Tag: in portugal

tupperware hunting

we started geocaching a few months ago, following tips by mundoo and vera. in shanghai there wasn’t much to hunt and besides, people are everywhere and they’re especially curious of us, the foreigners acting suspiciously…

in portugal though, there are tons of caches, hidden a bit everywhere, so there are really no excuses not to go find them. i especially enjoy the ones that take us to far away places, make us climb rocky hills or wander around in the middle of bushes that scratch our knees… or discover strange geological phenomena or some little known historical fact.

joão checks his gps coordinates sitting on an... angry turtle rock? — joão checks his gps coordinates sitting on a... turtle rock?

that way!br/no! down there! — "that way!" "no! down there!"

it’s fun, there are caches everywhere, and it makes another great excuse for a roadtrip! :) who knows what you’ll find?

in portugal just life

june family gathering

once a year, around my grandpa’s birthday, the family gets together to celebrate. my mom has 7 brothers and sisters, all married and with kids, and some of my cousins now have kids as well… more people than we can sit at a table :)

it was the first time in 3 years that i was actually around to attend the party, so there were 3 new additions to the family that i had yet to meet, the smallest of which was just 1 week old :)

in typical portuguese fashion, there’s enough food to feast a full orchestra and plenty of house wine. the party drags itself into the night when we end up singing happy birthday to a sleepy grandpa :)

it’s a recent tradition, put in place by my mother, who by the way is the most unstoppable creature on earth. she has been holding on 2 jobs ever since she graduated, and all this while raising 2 kids and doing a second masters. she’s just been assigned to coordinate the nurses in the infectious & contagious diseases ward of the hospital (smack in the middle of the h1n1 crisis, no less). i cannot tell in words how immensely proud i am of this little stubborn creature and all she has accomplished :)

in portugal photography traveling

s. leonardo da galafura

À proa dum navio de penedos,
A navegar num doce mar de mosto,
Capitão no seu posto
De comando,
S. Leonardo vai sulcando
As ondas
Da eternidade,
Sem pressa de chegar ao seu destino.
Ancorado e feliz no cais humano,
É num antecipado desengano
Que ruma em direcção ao cais divino.

Lá não terá socalcos
Nem vinhedos
Na menina dos olhos deslumbrados;
Doiros desaguados
Serão charcos de luz
Envelhecida;
Rasos, todos os montes
Deixarão prolongar os horizontes
Até onde se extinga a cor da vida.

Por isso, é devagar que se aproxima
Da bem-aventurança.
É lentamente que o rabelo avança
Debaixo dos seus pés de marinheiro.
E cada hora a mais que gasta no caminho
É um sorvo a mais de cheiro
A terra e a rosmaninho!

Miguel Torga

At the bow of a ship of cliffs,
Sailing in a sea of sweet wort,
Captain in his place
Of command,
S. Leonardo plows
The waves
Of eternity,
No hurry to get to his destination.
Anchored and happy at the human port,
It is in an early disillusion
That he sails towards the divine port.

There will not be terraces
Nor vineyards
In the girls’ dazzled eyes;
Rivers flowing
Will be ponds of light
Aged;
Shallow, all the mountains
Will let the horizons extend
Until where the color of life is extinguished.

Therefore, it slowly approaches
Bliss.
It is slowly that the boat moves
Under his sailor feet.
And every extra hour it spends on the way
It’s an extra sip of scent
Of earth and rosemary!

Miguel Torga

hard task for me, almost impossible to translate this poem of Torga, without using all the twists the portuguese language offers. it’s about a specific peek on a hill in the margins of the douro river, called s. leonardo, or, the ‘terrace of the douro’.

compulsory high school portuguese literature, the meaning of the poem is much better captured when you’re up there, surrounded with vineyards on hills that resemble waves. this is the landscape of the “alto douro vinhateiro”, the region where porto wine is produced.

a truly magic (non-planned) roadtrip stop :)

diptychs of the motherland in portugal photography

diptychs from the motherland: wheat and blue

prado, santarém. junho 2009

Post author By ana
Post date July 12, 2009
No Comments on diptychs from the motherland: wheat and blue

foooood in portugal

casa de ló

hidden away in a small street next to rua de cedofeita, in porto, you’ll find the casa de ló. the name comes from a portuguese desert, pão de ló, which used to be sold here back in the days of the old casa margaridense. the space has since been renovated in line with its traditions, and now sells portuguese sweets and deserts, while housing a cozy tea house.

add to this alluring environment a couple of friendly people and some nice music, and it’s hard not to feel right at home. we shared some mint tea and tried the apple pie, and wow… i wasn’t prepared for the irresistible decadence of it. look, look:

can you see the softness of it? can you smell the cinnamon sprinkled on top? is your mouth watering already? just go! it’s on travessa de cedofeita, 21A (google maps). you can thank me later :)

Post author By ana
Post date July 10, 2009
4 Comments on casa de ló