Unexpected Portugal

13/09/2021

30/11/2020

The "Devils of Amarante"😈👿are human sized black demons pretty explicit about their sexuality. They have horns🤘and eagle-like🦅 hands and feet holding balls. The originals arrived centuries ago, probably from India and found a place in the convent of S. Gonçalo. During the Napoleonic wars the French dressed them up like monks and burnt them🔥 A local craftsman rebuilt the statues in chestnut wood but in the XIX century the bishop of Braga wanted them burnt again. Somebody saved them and A. Sandeman, a Port wine merchant took them to London🇬🇧 But the population wasn't happy and with the intervention of the External Affair Ministry the and the came back, welcomed by the entire town🎉 and are now safe at the Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso Museum. Since few years ago, on August 24th they are brought in parade through Amarante, pulled by oxes and the locals dress up like devils in their honour🎆
Know with me the "Devils of Amarante" and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹👹❤

27/11/2020

In the valley of the 🏞there are hundreds of engraved using different techniques during the and the 🗿We can still see today like horses🐎 and deer🦌, sometimes isolated but also in herds. On other stones we have like 🎡 🐚 🕸 perpendicular lines inside circles, small holes, lines and also men and weapons🗡 Some are simple but others are authentic pieces of art that embellish all the surface of the granite boulders. They are part of the tradition and their full meaning is yet to be explained, but they indicate a strong presence of our ancestors in this area during .
Discover with me the of the Minho valley and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🗿⛏

25/11/2020

Swinging over the border, with the river Minho, the Amores and Boega islands as a backdrop. Follow me🇵🇹✈😲

20/11/2020

The city of Amarante is known for Saint Gonçalo, its church⛪and its bridge🌁but also for the ph***ic pastries🎂called "Quilhõezinhos de São Gonçalo". In the XIII century, after travelling to the holy land, Gonçalo became known as "Casamenteiro", as he was convincing couples to get married💑in the Christian way. With time, widows and single women prayed to him to find a husband, together with infertile men that wanted to solve their problem. He became associated with the ancient pagan ritual of fertility💘and the "Colhões de S. Gonçalo" pastries started being offered to the beloved one. During the Estado Novo backward dictatorship they were forbidden🚫because they where considered obscene, but now they are back, happily🎆displayed in all Amarante's bakeries.
Discover with me this ancient ritual and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🚀♥️




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18/11/2020

Since time immemorial⏳the fishermen of Póvoa de Varzim🎣created a system of symbols to be carved on all their fishing tools, in order to easily recognize them and avoid misunderstandings. The signs🀄became so important that all the community could recognize and associate them to the nickname of the owner. They even invented a system in which the sons were inheriting the father's symbol, adding some extra marks so everybody would always have a unique sign♐ They were carved on the tools, tombs and even on tables, windows and doors of the churches when they were getting married💒 Now it is easy to spot them on the street signs and on the pavement all around Póvoa. On their boats⛵they were using other protective symbols, and if you visit the harbour, you can still see some.
Discover with me the "Siglas Poveiras" and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🛶🌊

16/11/2020

The Sanctuary of Panóias is dedicated to the infernal gods and their lord Serápis👹, and to the deities of the indigenous Lapitaes. It was built between the II and the III century by Roman Senator Caius Calpurnius Rufinos. The initiatic rituals were held inside 3 temples⛩built on the top of huge granite boulders🗻 perfectly carved to create round and rectangular tanks. During the procession the pagans were representing the death, the burial and the symbolic resurrection😱of the initiated. They used to sacrifice animals🔪collect their blood💉burn the organs, grill and eat the meat🥩Apart from naming the gods, the few inscriptions of the sanctuary (in Greek and Latin) show us that the ritual came from Anatolia and explain its steps in detail.
Discover with me this ancient initiation ritual to the infernal god Serápis and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🗿🔥

13/11/2020

During WWII a remote area of Portugal lived a very unique situation. The N***s were extracting tungsten⚒ (a mineral important for the bellic industry) in Rio de Frades, while the British had their mine⛏ in Regoufe, just 5 km away. For a few years, thousands of Portuguese men worked at the mines and no incident happened between the two enemy nations, that respected the neutrality of Portugal.
Visit with me the ruins and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🥾⛰

