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in portugal

walking on history, XVIII: more roman roads

not the first roman road we visit, but this one is much closer to home, in nearby são brás de alportel. the town lays in the crossroads of two historical paths: the road that connected faro to the north of portugal, and perpendicular to it, the road that linked tavira and loulé.

you have to walk a bit down a dirt road to find it, among fields of olive and carob trees, and we were almost turning around when i glimpsed a few arranged stones in the distance. and suddenly there it was! the road is different here, the stones smaller and arranged in patterns, but i found it no less interesting.

another small bit of an amazing engineering project!

Categories
in canada

walking on history XVII: sidewalk date stamps

i’m a bit behind on posts around here, but now that we’re back home, i plan to catch up with all our adventures in the land of maple syrup. these posts will be backdated, so that hopefully they’ll more or less match our time in canada.

so first up, here’s something cool that you don’t see much of in europe — sidewalk stamps.

the concept of cement sidewalks and driveways feels like a very north american thing to us. sure, we have them here as well, but more often than not there’s also stone pavements, calçada, or small blocks that fit together to create a pattern. and when we do cement for sidewalks, we don’t much care who put it there — probably the municipality, who will have to repave everything when it cracks.

but in north america, cement comes with these “stamps” that let you know which company paved that bit you’re walking on, and when it got done. i find it sort of poetic, as if pavements were masterpieces being signed by their artists.

they’re also a good way to see history right under our feet. many of these pavements (though not the ones i photographed in central toronto) have been around for over 100 years and are still being used. sometimes, footprints (or paws!) get embedded there and are still visible, long after their owners grow up or move away.

all around us, people are making things and leaving dents in the world, and sometimes, whether they meant to or not, these marks stay around for a long time — and i kind of like knowing that. :)

hank has a whole video about this and he explains it better than i do, so go watch it!

Categories
in spain traveling

walking on history XVI: expo 92

same, same… but different.

Categories
in iceland

walking on history XV: Epine GY 7

on march 13 1948, a british trawler was wrecked near djúpalónssandur beach in iceland, but because of the bad weather, it was impossible to reach the ship to rescue the crew. 14 people died that day, one washed ashore still alive, and four were rescued when the tide finally turned, by throwing a line from the nearby cliffs to the mast, and using a rescue seat to bring those sailors back to safety.

70 years later and the twisted iron is still strewn around the beach, a powerful memorial to this accident.

ps — also, this 99% invisible episode, which links to readtheplaque.com, a wonderful compendium of interesting places.

Categories
just life

walking on history, XIV: expo 98

has it really been 20 years? :|

i was a wide-eyed 16 year old, in awe of all the cool things happening around me, just then realizing how much there was to see and discover in the world. good times.