Our First Portuguese Vacation
It was an unexpectedly delightful recharge
Portugal is a small country made up of vastly different regions. Between these regions, you’ll find terrain and climates that seem like they would logically be found in separate countries.
We live far north in Portugal, an hour-ish from the Spanish border. Northern Portugal is lush and green, gets a lot of rain in the winter, and is often compared to San Francisco (specifically in conversations with Americans who are immigrating here and are trying to choose a location).
Drive five hours south and you’re at the Algarve - the southern coast of Portugal - where the landscape is more desert-like. It doesn’t get much rain, it’s warmer for most of the year, and sunshine is plentiful (Americans: “think San Diego!”…why we compare everything to California is a mystery but the weather does seem similar).
Between these two extremes are various parts of the interior and coastline that are also different. There are several distinct wine regions throughout Portugal: port originates up here in the north, along with vinho verde (a fresh, “green” wine that delicious and refreshing). The hotter Alentejo region in the central south produces several different - and also delicious - red and white varieties.
When we spent two months here in 2021, we spent a lot of our time in the Algarve. We assumed before arriving here that we wanted to live along the southern coast, so we didn’t spend much time exploring other areas.
In fact, in some ways it felt like we were so focused on the southern coast that we missed the chance to see other major areas of Portugal.
One area that we’ve been curious about for a while is the Silver Coast. It’s an area of the coast that’s north of Lisbon and south of Porto - a central region of the west coast.
And that’s where we are taking a short vacation this week. It’s April, before tourist season starts, and it’s sunny and warm. We’re staying at a tiny hotel that overlooks an expanse of bright blue ocean. There are cliffs, birds, green semi-tropical landscape surrounding us, and it’s peaceful.
This part of the country feels calm and quiet (granted, it’s April). There are a number of small and medium-sized towns throughout the Silver Coast, and you can drive from one to the next in about fifteen minutes. There are beaches scattered along the way.
At the northern end of the Silver Coast is Nazaré, one of the surf capitals of the world. The waves are huge, and it’s very windy. At the southern end is Peniche, an almost-island that juts out of the coastline, making it the westernmost point of the mainland European continent.
During our time on the Silver Coast, we’ve had some of the best coffee and best pizza we’ve found in Portugal. We’ve heard a lot of birdsong and we’ve spent time on the beach. We saw black swans for the first time - in a park pond in a town center, of all places (the one pictured above; they’re neighbors with the peacocks). We’ve enjoyed relaxing a bit with the language as we’ve come across a lot of folks speaking English.
The views and coastline have reminded us in various ways of our time on Maui (we lived there briefly, many years ago) and well as the California and Maine coastlines. But it’s also unlike anywhere else we’ve been, and it feels more unspoiled and uncrowded than we’re used to with coastlines that are this beautiful.
Also? It has been delightful to vacation in a country we already know somewhat. It’s new and surprising and also familiar and comfortable. It’s been a good reminder to not overlook the gems right here in our new “home” country as we’re starting to travel again.
If you live in Portugal and haven’t yet vacationed on the Silver Coast, I highly recommend it.
If you don’t live in Portugal and you find yourself here (with a rental car), spend a few days on the Silver Coast. You’ll leave feeling refreshed, relaxed, like you’ve taken a deep breath.
We’ll be back.