My Region of Portugal

[lucaspioll]

Originally Posted by omostra06

Portugal is a lovely country with a rich diversity of scenery from mountains, forests, lakes and rivers, to plains and coastline with fantastic beaches, cities and historic villages.

Why not post some pictures of your region of Portugal or your favorite place to visit in Portugal, along with some info for others to enjoy.

Hi ,I can speack fluent portuguese, french and inglish and I was trying to find out more about the possibilities of moving from the UK to Portugal. Would my age be an andicape? I am almost 50 years old, divorced so no familie only my self. I can do cleaning jobs, to start with or hotel jobs.Would you be kind enough to let me inn on the situation over there as far as jobs are regarding, much appreciated. Lucas.

[Brianwl]

I've found the pictures in this thread to be stunning to say the least. You all have certainly gotten my attention when it comes to looking at Portugal as a place to retire.

I'm truly amazed at how clean the cities/towns/villages seem to be in the pictures. It shows a lot of pride.

I also find the information detailing the history and general information about the locations you have posted pictures of. I am one that truly loves history and learning cultures. I look forward to learning much more.

I'm pleased this thread was pinned to the top of the Portugal forum as I would have likely missed it and not paid much attention to Portugal.

That is why I've made my other posts in the Portugal forum.

[monica_g]

Hello all! Thank you for the gorgeous pics! I am visiting Portugal for the first time at the end of this month. I'm staying in Tomar, which is my boyfriend's hometown, and ideally I would like to find a temp job for April (leaving beginning of May). I am originally greek, native-speaker in english (lived in England for 10 yrs). Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

[omostra06]

Originally Posted by monica_g

Hello all! Thank you for the gorgeous pics! I am visiting Portugal for the first time at the end of this month. I'm staying in Tomar, which is my boyfriend's hometown, and ideally I would like to find a temp job for April (leaving beginning of May). I am originally greek, native-speaker in english (lived in England for 10 yrs). Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Do you speak Portuguese?

[monica_g]

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I cannot speak Portuguese, I have only started learning.

[JPQ]

Great Castelo do Bode and Abrantes pictures, trully lovely area near the dam

[omostra06]

Originally Posted by JPQ

Great Castelo do Bode and Abrantes pictures, trully lovely area near the dam

we have lived close to the lake for 6 years, it is a lovely spot.

[omostra06]

Not really my region of Portugal but we did spend a couple of days there, when i took this photo earlier this year.
Ponte do Lima

[brian180254]

hello them pictures are fantastic thats enogh to give me that push to go and live there regards brian newbie

[nandnjudge2]

If you were to ask the average expat what do they know about the Alto Minho region, I suspect there is a good chance the answer will be one of the following:

Not a lot, not particularly interested because it is cold in winter.

I drove through it on route to the South, only stopped to go to the loo.

Terrible roads pot holes everywhere and they all drive like idiots up there.

No use living there as no one speaks English; they are a funny lot.


So it will not come as much a surprise to discover that the residents who live in Galicia, Spain, are more clued up all about the Alto Minho region than most expats that live in the rest of Portugal.
This can be demonstrated by the hoards of Spaniards that cross the border by the coach load to explore the region, which extends as far south as Porto. Without the Spanish, Ikea and many other businesses would close down and that certainly goes for the local markets as well.

Survival in many respects of the Alto Minho Region depends on the continual cross border crossings by the Spanish and Portuguese likewise. Each side props up the other side’s economy.
Doing away with the border controls back in the nineties turned out to be a lifeline for both sides of the border.
The Alto Minho region is an historic province of Portugal. It was established as an official province in 1936 and dissolved in 1976 but still retains its identity mainly for tourism marketing purposes.

Today, the area would include the districts of Braga that has a population of 850,000 and Viana do Castelo, which has a smaller population of 250,000. Not a lot of people when one considers the size of the land area.
The Alto Minho region has substantial Celtic influences and shares with Galicia many cultural and historical traits going back to Roman times.

The Galician dialect has a strong Portuguese influence, so it will not come as a surprise that most of the population that live on either side of the River Minho can understand either Portuguese or Galician. This all makes things rather complicated for the expats living in the area who are trying to learn Portuguese or Spanish.
The lack of border control, the free movement of people, the Celtic origins and other cultural similarities means that both sides of the River Minho (Spanish and Portuguese) are included in what’s known as the Alto Minho Community. Today they trade as one big community. The only time the border was closed was in November 2010 when Portugal hosted the Nato Summit attended by top dignitaries from around the world.

The 21st century brought greater opportunities and economic advances which the authorities and business community on both sides of the River Minho were quick to recognise. This is one of the many reasons why the Spanish invest vast sums of money into property and industry on the Portuguese side. The last 10 years has also seen increased Spanish tourism on the Portuguese side of the Minho River. The restaurants on the Portuguese side owe their survival to the influx of the Spanish. As I write this article new restaurants are opening up everywhere in Valenca including a few Tapas Bars.

In many respects time has stood still in this region. Small houses are dotted around the lush landscape, surrounded by fields too small for a tractor to work them. Connecting these fields are granite-set tracks, which often have grape vines growing overhead. It is a pleasure when exercising the dogs to collect a few ripe grapes while en-route. The dogs find the constant starting and stopping a big distraction.

Liberally scattered around are the great houses of the past, of which nearly all have been beautifully restored. Crystal clear rivers flow in this region and long may it remain so. The River Minho can be described as the least polluted river in Western Europe. Access to the modern world, thanks to EU-funded roads and electricity projects, means that the old way of life of these villages are over forever. Already it is becoming hard to find a water mill still working or a house without a chimney so that the hams could smoke in the kitchen. Having said that many old-age die-hard traditions and customs do still exist.