11/11/2020

The Vikings🛶 often sacked the Portuguese coast and its cities💰On the coast of Labruge, just north of Porto, they probably left behind some runes carved on the rocks🗿I could find an "Algiz", a letter of the nordic alphabet, but also the symbol to evoke protection. Just few steps away it is also possible to see the "Penedos Amoladoiros Carvings" where the residents of the local Castro of São Paio used to sharpen their tools⚔
Travel with me to the time of the Viking raids and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹💪🏿

09/11/2020

From 711 to 1249 the Arabs controlled much of what is now🗺Portugal. At that time, the south and the center regions were known as "Gharb Al Andalus" (Western Andalusia). In the north their presence was less effective and didn't leave many traces. But in Vila do Conde, overlooking the Ave river, there is something that can take you straight to Morocco and Palestine. It is a Christian chapel⛪but it seems very much like an Islamic tomb 🕌(Qubba). It was not built at the time of Al Andalus but in the XVII century, by Gaspar Manuel Carneiro, after his journeys🛳on the route to the Middle East, India, China and Japan.
Discover with me the Socorro chapel and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹💪🏿🥾

02/11/2020

The North of Portugal and Galicia share many cultural aspects. One of them is the presence of "Castros", pre-Roman fortified villages🏕 built on strategic positions. Let's discover a bit about them with this documentary of the Galician TV and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹💪🏿

13/10/2020

Before the arrival of the Romans in Northern Portugal, the Galaicos were living in "castros", strategically built on the top of the hills⛰ Citânia de Briteiros is one of the most important of them, and has been inhabited from the Iron Ages until the II century CE. It overlooks the Ave river and still has four defensive dry stone walls🧱 The well preserved streets lead to a great number of round (Iron Age) and squared (romanized) houses and buildings, some with an atrium. The largest one is the council house, where family chiefs were sitting on the stone benches that we can still see all around it. The most iconic piece is the fantastic carved stone in one of the public bath🧼🛀the "Pedra Formosa", the beautiful stone.
Visit with me this ancient city and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🔥💪🏿

09/10/2020

Sometimes in Portugal you can travel trough time⏳ In the 5km walk from the last modern village to Drave you go back few centuries⏪ Here the phone line arrived just in 1993☎️ Running water, electricity, sewage and postal service never arrived📭 The last inhabitants left 20 years ago and now the silence is broke just by some cows🐮 grazing in the area and the few hikers that come to visit the slate houses and the crystal clear natural pools🏊‍♂️
Visit with me this ghost👻😱 town and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🔥💪🏿


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07/10/2020

Normally I don't post about churches, they are not really "unexpected" in our Portugal. But in Bravães there is a gem💎that left me jaw dropped for its vibrant simplicity. The XII-XIII century monastery of São Salvador is a fantastic example of rural romanesque style, with some hints of gothic. Its decoration amazes the visitors with snakes🐍monkeys🙉 and other animals, vegetalist🌿and geometric decorations, angels😇and other holy images, created to teach believers about virtues💪🏿and vices👺
Visit this lost treasure🌈with me and follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal experiences🇵🇹🔥


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06/10/2020

The prehistoric rock-art site⚒🗿of Pala Pinta dates back 5'000 years and it is one of the most important cave-art sites of Portugal. It is found on a remote granite mountain🗻on the Tua river valley, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. In it we can still see, painted in red, a huge and diverse concentration of motives🎨 representing the sun or some asteroids☄ anthropomorphic figures🚻 and much more. As there are no road signs indicating the site, I suggest the visitors to wear a hat like mine, in order to feel even more like Indiana Jones🤠🧙‍♂️
Follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures♥️🇵🇹💪🏿


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01/10/2020

Waking up at Torre with a coffee☕ and a traditional breakfast, before to go through the incredible Garganta de Loriga. Then follow the stone cairns on the crests until the castles 🏰 of Folgosinho, Linhares and finally Guarda. Amazing Serra da Estrela ⛰🥾 I'll be back with the snow ☃️
Follow the last part of this fantastic 200 km hike, and like my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures♥️🇵🇹💪🏿


