it seems like Portugal is mostly for Portugese. You can see it in the minimalist approach to urban architecture, arts and culture. In Lisbon, the public squares, statues and fountains are understated, compared to the other European capitals; there is nothing that shouts to the world: Vivo Portugal.

The culinary offerings are unimaginative: it is hard to screw up fresh fish, which is available in abundance – especially cod, hake, sardines, swordfish, grouper, squid and octopus – but the preparation that I observed was uniformly underwhelming, even at the time-honored traditional restaurants, which were generally uninviting, with chairs and tables lined up like a grade school classroom. I wouldn’t have arched an eyebrow to see menus printed on mimeograph paper.

Portugese art is underrepresented on the world stage. There are several art museums in Lisbon, but nothing of acclaim. There is little by way of film or written accomplishment, and there is no Portugese entry in the classical music repertoire. I had a beer at a cool music bar in the Barrio Alto district and asked the bartender if she could play something Portugese. She told me that Portugese people don’t really listen to Portugese music.

Portugese is the world's 5th most spoken language, but you hardly know anyone who speaks it, and nobody you know has studied it. Portugal seems to be flying under the radar.

On the other hand, I warmed to the unpretentious Portugese hospitality. I, as an Austinite, especially appreciated their “laid back” personality. Lisbon is a great place to visit as long as you are not looking for the splash that visitors normally expect from European capitols. What I found was a comfortable and unstressed place to relax, and once I ratcheted my expectations accordingly, I began to discover and enjoy the neat places where the locals hang out, especially the Chiado and the Barrio Alto. Plus, everything is ridiculously cheap – at least outside of the tourist districts.

The natural scenery and climate, dominated by the Oceano Alantico are exceptional. I spent a day in Sintra, a short train ride west of Lisbon, and was awed by the splendor of the castles, the Celtic, Roman, Visigoth and Moorish history, and especially the natural beauty - including redwood forests - where the rugged terrain meets the Altantic.

As I wait in the airport for my flight to Rio de Janeiro, I am reminded to mention that Portugal is totally safe. As I roamed the streets of Lisbon by myself at night, I never once felt uncomfortable about the people around me. This might change in Brasil.