Porto Day 4

They call this Trajt. It is something akin to University hazing or frosh week they are all university students. They go out across Porto in their Harry Potter like costumes and sing and dance and act to raise money for many causes. They do not get pissed like they do at University in Canada.

Indeed, there is a famous library or book store here in Porto. Legend has it that the Harry Potter author wrote here. I don’t believe it. Don’t know about you but I avoided libraries like the plague when I was a child. I sure as hell am not going to line up for hours to get into one here.

This is another Porto tradition.

Street entertainment. And of course there is:

The nectar of the Camino God. Why do you do the Camino bai?

It’s the 🍻 bai. And the food. And the people and it’s a great way to lose weight bai.

Just to prove I am really here.

Why is my mouth open? Getting ready for another draught of beer. Doh!

A wise Portuguese pilgrim once told me, do not order the largest beer glass you can find bai – like those Canadians do. No, no, no. Order the smallest glass. The beer stays cold that way. So true. I can attest to that.

Cheers

Another Canadian icon. Shania Twain. Haven’t heard from her lately. Mutt Lang dropped her?????WTF over.

 

 

 

Porto: Day 3

Day three in Porto. Almost over the jet lag. One more day of rest and then off I’ll be. This is my fourth Camino. You would think by now I would know better. September is not a good time to do these things. I did Vezelay in 44 C heat. 10 days above 38 C. Not nice. Frances was up in the 30s. Le Puy as well. I think October would be the best month. Europe is hot, hot, hot in the summer months. And that is not with the humidex!

Today it is 32C.

I will be ready to go. I meet my walking buddy tomorrow. He is a good friend from Belfast. The great thing about him is that he has a heavy accent so I can’t understand him most of the time. We did the Camino Frances together. We linked up in Roncesvalles Spain. Great craic over many a cerveza. Met many people. When asked about why are you doing a Camino he would fluff off the high faultin, existential meaning of that with a simple answer: well it’s a great way to lose weight bai. And you know-what? It is.

Went to mass again at 11 am. What a place. Sitting in the pew of history. Centuries old. Beautiful gothic architecture. One can get blown away looking at the marvellous lines of the church. The acoustics are unreal. When the choir sings it is heavenly. I guess that is the point. I am so glad to be a Christian when I hear that music.

Explored Porto some more. Went to the beach and lighthouse.

Legend has it that this delectable heart attack on a plate was invented by a heartbroken Portuguese chef. He left for Paris and worked there for 10 years. He was very homesick so he came up with this artery cruncher of a dish made with all the ingredients from Portugal. He brought it back to Portugal and introduced it to an unsuspecting public. It is very filling.

Neil Young is a world renowned Canadian artist. I personally don’t like his politics. He has lived in the US since 1969, yet comes to Canada with his anti American rhetoric and climate change BS. Just stick to the music and stop pontificating. Lynard Skinner had a great comeback to this song called Sweet Home Alabama.

Porto: Day Two

Porto is an old city. It was thought that the Phoenicians were here as far back as 600 BC. This was followed by the Romans and even the Celts. It has a long and varied history. It was crucial to the Portuguese age of discovery back in the early 1500s. Henry the Navigator, Magellan and the like were instrumental in discovering the world. They held court in India, Macao, the Philippines, Brazil, well just about everywhere. At one time the Pope split the known world between Portugal and Spain. The English and the French ignored such papal bulls-shyte. Thankfully!

Porto managed to escape the 1755 carnage that destroyed Lisbon. Can you imagine a major earthquake followed by a tsunami followed by a great fire coming in on you all at once? Well that happened to Lisbon. Porto was spared. Perhaps they had better prayers at the time.

Today Porto is a bustling city of about 259,000 people. 1.2 million in the greater Porto area. It is predominantly catholic although sectarian in today’s society. The churches are fantastic in their architecture. You can say what you want about Catholicism but it has given the world an abundance of beauty in visual art and spiritual awakening. Porto reflects all of that.

It is a hilly city. The city centre is a UNESCO heritage site and sits in a bowl. You better have strong legs and good cardio if you are going to explore the  place on foot. But your reward is good beer, excellent food, world renowned wine, Madeira and Port.

The place is full of tourists. Mainly old farts like me. In that vein you hear ambulances going by, sirens a blazing all day long. Maybe it’s the hills, perhaps the wine, probably the beer. Whatever but you’ll probably check out with a smile on your face.

Went for a long walk. The forecast was for low 70s. They lied. 94 right now. 96 tomorrow. Shyte. Everytime I do a Camino it is hot 🔥 hot hot 🥵. Always mid September. Crowded with people here. Lots of pilgrims. I think I counted 30 today. Leave Monday. One more day to get my legs.

Another Canadian band with a one hit wonder.

Porto – Day One

9-11. My thoughts are with my American friends. Plus the 24 Canadians who also died on this tragic day.

1st day in Porto. Sunny skies, 25 C. Great walking weather. Went to church at the Porto cathedral,which links to the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Beautiful. They certainly knew how to build them back in the day.

Great tile art. You see this on many of the old buildings here. Many are of the Baroque style.

Lisbon has tile art everywhere as well, even on the sidewalks. Intricate and detailed.

Lots of tourists here. Many are old farts. Wait a minute. I am an old fart too. They are probably looking at me and thinking there are too many old farts here.

This is an old city.

And of course there is the beer. Brocks beer.

You will see that there is a common theme to these posts.

BTW it took 2.5 hours to get through Customs here. A new security system is in place. Be warned if coming to Europe.

Sense of Belonging

At the Vancouver airport now awaiting my flight to Montreal and then Porto. Walking through the airport terminal I was struck by the amount of indigenous art here. It is everywhere. In fact it is the only art displayed here. Now I know that Vancouver and BC represent more than just the indigenous people but that message is lost on the people arriving here from around the world.

Is there a Canadian identity here someone could ask? Is Canada just indigenous? One would think so coming through here.

I complained about this to Heritage Canada once. They came back with a we don’t respond to racist comments. Typical of woke Canada. It wasn,t racist. It was an observation. I would suggest that Heritage Canada was racist for bringing that up. Indigenous art is beautiful but Vancouver and BC is more than that: Emily Carr, Robert Bateman, the Japanese fisherman of Richmond, the Chinese presence, WW1 and 2 participation, Indian settlement, British colonial era,gold rush and on and on it goes.

Sometimes I feel like an outsider in my own country. The sense of Belonging, of being a Canadian is disappearing.

BTO. Another great Canadian band. Randy Bachman formed this band after being fired from the Guess Who.