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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Tiles
of the Unexpected by Neil Sanderson I departed 1 hour 5 minutes late from Gatwick Airport as Caledonian Airlines apparently had to clean their plane. The uninspiring weather at Faro airport was matched perfectly by the uninspiring pink decor of the arrivals area. I waited for a bus to the town centre and got chatting with a friendly New Zealand couple who had visited 25 countries in 2½ years and still had 6 months to go. Two empty buses came and went, neither for "Faro Centro", so we shared a taxi. The couple had decided to get on a train and head for Seville, leaving me to find a bed for the night in Faro. Faro Town is an interesting spot to stay. There is an attractive marina to the town, which is overlooked by the best hotel in the area. The hotel's mystique was to endure as I had decided to spend this holiday in pensions accommodation. Quality wise, pensions rate one down from a hotel and one up from a youth hostel. My French has been in decline for some years now and this was well proven at Residential Alameda, where we cheerfully jumbled some French / English / Portuguese together which resulted in me spending 4 comfortable nights there. This particular pensao serves a breakfast of coffee and a quantity of bread and jam. The breakfast room has its walls covered with cork tiles, which is a nice Portuguese touch. The town has a busy pedestrianised area which features a mosaic pattern of brown circles defined in the small cobble-stones. These small stones are of the type used in all the pavements in Portugal, with tarmac reserved for the roads. The main historical place of interest in Faro is Cidade Velha, a miniature walled city with its own cathedral. Just outside the eastern walI, there are 2 or 3 religious pictures constructed from azulejos - blue / white ceramic tiles which stand at knee height like information boards. Open space on this side is the Largo de Sao Francisco. A modern fountain is here with 5 large concrete spheres rising up out of the water in one direction, with another 5 parallel spheres rising out of the water in the opposite direction. The spheres emit their own jets of water, but not always when you are looking. Patience. There is a scenic view over towards Faro's delta of beaches. Close to the western entrance of Cidade Velha, a ferry service runs to the appropriately named Deserted Island. The rich smell of the sea hinted as to why this island may well be deserted from time to time. Planes fly over Faro on a fairly regular basis, but not obtrusively so. The airport is only a short distance away; an observation tower in the town bears a striking resemblance to an Olympic torch. The locals are fanatical about their airport One of the cafeterias / restaurants near the marina sells plane water. The town of Tavira is about 20 miles east and also coastal. Lf you go by bus, you should get to see at least a couple of houses that have their entire outside walls covered with ceramic tiling The river Gilao splits the town, with most interest on the western side. Tuna fishing provided Tavira with its prosperity in the past. An attractive low bridge of Roman origin straddles the river. A weight limit of only 3% tonnes applies, so if you like Roman bridges, now may be the time to see this one. In fairness a modern, uglier, greyer bridge slightly further downstream does come to the rescue of heavier traffic. The church of Santa Maria do Castelo near the central arcade can claim to have one of the most melodic bell towers in Tavira, if not the whole of Portugal. There are some castle ruins to explore around not far from here. Set around a garden, there is an adventurous climb up 20 feet or so of deep concrete steps onto the main perimeter wall of the castle ruin. A pleasant view over Tavira's rooftops and the river is the reward. A gentle drizzle on those deep concrete steps with no guard rail on the outside can turn the descent back down again into a Krytnon Factor style cballenge if your head for heights is poor. It was some time later during the drizzle that I enjoyed the sight of an elderly lady with an upside-down carrier bag on her head. I decided to travel west from Faro by train. The line passes inland from the coast and gives an insight into the type of crops grown in the Algarve - oranges, apples and olives figure prominently. Eventually the line meanders back towards the coast at Portimao before ending at the town of Lagos. Portimao is a fairly large town in Algarve terms, with about 30,000 population. The narrow hilly streets which sprawl along the river Arade can best be described as touristv. There is no shortage of tourists here either. A London double-decker bus painted green is a bizarre sight that confronts you near the railway station. Lagos is better. For a start there's the upmarket marina that you must negotiate in order to access the town from its decoratively tiled railway station. A very long but inviting brightly coloured promenade then cads along the western bank of the Bensafrim river as it spills out to the sea The narrow channel here was literally alive with fish on the day that I visited. Towards the sea end I noticed a lone fisherman wing his luck. Blue cap on his head, with the Portuguese flag prominent. He turned out to be a diamond dealer from Dublin. He reckoned the fish, mainly halibut, had unusually been driven into Lagos's channel by the presence of sharks out at sea. Unfortunately, the next 20 minutes or so of fishing with a well baited line produced nothing. Akin to Portimao, Lagos has its share of narrow hilly streets. Unlike Portimao, it has an