Vouzela - Portugal

Last month Rui and his girlfriend Carla went on holidays to Vouzela for a few days. This is the 2nd postcard that Rui sends me from there and the more I research about the town, the more I want to visit it. It is on my list of next places to visit.

 

© Grafifost - Editores & Artes Gráficas, Lda 

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Castle is located on a hill. It is said that when a nobleman named Vasco de Almeida lost his family, he took refuge on top of the hill and as a hermit he built a chapel there dedicated to Our Lady using the stones of an ancient fort, perhaps from the time of the Romans. This happened in the second half of the 15th century. 

Castro Marim - Portugal

Ninocas wanted to inaugurate my new mailbox and chose this card to do so. She didn't know but this great card from Castro Marim was in my favorites wall. Loved it. 

 

Set in the rolling green landscape overlooking the broadening of the river Guadiana is the timeworn village of Castro Marim. 

 Not far from the Atlantic Ocean and just across this natural border with Spain Castro Marim has been strategically important throughout history. As far back as Roman times the river here was used to mark the boundary between what was then Lusitania and Baetica, which were to become Spain and Portugal respectively.

Like most of the Algarve, Castro Marim was occupied by the Moors. For five centuries they defended the village from a primitive hilltop fortress. However, in 1242 the Reconquests swept the region and the Christian forces of Afonso III recaptured Castro Marim.

 © Edição Vistal * Foto © Art & Concept Gustav A. Wittich

It was during the ensuing years that Castro Marim's character as a fortress-town was set. The policy of the king was to repopulate and defend the recaptured areas of the kingdom. For somewhere as strategically important as Castro Marim this meant building an impressive castle, which now dominates the town. Not only was the village physically fortified, but spiritually with it becoming the headquarters of the order of Christ, established in 1319 to replace the Order of the Knights Templar.

Perhaps the most notable building besides the castle is the 18th century church, the Igreja de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires. Brilliant white in the Algarvian style the church has several fine features, most notably the impressive dome and bell tower. - in: https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/castro-marim

Silves - Portugal

Silves was one of the cities in the Algarve that I really wanted to visit! I finally made it there a 2 or 3 years ago and it was a nice visit despite of the rain and not so good accomodation experience. 

These cards have been sent by Ninocas, Inês, Susana and Rui.

 

Silves is an attractive town with a rich history built on the banks of the River Arade. The area has been inhabited since Paleolithic times but the town reached its peak after the Moorish invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 713. By the tenth century, Silves, then called Xelb, was the capital of Al-Gharb, the area now known as the Algarve. In 1189 King Sancho I recaptured the town for the Portuguese with the help of a hired army of Northern European crusaders. Silves was recaptured by the Moors two years later until finally falling to the Christians in 1249.

 Foto © Art & Concept: Gustav A. Wittich | © Edição Vistal

Today Silves is an attractive, crumbling place of outdoor cafes and scented orange groves dominated by one of the best-preserved castles in the Algarve.

 

 © Michael Howard Photography www.mikehowardphoto.com

The Moorish Fortaleza, which boasts a complete set of sandstone walls and detached towers, occupies twelve thousand square meters on top of the hill that overlooks the town.

 

 © Michael Howard Photography www.mikehowardphoto.com

 Iron Age remains have been found, along with a well, a governor's palace and the Cisterna Grande, a thirteenth century water cistern that once served the whole town. - in: https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/silves

PT RR - Group 154 * Surprise September '20

 More cards from the portuguese RR.

 Objecto Anónimo * Pintura: C. B. Zino

  

For those who like wine and like wine related activities, the grape treading has to be one of the most memorable experiences. These days, most wineries crush most if not all of their grapes by machine. However, for special wines, the more delicate procedure of treading by foot makes a significant difference to the flavour of the wine. No matter how hard you stomp, your foot, unlike the machinery, will not crush the seeds so their bitter flavour won’t taint the fermenting juice.
Grapes need retreading every few hours while they ferment, otherwise the batch will be ruined. Treading must be repeated every few hours, day and night, over a period of days until the winemaker declares the wine ready for the vats. - in: https://www.portugalgreenwalks.com

Card sent by Patrícia.

