I first started visiting Portugal almost ten years ago. Although I am a Portuguese American, I had never had any great desire to visit the land of my grandparents, and thanks to the insistence of a good friend I finally succumbed to an 8 day visit with several other people from the Fresno area. That was a life-changing visit and since then I return frequently, on average at least once per year.
In these trips, I have been surprised by Portugal. What do I mean? I mean that Portugal is full of unexpected encounters, settings, history and of course, people. Here are just a few of them, in descending order:
Surprise #7 – Portugal looks and feels a lot like the Central Coast of California! For those of us who have traveled the area from Santa Barbara to the San Simeon area, and all of the lovely ranching and agricultural areas and coastal towns then Portugal is your ticket! Much of the topography and climate is similar and no likely helped draw many Portuguese immigrants to California.
Surprise #6 – Portugal’s roads and infrastructure are in better shape than the U.S! When people ask me what Portugal is like, I often say “Like California except the roads are far better.” Huge investments in surface streets, highways and bridges make travel around Portugal pretty easy. And yes, they drive on the “right” side of the road!
Surprise #5 – The Portuguese people are friendly and accommodating to visitors! Have you felt like a pariah in Paris, a stranger in Stuttgart or simply lost in London? You need to visit other parts of Europe, more off the beaten track. I have found Portuguese (with only a few exceptions), to be extraordinarily friendly, gracious and amiable hosts.
Surprise #4 – Portuguese are very sincere in their religious beliefs! While it is often easy for we Americans to criticize other culture’s religious practices, through much of Portugal we observe a deep cultural and historical tradition of honor and respect for Christianity. Most towns have charming nativity scenes in public squares for Christmas and there is little effort to “sterilize” personal and public language, culture and history from Christianity, like we see in the U.S. and elsewhere. I really appreciate this about the Portuguese!
Surprise #3 - Don’t practice your Spanish (or ‘Spanglish’) in Portugal! Californians and other residents of the western U.S. often have some form of crude Spanish to employ. We are surrounded by town names, food and influences from Spain and Mexico. But the Portuguese are not Hispanic—properly speaking; they are Lusitanian and proudly separate from the Spanish. They celebrate their victories over the Spanish (war, football, checkers, anything really!), and often prefer you speak English over trying your Spanish on them.
Surprise #2 – Portugal is an incredibly multi-cultural country! If you think you are going to find in Portugal a bunch of monolithic and isolated people, your impression will be shattered. As a former colonial empire, the fragments of their far flung territories has brought millions of Africans, Brazilians, Asians and many others to the country in the past decades. Its proximity and long influence from the Moors of North Africa has further imprinted the southern and central part of the country, providing a unique and curious cultural experience for visitors.
And the number one surprise is Portugal is something all of us in these economically challenging times can really appreciate…
Surprise #1 – Portugal is cheap! I recently talked to friends who returned from two weeks in Italy (off season). He said there was no way to get out of Italy for less than three hundred dollars a day. While getting to Portugal is inevitably an expensive proposition, staying in Portugal (especially outside of Lisbon) for under a hundred dollars a day (for two) is quite easy and allows you to stay, dine and tour well. Are you a student thinking of drabby hostels in Europe? Go to Portugal and find a private home or small hotel to stay in, a café to dine and a charming coffee and pastry house for a few dollars instead!
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