alternative sculpture of Dom Sebastiao The ill-fated Portuguese king perished during a Moroccan crusade in 1578 on the battlefield of Alcacer-Quibir. The sculptor Joao Cutileiro intended to immortalise him as a spaceman. The resulting statue is papier-mache like in appearance and stands in the Praca Gil Eanes. Silves is possibly the steepest of the lot. The rail station is about half a mile from town, but a bus link is provided. Walking into Silves is feasible as the road is downhill for the most part. The town presents itself in picturesque fashion beyond the river Arade - nice photo opportunity The town boasts a fortress and a sizeable cathedral. After a long climb, you reach the Moorish fortress which now, ironically, hosts a beer festival every June. Next to this is a restaurant I bar called Estabelecimentos Don Sancho. The place had a warm fee] to it, and I wasn't to be disappointed. The bar is lined with the normal stools, but topped amusingly with a bicycle seat on each one. There were about 2 or 3 other people at the bar and I promptly joined them. The lady serving refused my request for a SuperBock (lager) and indicated a booth which was behind me. I would guess that this place gets very busy during the summer months. I quickly bought the required coupon from the booth and exchanged it for the necessary lager at the bar. It was served in a brown ceramic tankard embossed with a design of a castle tower and the words Silves, Algarve. There were about 200 of them for sale stacked on shelves at the far end. I was busy enjoying the variety of ceramic tiles which tine the bar, when I heard the door being locked. My attempt to drink up quickly was politely dismissed as unnecessary by the landlord and my tankard filled up again free of charge. I have kept the tankard as a memento and was not allowed to pay for this either. Some more beer and a keyring souvenir later, the descent back into the centre of Silves was easy. Faro to Lisbon by coach takes about 4 hours, with a 15 minute stop half way near Alvalade. The roads are good, with a toll booth to negotiate if you are taking the fastest road which by-passes Grandola. The landscape is very flat through this agricultural and interior they call the Alentejo region. Parts were surprisingly green; their summer has been wet as well this year - El Nino lives on. Arrival into Lisbon over the river Tagus was via the April 25th Bridge, which has similarities in appearance to San Francisco's Golden Gate. This is overlooked by a statue of Christ with arms outstretched (a mini-version of Rio's Christ in Brazil). First impression of Lisbon was that the central part is, for buildings / monuments, on a par with anything you would see in London. The pencao I found was not exactly de-luxe but, at approximately £13 a night for a European capital city, I could hardly complain. Best picture postcard view in town is that from the top of Parque Eduardo VII - the park with its neatly trimmed pattern of expanse of the river Tagus with coastline south of Lisbon in the far distance. Lisbon has trams and you need one as well to get up to the Castel de Sao Jorge. On the way up, the tram passes just inches from a number of dwellings / shops, which are part of the AIfama district, and the oldest part of Lisbon which survived the earthquake. The castle is free. The ramparts are well laid out and easy to walk around (memories of Tavira). A chap was there playing atmospheric medieval music on a flute. He was a busker from the United States and it looked as if the Lisbon Tourist Board had missed out on an opportunity. There are plenty of opportunities, however, to get your shoes cleaned in the central pal of Lisbon. You sit on a small wooden box seat and then your shoes are set upon by someone with a rag and polish. Early evening replaces these with the jewelery sellers who lay out their wares on large blankets. Avenida da Liberdade toasts live music - another early evening / night-time enterprise. Red and white streamers with a few lightbulbs set amongst the trees mark the spot. A conveniently positioned roadside railing provided the place for a handful of us "passers-by'' to stop a while and observe the few couples who were enjoying a dance together. The music was easy listening played at a gentle pace. Suddenly everybody stopped moving, A bit of pushing and sharp voices were exchanged, decidedly Latin in temperament. A pair of spectacles had to be retrieved from the ground. The mood had changed. A grey-haired chap in his 50's was led to a chair and sat down by his female companion. It would be unfair to blame Super Bock, so I shall blame the wine instead. The Torre de Belem is one of Lisbon's essential sights and best reached by a bus, which runs along the north bank of the Tagus. Alternatively, a short train ride from the Cais do Sodre station would get you to within a pleasant few minutes walk. This building, now almost 500 years old, was originally built as a fortress to safeguard the approach to Lisbon's harbour. Its position actually juts out into the Tagus itself, water on three sides. Spiral staircases get you from one level to the next and small circular watch lowers adorn the whole building, which has some pretty damp dungeons as well (to hold the odd political prisoner). Nearby, back towards the rail station of Belem is the Monumento dos Descobrimentos. It commemorates Henry the Navigator and is designed akin to the prow of a ship with 3 sails on top. Many large carved flames appear on the prow, with Henry himself at the front. An enormous compass style mosaic with world map in the centre provides an enjoyable approach to this monument. Over the road from here is