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30/09/2020

When you hike🥾⛺ on the highlands of the Serra da Estrela you are surrounded just by gigantic stones, grassy fields and a persistent wind🗿🌬 But sometimes, after hours of loneliness you spot some shepherds with hundreds of goats🐐🐐
Follow me on this 7 days, 200 km hike and like my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures⛰🇵🇹🔥

29/09/2020

The Serra da Estrela is a granite mountain shaped by glaciers🏔
I hiked its valleys and peaks in 7 days, along 200 km of ancient paths🥾
I passed through the woods of Manteigas before to reach its highest point at Torre, where I enjoyed the sunset and the sunrise, freecamping on its meadows⛺
Follow me on this tough hike and like my page for more Unexpected Portugal adventures🇵🇹🚀🔥

28/09/2020

A fine guide knows how to open any door🗝
The parish church was closed, so I had to ask at the cafe and they pointed me to the house of the key-holder. The old lady came out with a big key but she couldn't open the door. She tried with a stick and the key, but still nothing. I then asked her to let me do it and finally I made it! It was my first time opening a church and I did it with a stick 😎

25/09/2020

The granite walls of the city of Guarda hide stories from the past. From the ancient gates🏰 to the narrow streets of the center, if we slow down and pay attention, we can find an incredible number of marks, signs and decorations. They probably tell us about the Jewish🕍 and New Christians that once lived there, but also about the masons that built the city walls⚒, the Kings🤴and the religious orders that were powerful centuries ago.
Walk with me and discover Guarda's secrets🗝
And follow my page for more Unexpected Portugal🇵🇹


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24/09/2020

The Douro region is always a magic place, but the best way to feel its full essence is to take part in the harvest🍇 Climbing the old slate terraces, merging with the vineyards and one by one picking the grapes that in few years will become the nectar that we call Port wine🍾 But also having a Feijoada surrounded by a beautiful family and to finish the day a splash into the pool🐳
Thanks a lot Quinta das Fontainhas, Valença do Douro for the beautiful day♥️

14/08/2020

This is the video of our hike on the GR50 Peneda-Gerês🇵🇹 in July. Who wants to come?
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🇵🇹 Peneda Gerês TV Friends of National Park of Peneda-Gerês (Northern Portugal) ADERE Peneda Gerês Gerês Maravilhas do Gerês

27/07/2020

He was rude and violent but he was just and the people loved him. His fame grew also because he donated a tenth of every robbery to the poor and for buying them cows to work the land.
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Historical, Cultural, Alternative Travels in Portugal - Private Guide Tours - Check out my blog and Travel with me

24/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês🇵🇹, day 9 Fiães do Rio-Tourém 34 km.
We have done it! 212 km in 9 days with more than 8'000 mt of elevation gain⛰.
We finished pretty exhausted but with a big smile😍 and a beautiful apron!
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🇵🇹 @ Tourém, Vila Real, Portugal

23/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês, day 8 Cabril-Fiães do Rio 25 km.
Yesterday we passed by and stopped in many little stone villages, chatting with the few residents and refilling at the communal fountains (every time they told us we were drinking the best water of Portugal🐳). We found one more magic pool and we spent the night in a Mongol yurt♥️ after being amazed by the stars and the comet🌠. 1 more day to go🚀
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🇵🇹 @ Fiães Do Rio, Vila Real, Portugal

22/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês, day 7 Vila do Gerês-Cabril, 32 km (8am-9pm😓).
Yesterday we hiked 3 legs of the GR, and for the 1st time we met other hikers and we saw some clouds. Even though, the shade of the oaktrees was well appreciated. We swam in natural pools with an incredible clear water and passed by huge granite monoliths🗿and the "fojo do lobo", a stone trap for wolfs used in the past, always looked after by the many cows grazing around🐮.
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🇵🇹 @ Cabril, Vila Real, Portugal

21/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês, day 6 Brufe-Gerês, 25 km.
Yesterday we hiked through many different environments, from cultivated terraces to rocky mountains covered in bushes, from forests of pinetrees and chestnuttrees to the mighty dam of Vilarinho. And after 4 days freecamping in the nature, we spent the 2nd night of our trek in a camping😎.
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🇵🇹 @ Gerês