Paulo sent this card of the Medieval Stone Bridge of Ribeira de Alcáçovas, built between the 15th and 16th centuries.

Fotografía: José Barea

 One of my next visits to Spain has to be to Andalucia and Ronda is on my must visit list.

This card was sent by Inês.

Originally built in the 14th century as one of the muslim Mosques, the Church of Santa María la Mayor  is located in Ronda’s Town Hall square, the Plaza Duquesa de Parcent, and is the biggest and most attractive of the churches. Its distinctive tower and front facade make the church look more like a city hall than a church. - in: https://www.rondatoday.commaria-de-la-encarnacion-la-mayor-ronda/

PT RR - Group 153 * Surprise August '20

 I still can't make any updates with my computer, which bothers me a lot but I don't think the problem will be solved anytime soon. In the meantime, my pile of received cards keeps getting bigger.  

Lets go back to summer and today I show the postcards that Paulo, Rui and Tiago sent me in August.

Arquivo Histórico de Avis

I´ve recently added rural life to my cards wishlist. Until I was 9 years old I lived in a village and my summers were spent at my grandparents' farm where I saw my grandma and aunt milking the cows so many times. At that time everything was still done by hand. The question is: have I ever milked a cow? Well, I've tried but I didn't succed.

Most milking in the developed world is done using milking machines. Teat cups are attached to the cow's teats, and then the cups alternate between vacuum and normal air pressure to extract the milk. The milk is filtered and cooled before being added to a large bulk tank of milk for storage.

The existing robotic milking has allowed cows to have the freedom to decide when to milk, but still needs to make contact with people – entering the milking room is equal to getting food. - in: wikipedia

I've already spent holidays in Sesimbra and must have spent some time at Praia da Califórnia but I don't remember hearing this name. Beaches are not my kind of place.
This beach in the Bay of Sesimbra, located between Santiago Fortress and the rocks of Caneiro, is one of the most relevant bathing areas in the Setúbal District, with clear waters and temperatures between 12 and 18ºC. It is the main beach in the village of Sesimbra, constituting a place of choice for local holidaymakers and the surrounding area who travel there to spend a few days or weeks.

 Gomez

I loved, loved this postcard, in the last months is one of the cards that I liked the most. I think I should start a collection of lynx postcards, I have a few, however this is my first postcard of an Iberian lynx.

The Iberian lynx is one of the most endangered wild felines in the world, one of the charismatic predators. It is a species classified since 22nd June, 2015 as Endangered, after years in the highest category awarded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Critically Endangered.
At present the world population of Iberian lynx is estimated in 547 animals. Of these, 448 live in Andalusia. And more than 40 in Portugal. - in: https://www.wilder.pt

PT RR - Group 151 * Surprise July '20

Updates and downgrades and I have been unable to enter the blog through my pc for more than a month. There's another computer in the house but let's say it is not the same thing as using our own computer. I guess I won't be posting much the near future. And I have so many postcards to show!

When it comes to the portuguese RR cards, these are from July, sent by Patrícia, Óscar and Paula.

Nunes de Almeida Editores * www.postaisdeportugal.com

The picturesque little village of Piodão clings to a steeply terraced mountainside deep within the foothills of the Serra de Açor range in central Portugal.

Until the 1970s it was one of the remotest areas in Portugal and  the only way to reach Piodão was on foot or by horse.

Amongst the schist houses, with their schist tiled roofs, and the schist cobbled alleyways there is one building that instantly stands out - the parish church. Not only does it stand out for being the only whitewashed building in a sea of greys, it is quite an unusual building in its own right. The facade has four cone-topped cylindrical buttresses which give it something of a Disney castle look. Dating back to the early 1800s the church was funded by the inhabitants of the village and built on the site of a former chapel. - in: https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/piodao

Nunes de Almeida Editores * www.postaisdeportugal.com

I've been to Guimarães twice lst year but didn't get to visit the Alberto Sampaio Museum.