the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, a monastery built at the time of the Torte de Belem, instantly eye-catching and well worth closer inspection. There is a pleasant garden to walk through also, and a planetarium next door. Expo98 was promoted as the last World Exhibition of the 20th century. Built on hitherto derelict docklands, the Site is now served by its own underground station. An indoor sports arena to hold 10,000 fans, an enormous oceanarium which (Terre de Belem style) is built out into the end of a man made lake and a Vasco de Gama Tower, all remain post-Expo. The Expo itself included displays from well over 100 countries, with the essential maritime theme. Cable cars ran the length of the site on one site. An airport style human conveyor belt helped out on the other side. You could even hire out a battery-operated tricycle for the day. Food was available from a number of countries depending on which food outlet you chose. Cutlery seemed less available. A coffee I bought at one stage with sugar, resulted in me being handed a plastic fork to stir it with. Souvenir shops stayed open late into the night but the Expo pavilions stayed open until only 8 o'clock. There were floodlit water fountains and live music elsewhere to keep the masses entertained until the early hours of the morning. Personally I was knackered. My feet had died on me and my throat was losing a battle with the climate. Warm air temperatures when the sun shone competed with cool blasts of wind off the Tagus, and sporadic showers, which were sometimes quite heavy. A regular intake of vitamin C, namely Sumol Orange juice, was getting me through. Nonetheless, it was nice to head back to my pensao. The tube station at Oriente, where Expo98 was, has a wall sized colourful mosaic which features a mass of faces - a permanent reminder of the crowds who visited here between May and September 1998. Lisbon should be proud of its Metro; it was certainly user friendly for me. There are interesting tiles at other stations also, including one where all the tiles run parallel to an escalator. This gave the weird sensation of falling as you ascended - very disorientating, you might say. At the Campo Pequeno station (where the bullring is) you are greeted by 5 female statues - Greek goddess-like in appearance on each platform either side of the train. English is spoken quite widely in Portugal, but it is sung even more so. Many a British hit single can be heard down the underground. Elton John's Rocket Man bade me farewell at one station, only for the final few bars to welcome me at the next. A popular Portuguese group called Silence4 has recently brought out an album which consists almost entirely of songs in English. I bought a copy at the next town I visited. Coimbra is the main university town of Portugal, about as far north again as Lisbon is from the Algarve. The pensao here was the best value of all - just 2000 Escudos a night and only 100 yards from the main bus station. It is a modern apartment block five floors up (on a busy street it does help to reduce the noise). Residencial Kanimambo is its name if ever you're visiting, although there are more central places in Coimbra. Once you've settled in, head for the information centre by the Santa Clara bridge over the river, where you will be given a splendid A2 sized map of the town. The reverse is covered with information about all aspects of Coimbra. One of the more alarming activities according to this excellent guide is horseriding. Individual lessons are available too - similarities to bull-fighting perhaps?! All the main university buildings are built around the highest part of Coimbra, a point emphasised by the appearance of 5 successive flights of steps down from one side of the university area. The appealing remains of a 16th century aqueduct are nearby, as is a nice botanical garden. The Igreja de Santa Cruz is worth a visit, situated by the attractive bright square that is the Praca de Maio. For a maze of narrow alleys with shops to explore around try the Baixa district towards the railway station A. Yes, there is a B station. It was enjoyable to sit and watch the build up of traffic chaos in the early evening sunshine around Largo da Portagem. A handful of youngsters were clocking off from school for the day, and plenty of people were queuing for local buses just down the road. A pair of oarsmen were having a row on the river Mondego. I was surprised to see how busy it all was on this Tuesday evening, with the time well past 6 o'clock. The final full day in Portugal saw me back in the Algarve where I decided to visit Albufeira. There is an attractive beach, with the unusual facility to walk back under the cliffs that overlook it, through a tunnel that leads back into the high street of gift shops and restaurants. Near the central fountain area of Albufeira there was an art gallery, containing a display that would have appealed to all Mensans. At first sight, it is simply a row of nondescript photographs along two walls - just people making different shapes with their bodies. Then you realise that they are not just shapes, but letters of the alphabet. Finally, it occurred to me that (with the inclusion of some 'blanks' - pictures of cloth), a phrase was being spelt out. The lady assistant confirmed it as being POR TI AMOR A MORTE; for the love of dance, she explained. Antonio Jose Alegria was the man behind the lens - a suitable cerebral ending to what had been a very enjoyable holiday. Many thanks
are due to the Rough Guides publishers for their excellent Portuguese
edition, which proved invaluable, particularly on the pensao information,
which they have meticulously copied. |