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The question was just about universal when I told people that I was going on this tour: Portugal? Why Portugal? Isn’t it just a kind of smaller, poorer, less interesting Spain that’s more difficult to reach?
Smaller, yes. Poorer, in some areas yes, too. Less interesting? Well, Portugal lacks the range of landforms and climates of Spain. There is no desert, for instance. But that doesn’t add up to being less interesting. More intense, if anything. Places are just as historic but closer together, tourism is less ubiquitous, the people are just as accessible and it’s cheaper. And it isn’t difficult to reach; there are direct flights to Lisbon from many places in the US.
As well as that, my friend Scott Moreno from motorcycle tour operator IMTBIKE suggested it, and I trust Scott’s judgement. So allow me to introduce you to this European outlier.
Small roadside cafes and restaurants catering to locals are common along the roads. Photo: The Bear
Many European countries’ borders look kind of random on a map. Portugal is different; it is a slice of the Iberian Peninsula that seems to have been defined by someone with a straight edge who simply drew two lines. One runs north-south, the other east-west to extract about one sixth of the peninsula from Spain; the western and southern coasts look pretty straight as well, and that’s it.
A detailed map will show that the border is anything but straight, although it kind of averages out if you look from far enough away. A closer look shows that it tends to follow watersheds and a couple of rivers, which are often borders in Europe because they are easy to define – and to defend.
High above the Bay of Setubal on a mountain road close to Lisbon. Photo: Roger Falgas
The prehistory of the Iberian Peninsula can be traced from some 400,000 years ago when it was inhabited by Homo Heidelbergensis. The skulls of these people look remarkably like one of Willie G.’s skull renditions for Harley-Davidson, but I am reluctant to make anything of that. An historic version of Homo Sapiens arrived in the north of the peninsula when the Celts appeared in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE while the Phoenicians began to establish settlements in the south.
The Romans kicked out the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians who had arrived a little later and ruled until 469 CE when the Visigoths crossed the Pyrenees and took over. Then the Moors arrived from the opposite direction in 711 CE. They were Muslims of Northwest African mixed Arab and Berber descent. Earlier in the 8th century they had been converted to Islam and established power in North Africa and subsequently the Iberian Peninsula. Some reports suggest that they were originally invited to pop over to avenge a Spanish duke’s daughter, who had been molested by the king.
This kind of outrage has of course gone on during all of humanity’s history, but rarely with such dramatic results.
Coastal roads run through pretty, park-like countryside. Photo: The Bear
Much beautiful Moorish architecture remains in both Spain and Portugal after their defeat in the European reconquest by Castilla y Leon’s King Fernando I, beginning in 1035. In 1139, Alfonso I declared himself the King of Portugal and established Portugal’s right to its claim as the first nation state in Europe. Prosperity came with King Joao’s reign during the Age of Discovery (1415-1580) and his son Henry the Navigator set the country up as a leader in maritime science and exploration.
You can get good coffee everywhere – and that’s from an Australian! Photo: The Bear
Portuguese ships discovered the Madeira Islands and the Azores in 1422 and subsequently Vasco da Gama led the first European expedition to India, followed by Pedro Alvares Cabral claiming Brazil for Portugal. The country’s fortunes began to decline and in 1580, King Felipe II of Spain forcibly claimed the Portuguese throne. During the following 60 years, Portugal lost most of its empire, but in 1640 the House of Braganca organized a successful rebellion against Spain.
Roast chestnuts are delicious – make sure you have the right type before you try this at home. Photo: The Bear
For much of the 20th Century Portugal suffered under the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, but in 1986, after his death, it joined the European Union which has helped to bring an impoverished Portugal up much closer to northern European countries in living standard and infrastructure. One result that is of interest to motorcyclists is that the surface of the often curving roads was improved greatly!
Eucalypts often make the countryside look Australian. Photo: The Bear
There you have it, a pocket history culminating in a positive change for motorcyclists. I won’t say that the potholes when Mrs Bear and I were there forty years ago were big enough to swallow our Yamaha XS11, but I distinctly recall the front wheel disappearing into one above the axle. You will see from the photos that this is no longer a worry.
The highest point of Portugal, Torre, can have its head in the clouds. Photo: The Bear
The tallest mountain in Portugal is Torre in the Serra da Estrela, some 200 metres lower than even its Australian equivalent Mt. Kosciuszko, but that doesn’t mean that Portugal is flat like Australia. Instead it is a network of low mountains cut by river canyons and surrounded by fertile plains. That makes for good corners and faster riding on the flats, although there do seem to be a lot of radar cameras. Oh, and you can ride or drive to the very top of the mountain.
We did ride to the top of Torre, and you can read about that in Part 2 of this Portuguese Punt.
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