The Alberto Sampaio Museum was founded in 1928 to house the art and other objects belonging to the former Collegiate Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira and other churches and convents in Guimarães. It is situated in the heart of the old historic centre of the city, which has been classified as World Heritage, on the site where the Countess Mumadona ordered the construction of a monastery in the 10th century.

The museum is housed in three areas that once belonged to the Collegiate Church of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira: the Chapter House, the Cloister and the Priory. The Cloister is an unusual example of Portuguese architecture, both in the way it was constructed around the apse of the church and its irregular shape.

The Alberto Sampaio Museum contains collections of great interest. Of particular note is the sculpture composed of statues from the 13th to the 18th century, made from both limestone and wood. In the collection of woodcarvings, the 17th-century altarpiece that belonged to the Brotherhood of St. Peter and the baroque supports from the church of the Convent of Santa Clara are particularly outstanding. Painting is represented by some remarkable frescoes and painted panels. The display of ceramics is composed of tiles and faience. The textile section is composed of ecclesiastical vestments and an important collection of samples of different cloths.

One of the museum’s most famous pieces is the tunic worn by Dom João I at the Battle of Aljubarrota. Finally, amongst the varied collection of gold and silverware, attention is drawn to the treasury of Nossa Senhora da Oliveira: a series of liturgical instruments (chalices, patens, monstrances, crosses and reliquaries) dating from the 12th to the 19th century. - in: https://www.visitportugal.com

© Casa dos Postais * © Foto: Nuno Trindade

Located at latitude 38º 47´north and longitude 9º 30´west, Cabo da Roca is an important coordinate for those sailing along the coast, as it is the most westerly point of mainland Europe, a fact borne out by the certificates that visitors take away as a souvenir.

Around 150 metres above the sea, here you can have a panoramic view over the Serra de Sintra and the coast, which makes it worth the visit.

Historical records indicate that there was a fort on Cabo da Roca in the 17th century that played an important part in guarding the entrance to Lisbon’s harbour, forming a defensive line along the coast, especially during the Peninsular Wars. Today there are only traces, as well as the lighthouse which is still an important point for navigation. - in: https://www.visitportugal.com

PT RR - Group 149 * Surprise June 20

June's cards from the Portuguese RR. Only Portuguese cards this time, sent by Tiago, Rui and Paulo. 

 © concept by Postcardsmarket.com

Tiago noticed that I started collecting FOTW postcards and sent me the most beautiful flag of all, ours.

Portugal has an area of 92,212 km², we are 10,427,301 and Lisbon is our capital;

Unique:

* The Portuguese Language - Spoken by 230 million people around the world, it is the official language of 9 countries;

* Festa de São João in Porto - One of the liveliest celebrations, in which one requires to hit attractive girls on the head with garlic flowers or soft plastic hammers;

Famous:

* Port Wine: A sweet Portuguese fortified wine from the Douro valley;

* Cork Monopoly - Over half of world's cork is produced in Portugal;

History:

* Formation: The name of Portugal first appeared in 868 during the Reconquista over the Moors;

* Name Origin: Portugal is derived from the county around Porto (Portus Cale in Latin).

 © Foto: carlos Sarzedas

Located within the protected Arrábida Natural Park, Cabo Espichel is a lonely, brooding promontory where land comes to an abrupt end on the south-western tip of the Setúbal Peninsula some 50 km south of Lisbon.

Once a place of intense religious devotion, this remote and often windswept place features a delightful church flanked by two rows of arcaded pilgrims’ lodgings set around an open courtyard to form the sanctuary known as Our Lady of the Cape (Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Cabo).

Built in the classical style, the 17th-century church has a splendid interior of baroque paintings, gilt wood carvings and a fine frescoed ceiling by Lourenço da Cunha. - in: https://www.portugaltravel.org/nossa-senhora-do-cabo-espichel-sanctuary

Centro Português de Fotografia

Unloading of wine barrels at the Vila Nova de Gaia pier around 1940.