Portugal and Some of its’ Cities — Part 2
My life in Portugal in the 1950s
In Part 1, I described our journey through Portugal until we arrived in Lisbon.
I cannot recall how long we remained in Lisbon, at the Flamingo Hotel, but to me, at the time, it seemed like forever. As I previously mentioned, my parents, especially my Mother, liked to sight-see and walk. Did I mention the walking? (Sigh.)
I also cannot recall how we dealt with our new puppy, the 6-week old, very fat and lazy Guarda. Possibly left him at the hotel while we wandered…those details are hazy — it’s been 69 years you know.
All I know is that we investigated and checked out pretty much every landmark, park, museum and art gallery within tram or walking distance.
While we were still visiting Lisbon, we were introduced to Fado music. We would go to some restaurant where an acclaimed Fado singer was appearing. The show was always late, because it would take place after supper, which never happened until at least 8pm. It’s incredible that I was able to stay awake, but I did, and as a result, got to hear some pretty amazing singers.
A special note about Fado. An extraordinary Fado singer by the name of Amalia Rodrigues is considered to be the greatest Fado singer of all time. She was instrumental in bringing the Fado to international notice. There is a really good article about her at this link. My Father actually met and interviewed Amalia at some point during the 1950's.
While we exploring Lisbon, my Father had been investigating possible places that we might live in until we found a house. He wanted us to be within reasonable distance of the train to Lisbon, and also of the ocean but did not want to live right in a major town.
He nailed it down to two places:
1 — Estoril — famous for it’s Casino and tourism
And 2 — Cascais which at the time was still mainly a fishing village. It is a coastal town 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Lisbon. It gained fame as a resort for Portugal’s royal family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other Royals, deposed from various countries, also lived there.
At the time we arrived — 1951 — some of those Royals were quite accessible. My Father, always looking to write a story, made friends with a few of them.
Eventually, my father picked a medium sized residential hotel in Cascais for our home base while we searched for a suitable house. We said farewell to Lisbon and our friends, the Da Rosa family and packed the Hillman and headed for the Grand Hotel.
The Grand Hotel was as pleasant as any hotel can be for a longterm stay.
Mealtimes amused me because at the communal table we were assigned, on the center, lined up in front of the various place-settings, were a collection of medication bottles. Each hotel guest at that table evidently had a need for at least 6 different medications to combat a variety of health issues, with liver ailments being the most prevalent.
My parents nodded wisely when I asked about this and told me that many of the ailments were most likely caused by over-eating, and eating the wrong types of foods — like too many rich pastries. No wonder, those Portuguese pastries are absoluely killer.
The hotel staff were really pleasant to us and all of them seemed to love Guarda who remained very sleepy and fat and disinterested in the many walks my Mother insisted on.
The location was perfect for accessing the various parks and for viewing the fishing boats coming in with the daily catch.
The harbour has changed a lot since then, now it is home to a streamlined marina filled with luxury recreation craft. Gone are the smelly old fishing boats, randomly mixed in with fancy yachts.
While we were staying at the Grand Hotel we investigated the area, including the infamous rocks at the Boca do Inferno (Hells Mouth), and some of the beaches along the coast, including Guincho. The beach at Guincho was quieter that the one at Estoril. It was also dangerous for swimming because of the really strong undercurrents, but very lovely and quiet. My Father would always warn us to stay clear of the water.
We would stop along the way to look at various notable spots. One of these was the famous Boca Do Inferno (Hells Mouth) which was said to have been the grave for assorted unhappy lovers. The killer rocks at the Boca do Inferno were fascinating but terrifying. The photo below does not really show how scary they are. I hated when we stopped here.
Although there were beaches within walking distance of the Grand Hotel, sometimes my Mother preferred to spend the day at the Tamariz beach in Estoril. She would take me, our puppy Guarda, and a big straw bag filled with towels and sunscreen and off we would go. Sometimes if my Father had something to do in Estoril, he would drive us there, otherwise we would take a taxi, which at that time was not expensive.
AtTamariz Beach, they had canvas huts for beach goers and one would rent one of these for the day. It provided shade, a place to put ones’ things, and a private place to change.
Judging from the photo below, these rustic canvas huts have been replaced by nice umbrellas. It all looks very tidy and civilized. I wonder where one changes? Isuppose they have nice, modern change rooms.
