Our Trip to Portugal

The main reason for our trip to Portugal was to visit Carlos's father, Mr. Viana, that will complete 100 years old on the 4th of December. But it was also a needed time to rest, recuperate and relax, and meet good old family and friends.

Everyday, Mr. Viana goes out for a walk of 1.5 km down the road in the company of one of his son's or daughters. It is a good oportunity to be together, talk and hear each other. We both took time to walk with him everytime we could.

Carlos spends time with his father hearing him tell some old stories of his interesting life

A visit to a typical touristic shop with Paula, Carlos' sister

River Douro in Porto  

Both of us are from big families, and now with their children and grand-children make almost 100 people. So you can imagine, we dind't want to miss anybody but it was an impossible task to visit everyone although we did our best. And they all did their best to make sure we were happy and had all taken care of.

No, this is not a statue, drop a coin and you will find out

In Portugal you find 90% of all painted tiles in Europe

Not the first king of Portugal.
This is the roman soldier, Longinus, that pierced Jesus heart on the cross.
Was it really necessary to glorify this man like that?

Sara's family are from the rural area of Coimbra, in the central part of Portugal. It's a very beautiful area, with hospitable people and very good food.

Wind mills in the rural area near Coimbra, Sara's home region

Espinheira, the village where Sara was born

Sara with her sister in front of a orange tree that she remembers from her childhood

Sara took advantage while in Portugal to do some good medical examinations. The results were good and she improved a lot while there. Her health is almost back to normal except that she still needs to care for her tummy and blood. We were so thankful for the competent medical services, as well as the transportation system. People in Portugal tend to complain about the economic recession, and it's true that many are suffering loss, but they hardly have an idea of how much they can be thankful about. Here in South Africa there are challenges unique to this continent but the lesson is for us all: There is a LOT to be thankful for.

222 km/h - that's the speed of the confortable train from Lisbon to Porto.