It was 26 years ago when I was last in Portugal – that time Jo and I hung out in Amarante, a small town in the north where Jo had volunteered as a physio for a year in the late 80s. Lisbon is relatively small for a European capital – between half a million and 3 million depending on what definition you use for the city limits. Apparently Lisbon is recognised as an alpha-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group. For goodness sake – who pays these groups to come up with tosh like this? Whatever “alpha-level” might mean anyone, I personally found Lisbon a seriously cool and laid back little city. The people are friendly but not in your face, many of the old buildings on the cobbled streets are bedecked with azulejo (ceramic tiles) in a variety of colours, the food is cheap and delicious and the pace of life relaxed. We are staying in an apartment in the Alfama – the oldest district in Lisbon. Traditionally the area where the fishermen and poor lived, the place has been slowly touristified (try looking that word up by the way) over recent years. Cafes are everywhere, with the more popular hosting fados in the evenings. The fado, a form of singing, comes from Lisbon and typically has a mournful ring to it. The lyrics are often about the sea or the life of the poor and the mood melancholic. So not exactly dancing on tables stuff . . . but definitely atmospheric. Our apartment is on the second floor, overlooking a bustling street and square. A couple of interesting characters on the street have appointed themselves as honorary parking wardens, which essentially involves assisting cars to park when one of the many street parking spots is vacated. The service is usually accompanied by much shouting and gesticulating – the latter made problematic when one or both of them is clutching a beer. Why this service is considered necessary is beyond me – I never saw any money changing hands . . . In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal was at the forefront of maritime discovery. Bartolomeu Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, Vasco de Gama ten years later continued on to India. The Portuguese were the first from Europe to discover Brazil (Brazil still maintaining the Portuguese language to this day) and then later Japan. During the renaissance Portugal became the world’s main economic power with established international trading routes. Things were sweet . . . Today the Portuguese economy is very different. Things aren’t as dire as they were in 2009 following the world financial crisis when Portugal was unable to raise further international funding and essentially was put on life support. Economic growth has continued, albeit slowly since then. Jo got talking to her neighbour on the flight from Amsterdam, a girl from Lisbon with a reasonable job in a bank getting paid just 900 euros per month. Paying the 500 Euros required to rent in Lisbon was impossible for her so her commute from the family home was over an hour each way. She said it was common for younger people to work elsewhere in Europe and send the higher wages back home. While in Lisbon we caught up with Danielle’s old mate Frances – great to see her and catch up with all the goss over a beer or two. Off to the south coast tomorrow . . .
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Richard and JolandaJo and I have decided to give up our work, our house and our lives in Wellington NZ to see the world. Our big adventure started on April 6th 2017 . . . Archives
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