At that time, men were not allowed to go topless on the beach, so everyone had to wear a vest. Ladies had to wear bathing suits that had little skirts, and the tops could not be too low cut. There was an actual beach guard, with a ruler to measure and to enforce the rules. His English was limited, but he had this one phrase down pat: “Please, Senhor, cover the bust” he would say as he chided the misbehaving male beach goers, my Father being one of those.
If he found a lady beachgoer transgressing with a skirtless bathing suit, he would require them to wrap a towel or shirt around their waists to cover the offending upper legs. I do not recall what he said to them.
While we lived at the Grand Hotel, watching the fishing boats come in was a favorite pastime. It was fascinating to watch the fish being unloaded and taken to the nearby market. It always sounded as though the fishermen would like to kill one another as they tried to sell their catch. However, once all the fish were sold, the fishermen would all go to a nearby cafe and would soon be drinking coffee and wine, laughing and exchanging stories.
We were introduced to Octopus at one of our favorite restaurants. They did not however, tell us what we were eating until we had finished. I never really took to that particular delicacy once I saw what it looked like alive.
Sometimes on Saturday, for a treat, my parents would take me to the movie theatre located in the Estoril Casino.
After much searching and many inquiries, my Father finally located a small (by Portuguese standards) house for rent, on top of a gentle slope on the outskirts of a very small village called Livramento. This village was about 2 miles north of a section of Estoril called Sao Joao D’Estoril.
My father liked this location because it was reasonably close to a train station (Sao Joao D’) which would allow one to get a train either to Estoril (to the beach, and the Casino) and Cascais (shopping and restaurants, or to Lisbon (shopping and restaurants).
The place had a beautiful view — the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest, the mountains of Sintra to the North, and farms and farmers field to the east.
It was called Quinta da Saudade (Saudade means Longing, Quinta loosely means house with a garden), and had once been an olive pressing building. I lived there for 11 years, from age 10 til 21.
Authors note:
Below are photos of some of the deposed royals who would come for tea from time to time, which also shows a bit of the house
In the left-most photo you can see the garden arch in the background. In the Google maps photo of the front of the Quinta (below), you can just see that same garden arch way off in the background.
In the last photo, you can see vendors standing in front of the entrance, It sure hasn’t changed much. The bushes are still overgrown.
Muhammad Nasrullah Khan. Researching and collecting images for this 2-part article has been a trip down memory lane for me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have done this. I did not realize how much I miss Portugal until I found the Googlemap image of my old home.
In case any of you are interested, below is a picture of a simplified map of Portugal which shows the locations of various town, and gives you an idea of our route from Spain to Lisbon and thence to Estoril.
Reprinted from the first part, a bit about Portugal:
- Portugal is the most westerly country in mainland Europe, and is bordered by Spain to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The country has a population of just over 10 million.
- Lisbon is the capital and biggest city, with 2,800,000 people. Other major cities are Porto and Faro, and most people in Portugal live along the west and south coasts.
- Portugal is one of the 20 most visited countries in the world, attracting over 13 million visitors each year. The Algarve is one of the most popular European destinations for British holidaymakers.
- The Portuguese Empire was one of the longest lasting modern European empires. Today, over 240 million people worldwide speak Portuguese as their first language.
- The Anglo-Portuguese alliance was signed in 1373 and is still in effect today. Portugal has had its border with Spain since the 12th century, making it Europe’s oldest country.
- Portugal is home to one of Europe’s oldest universities, established in 1290. The country has one of Europe’s’ largest casinos and one of the continent’s longest bridges, named after the explorer, Vasco da Gama.
- During the 15th and 16th centuries, many explorers set off from Portugal to discover the world. In 1522, the explorer Magellan was the first to successfully sail around the whole world.
- The city of Porto has been a major producer of the drink port since the 13th century. The city also gave its name to the country and today is a World Heritage Site.
- One of the most powerful earthquakes in Europe damaged much of Lisbon in 1755, killing over 90,000 people. The ruins of the Carmo Convent still stand today to remind inhabitants of the damage.
- Fado music is a type of folk music, sung in Lisbon and other areas. In 2011, the music genre was declared to be an intangible cultural heritage.
