Let me say that travel to other countries is a great way to gain perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip with our friends Greg and Marianne. Spain and Portugal have some very interesting history, sights and sounds. Some of the most enjoyable moments aren’t planned. Like hearing music down the street in Barcelona one morning and we ended watching a traditional old neighborhood parade. The evenings we spent having wine at an outdoor cafe and watching 3 generations of families walk by. The mornings having coffee and pastry at a small local cafe and watching life in the street.
Then the trip comes to an end. I’m always happy to get home….back to the grandkids, my fishing friends , our daily routines, and having a cocktail on our deck watching the sunset with birds at the feeder and an occasional deer wander by. We may have some problems in this country but with all the travels we’ve done I haven’t found another country I’d like to move to.
With that in mind let me bore you with some facts about Portugal.
Population: 10.2 million(slightly smaller than Michigan’s 11.2 million)
Size: 35,556 square miles(half the size of North Dakota)
Religion: 79.7 percent Catholic , 2.2 percent Protestant
Portugal took the lead in exploring the world in the 15th and 16th centuries. It started when Henry the navigator was born in 1394 thru 1529 when Magellan leads the first voyage around the world and 1542 when Portuguese explorers became the first Europeans to land in Japan.
Nearly half the world’s cork production comes from Portugal.
No it’s time…….
