Tavira, Portugal

When I was traveling in Spain and Portugal in April, we rented a car and drove through the southwestern corner of Spain, along the Algarve in Portugal, and up through the Alentejo to Lisbon.  We stopped one afternoon for coffee in Tavira, an old Roman town in the southeastern corner of Portugal. We weren't there at quite the time of day shown in the postcard, but not much earlier, and we had coffee at a cafe just a few steps from this bridge.  It was quiet and uncrowded - the perfect spot for a brief respite.  By all accounts, once the summer season commences the town is packed with vacationers from all over Europe, like the rest of the Algarve.

One event the Portuguese continually referenced was the earthquake of 1755.  From the Wiki on Tavira: "Like most of the Algarve its buildings were virtually all destroyed by the earthquake of 1755. This earthquake is thought to have reached a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale and caused extensive damage throughout the Algarve due to shockwaves and tsunamis. The earthquake is referred to as the Lisbon Earthquake due to its terrible effects on the capital city, although the epicentre was some 200 km west-southwest...."

Whenever I drive through a small town like this, both in and outside the US, my mind wanders:  What are the people like who live here?  What is it like to live so isolated from a big city?  What would my life be like, if I lived here? Even a stay of a few days cannot provide answers to these questions.   I am fascinated by the history, whether long ago (the vast extent of the Roman Empire, the Moors' impact and influence on the Iberian Peninsula, the devastation of the earthquake of 1755) or more recent (the Estado Novo of Salazar), and intrigued by how the addition of incremental bits of history adds a level of perspective and understanding to my existing knowledge.  At the same time, I am often amazed  at my ignorance. 

Lisbon - The Retraction

In May of this year, I spent a week in Portugal. When I returned, I posted a few postcards from my trip.  One of these posts, that of May 31 requires a retraction.  (I feel like the New York Times having to make a correction.  Okay, maybe not.)

In it, I described how our tour guide had told us that Lisbon was known for identifying monuments and other structures they liked and admired, and building their own versions.  The Triumphal Arch ("Arco do Triunfo e Rua Augusta") was  cited as an example of this.  In the Postcrossing postcard above, Joana corrects me:  "I read on your blog what you wrote about it and I have to make a correction.  The Arch is actually older than the one in Paris.  This one was built in 1775 although it was then demolished and rebuilt in 1875.  Even so it is not at all a copy of the one in Paris."

Joana, this correction is for you! 

25th of April Bridge

What's this?  The Golden Gate Bridge, but wth Lisboa printed in the upper right corner?

In fact, this is the Ponte 25 de Abril, or 25th of April Bridge in Lisbon, Portugal.  According to the Wiki, "Because of its similar coloring, it is often compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. In fact, it was built by the same company (American Bridge Company) that constructed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and not the Golden Gate, also explaining its similarity in design."  However, according to our tour guide, there is more than one monument/structure/building in Lisbon that takes as its "inspiration" another monument/structure/building somewhere in the world, and when Salazar was running the show in Portugal from 1932 to 1974, he was known for looking around and "borrowing" ideas from other places.   I imagine there are elements of truth in both versions.  [Note:  other examples in Lisbon include a Champs Elysees (Avenida da Liberdade), an Arc d'Triomphe (Arco do Triunfo), and a Corcovado (Cristo Rei).] 

One of ways travel gets the synapses in my brain firing is the history you either learn, or are reminded you once knew.  I don't know that I was very aware of, or even knew about, Salazar, who was the authoritarian dictator in Portugal at the same time Franco was in charge in Spain.  The dictatorship was overthrown in what's referred to as the "Carnation Revolution", which began on the 25th of April, thus the name.

Cromeleque dos Almendras, Portugal

Cromeleque dos Almendra, or Almendres Cromlech, is a megalith complex outside of Evora, Portugal.  During our recent trip, my mom and my sister and I searched and finally found this place, promptly renaming it "Doan-henge".   [For anyone who doesn't know, my last name is "Doan"].

Undiscovered until 1964 (because it was so damn hard to find!), archaeologists don't know who built it or why, but think it may  have served some sort of religious purpose and functioned as a primitive astronomical observatory.  There are a few other sites like this in the area, one of which features a single large megalith (Menhir Almendres) , and another with a long passageway leading to an underground "room". 

It's not clear to me the difference between the term "megalith" (from the Wiki:  "a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones" and a "menhir" (also from the Wiki:"a large upright standing stone. Menhirs may be found singly as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Their size can vary considerably; but their shape is generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top."   Whatever these rocks are called, there are groupings or singlets of them all over Europe and the rest of the world, some possibly as old as 6,000 or 7,000 years, but definitely as old as 3,000 years.

And to think I had only heard of  Stonehenge (bucket list)!

P.S.  It's Postcard Friendship Friday.  There are a variety of postcard blogs to check out, if you're interested.

The Author Series III - Fernando Pessoa

Have you ever heard of Fernando Pessoa? I hadn’t. He died before he was 50, in 1935, and at least one critic considers him one of the most representative poets of the 20th century. This postcard shows a sculpture of Pessoa, seated in front of a famous coffee house in Lisbon, "A Brasileira". When we were in Lisbon , our tour guide walked us by this place, describing Pessoa as one of the most famous and revered of Portuguese writers, known for writing in a variety of different styles.

In fact, Pessoa is known for inventing the concept of “heteronyms”, which he used throughout his life.  More than 70 heteronyms are attibuted to him, some of whom “knew” each other and criticized and translated each other’s works. (Sounds like Sybil to me.)

From the Wiki:

The literary concept of heteronym, invented by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, refers to one or more imaginary character(s) created by a writer to write in different styles. Heteronyms differ from nom de plumes (or pseudonyms, from the Greek "False Name") in that the latter are just false names, while the former are characters having their own supposed physiques, biographies and writing styles.

These heteronyms sometimes intervened in Pessoa's social life: during Pessoa's only known romance, a jealous Campos (one of his heteronyms) wrote letters to the girl, who, enjoying the game, wrote back.

Now I know what the tour guide meant.

Spain, Morocco & Portugal

I'm leaving for a three-week trip to Spain, Morocco and Portugal tomorrow, and don't know if I'll be able to post any postcards.  I'll be collecting some and mailing others, but access to a scanner might be a challenge.

If any of you postcard people are interested in receiving a postcard, let me know your addresses, and I'll make every effort to send you one.

I suppose I'll have to make up the non-posting days, in keeping with my commitment to post a postcard a day for a  year, but I'm not complaining.  Can't wait to go!

Portugal

I love this postcard, mostly for the message on the back. It was from our Bank of America Traveler's Cheques client, Jay, from 25 years ago. She actually has been a pretty loyal postcard sender all these years. Her handwriting is quite distinctive and immediately recognizable. It also reminds me of the group at Grey Advertising who worked on her account, including my friend Evelyn. Jay always referred to Evelyn as "Evelyn Campagne King" (see the initials ECK above), an R&B singer from the 70s. To this day, if Evelyn's name is mentioned to Jay, she'll call her that.

I fell today and may have sprained my knee, so I've just taken some pain pills. Probably best to stop writing and go to bed.