Picture-perfect Portugal

Rajah Travel Corp., the general sales agent of Insight Vacations, called and asked if I wanted to go to an Iberian adventure for Portugal and Spain as the lone Philippine journalist to represent The Philippine STAR. How could I say no to a trip handled by Rajah and Insight? I was also told that I would be taking my favorite Middle Eastern airline Etihad Airways. 

It was Rajah, Insight and Etihad that gave me my unforgettable trip to Israel, Egypt and Jordan called “The Land of the Pharaohs” five years ago. As a traveler, I was not too keen on tours as I’d rather explore things on my own. But my experience with Insight was different because it gave me enough free time to explore on my own.

Time flew fast while traveling from Manila to Abu Dhabi to Paris to Lisbon as I was relaxing and checking my e-mail in those wonderful Etihad lounges. Etihad planes were comfortable that it was a breeze to catch up on new movies and the ones I missed.

When I arrived in Lisbon, I was met by an Insight’s airport representative. I also met two American journalists, Cynthia Cunniff and Vicki Arkoff, who arrived from the US and the UK respectively. The three of us headed straight to dinner from the airport to meet the other journalists. I knew this “Iberian Adventure” (a new one offered by Insight Vacations) was going to be fun.

After a hearty breakfast in our centrally located Dom Pedro Palace Hotel in Lisbon, we met our local guide to take us around one of my favorite cities in the whole world. Riding our very roomy Insight coach, I was ecstatic to find out that the bus was equipped with Wi-Fi throughout our trip and had a rest room!

We went around the avenues of the Lower Town and the hilltop Bairro Alto before reaching the Belem Quarter. Near the Tagus, the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, I once again saw the Belem Tower, a fortified 16th-century tower recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS) and this brought back wonderful memories when I first saw this landmark 15 years ago.

This was followed by a visit to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or the Monument to the Discoveries nearby, which was conceived in 1939 by Portuguese architect José Ângelo Cottinelli Telmo and sculptor Leopoldo de Almeida for the Portuguese World Fair in 1940. Antiga Confeitaria de Belém was our next stop. This patisserie was built in 1837 and serves the world famous Pastéis de Belém (called Pasties de Nata otherwise if not made in Lisbon). Creamy custard and eggs filled the crispy and light tart, which was lightly sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It was definitely heaven in my mouth. We then proceeded to the Jerónimos Monastery, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we marveled at its wonderful architecture, painted glass (not stained glass) and the tomb of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama. 

We then headed to Sintra, a veritable crown jewel of Portugal, passing the seaside playground of Estoril and making a stop in the very charming city of Cascais, a coastal town west of Lisbon where I had the freshest seafood for lunch. The bacalhau was moist and perfectly seasoned, the grilled freshly caught Portuguese sardines were unbelievably tasty and that chicken piri-piri was flavorful and grilled to perfection. Strolling around the obviously affluent town gave me a chance to buy refrigerator magnets made of painted tiles. Sintra, despite the rain, looked even more magical with its many 19th-century Romantic architectural monuments. Sintra is classified as another Portuguese UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although its heritage in buildings and nature is the most visible face of the historic individuality of Sintra, a whole literary heritage has made the area a legendary reference in Portuguese culture. In addition to the Sintra Mountains and Sintra-Cascais Nature Park, the parishes of the town of Sintra are dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and the Sintra National Palace. We visited the well-preserved National Palace, which is now a historic house.

Cork was the thing to buy in Sintra, which had cork bags, hats, neckties, wallets, even an umbrella made out of cork, which I brought home for my mother. The shopper that I am, I also bought some hand-painted ceramic birds, which are now part of my sister’s bathroom wall. We headed back to Lisbon for an optional seafood dinner and some Fado, a Portuguese musical genre classified as a UNESCO World’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. I opted to explore the city and its aqueducts as well as the mouthwatering Portuguese cuisine with my friends who live in Lisbon.

We left Lisbon on Day Three to head to Évora passing by Azeitão, known for the production of olive oil and wine. We visited Jose Maria da Fonseca winery to try a vast array of Portuguese wines and see the vineyards and cellars. We were all awed upon our arrival at one of Insight’s signature hotels, M’AR de Ar Aqueduto in Evora.  The hotel was built around an ancient Roman aqueduct, which could be seen from the pool area and right outside my balcony! We had lunch on our own and were led by the hotel concierge to a nearby family-owned restaurant called Trovador. From the shrimp and mushroom appetizers to the crab dip and grilled Iberico pork shoulder with applesauce, the meal was probably the best Portuguese food I ever had in my life. 

We met another expert local guide who took us around the ancient town of Evora, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were brought to an ancient Roman temple also known as the Temple of Diana and the Cathedral of Evora, an impressive structure, which housed the only known statue of a pregnant Virgin Mary. Another popular monument here is Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones), a small interior chapel located next to the entrance of the Church of St. Francis. The Chapel’s interior walls are covered and decorated with human skulls and bones. It has a warning on the entrance saying, “We bones, lying here, for yours we wait.” After some coffee and more Pasties de Nata, I spent time walking around the picturesque Praça do Giraldo surrounded by townhouses with wrought-iron balconies and small souvenir shops.  

The last town in our itinerary was the white-washed Medieval town of Monsaraz, one of the oldest Portuguese settlements of the southern Portugal. Here we bought more ceramics (as choices were not only blue and white but extremely colorful ones and monochromatic ones were also widely available) and explored the quaint villages and ruins of the Castle of Monsaraz. We then boarded an old sailing barge on Lake Alqueva to admire views of both Portugal and the dry Spanish plains before heading to Sem-Fim (www.sem-fim.com), a former olive mill now a family-run restaurant and gallery where we had our delicious lunch and olive oil tasting.  The slow boat ride was a welcome change of pace from our days before. We had Portuguese wine, ham and chorico (the Portuguese chorizo) on board.

This covered the first leg of Insight Vacation’s “Iberian Adventure.”  We then packed our bags and prepared for our trip to Spain. 

I fell in love with Lisbon 15 years ago and I swore I would go back one day. I did go back to Lisbon and also fell in love with Sintra, Evora and Monsaraz as well. People who know me know that I have always liked Portugal — the country, the cuisine, the people.  I certainly hope it will not take another 15 years to go back to this country that occupies a very special place in my heart.

Insight is offering an early bird discount of 10 percent per person for bookings before Feb. 12. Contact Rajah Travel Corp. for any bookings for Insight Tours.

Watch out for the last part of this Insight tour series, my story on Spain in this column!

(Rajah Travel Corp. is the general sales agent of Insight Vacations and other tour packages. For more information, call 523-8801 for its Manila office and 894-0886 for its Makati office. E-mail [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit www.rajahtravel.com or www.insightvacations.com.)

ABOUT ETIHAD. Etihad Airways was named the world’s leading airlines for the third year in a row at the World Travel Awards. It flies twice daily for a total of 14 flights weekly to Abu Dhabi. With its new partnership with Air Berlin, it will open new destinations within Europe and the rest of the world. From its hub at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, it serves 72 cities in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, with a fleet of 61 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It has more than 100 aircraft on order including 10 Airbus A380s. Etihad Airways is the official partner airline of Rajah Travel for Insight vacations.

(Etihad Airways is located at 22nd floor,  Tower 1, Enterprise Center, Ayala Avenue, Makati City. visit www.etihadairways.com.)

Photos by Pepper Teehankee on a Canon PowerShot S100 (Follow me on Instagram @pepperteehankee.)