20/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês, day 5, Lindoso-Brufe, 25 km.
Yesterday we hiked 3 legs of the GR50, leaving Lindoso at 7.30am to avoid the heat. First we crossed shady forests, then an inhospitable area full of thorny bushes and we had a break on a shady spot with some wild Garrano horses. Then we made it till the astonishing terraces of Brufe, where we spent the night.
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🇵🇹 @ Terras de Bouro

19/07/2020

GR50 Soajo-Lindoso, day 4. Yesterday we did 22 km under a scorching sun, but apart the stunning views our reward were the uncontable espigueiros of Lindoso, among which we spent the night, surrounded by bats🦇
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🇵🇹 @ Castelo do Lindoso

18/07/2020

GR50, Peneda-Gerês day3, Adrão-Soajo 22 km. Yesterday we hiked through meadows and woods passing by few stone brandas (shepherd's shelters). The espigueiros of Soajo are always impressive, but the Poço Negro pool was the highlight of the day (and the night).
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17/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês day 2, Lamas de Mouro-Adrão. Yesterday we hiked 20 km among granite mountains surrounded by the lush vegetation typical of the Minho region. The termometer reached 35°C but we found a communal washing tank to refresh😍. We free camped among Cachena cows, relaxing with the sound of their bells, under a sky full of shooting stars🌠
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16/07/2020

GR50 Peneda-Gerês, 1st day. Yesterday we hiked just 10km to Lamas de Mouro (We arrived late at Castro Laboreiro and we started hiking at 5pm). The light was amazing and the valley had a gorgeous colour. So happy we are doing this♥️.
Follow us on my page & hike with me🥾

14/07/2020

Tomorrow I'll start with two special guests the GR50🇵🇹, the Grande Rota of the Parque Nacional Peneda-Gerês⛰ A hike of 200kms from Castro Laboreiro to Tourém, in the North of Portugal😍 divided in 19 legs, but we hope to finish it in just 9 days. With water and food, my backpack weights 16kgs😣 Wish us good luck😎 and follow us on this page

13/07/2020

The large majority are two-dimensional but intriguingly some show horses with two or three heads representing movement during copulation.
It is not yet understood why there are so many engravings in this valley but for sure, 25,000 years ago, the Côa area was a gathering place for those people.
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Historical, Cultural, Alternative Travels in Portugal - Private Guide Tours - Check out my blog and Travel with me

10/07/2020

This week I took some international friends to Vila Nova the Foz Côa and together we were blown away by the stunning beauty of this remote land. When the night fell, we travelled back more than 20'000 years and our jaws dropped when seeing the Paleothic engravings. While hiking we picked almonds from the trees and then swam in the Douro to cool down.

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08/07/2020

Would you like a cup of Tea, a Chay or a Chá?☕️
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Historical, Cultural, Alternative Travels in Portugal - Private Guide Tours - Check out my blog and Travel with me

06/07/2020

Porto is blue & white💎
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05/07/2020

Really hope the UK govt. will soon change their mind and Brits will soon be back to Portugal🇵🇹😎🌊

My flight back yesterday from Faro on the Algarve coast of Portugal to Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. Twenty people on plane.
Tourism and travel is so important to Portugal and has been known to reach as much as a fifth of their gross domestic product.
It needs these planes full again and the attitude of the British government in excluding it from the new air bridges is just plain dipsy.
I have been in Portugal since February and their approach to coronavirus was much swifter and more coordinated than the uk’s and still is. It shows in the stats on deaths - around 1,500 - and if the Portuguese approach had been adopted in the UK deaths might still be under 20,000 not heading for 50,000 as they are now.
The Portuguese feel hard done by. They are proud of being our oldest ally from way back in 1386 and are always kind and welcoming towards us Brits..
They deserve better. The quarantine of air passengers should not apply to Portugal. We should be able to pile over there now, no worries, just like people going to France and Spain.
I’ve never asked anyone to share one of my posts before because they are pretty random.
But if you agree with this one please share and give a bit of support to the sunny Portuguese.

01/07/2020

The word “Verde” (green), probably indicates young, but it could also refer to the green hills of the region covered with vegetation. For sure it doesn’t indicate the colour of the wine!
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Historical, Cultural, Alternative Travels in Portugal - Private Guide Tours - Check out my blog and Travel with me

29/06/2020

Do you remember the Bolhão market and its people? When will it open again?