Portugal, The Country, The Climate and The People

Let me first of all describe for you what the country of Portugal is like, with its diverse regions that are full of spectacular breathtaking scenery and unbelievably beautiful landscapes.

Portugal has many differing features, which is unusual for such a small country; mountains, gentle rolling hills, lush green deep valleys, wide rivers, waterfalls, lagoons, islands and fabulous beaches.

The north of Portugal is the industrial area of the country where the city of Porto is the capital for this region and the centre for the production of port, which is exported all over the world.

A few miles to the east of Porto is the Douro Valley with its incredibly beautiful winding river, this is the area for red wine production and some of the most famous Portuguese wine labels are situated here.

The central region is where Portugal’s capital Lisbon is located, this is the commercial centre of the country and the region also has many university cities.

The Alentejo and Algarve make up the southern region of Portugal where the beaches of the Algarve cover 200 miles of golden coastline from Sagres on the western tip to Vila Real San Antonio at the Spanish border.

There are many exclusive luxury resorts along the Algarvian coast of Portugal with absolutely beautiful villas and a large number of excellent championship golf courses that Portugal has developed over the years.

In the north of Portugal you will find snow on the mountain tops in the winter, where many people love to ski. During the spring many areas of the country enjoy a wondrous display of colourful flowers.

Portugal has over three thousand hours of sunshine each year and the temperatures reach into the mid forties. The summers are long, but when the rains come in November the air is fresh and filled with the aromas of rosemary, orange blossom, pine and eucalyptus.

The people of Portugal are the main reason that I fell in love with this country. They have truly found themselves and are calm, gentle, giving people who are very humble and welcome you with open arms.

The Portuguese have a word, ‘saude’, the direct translation is health, but it means much more than that to the Portuguese, it is contentment, well being, melancholy, tranquillity and health.

And it aptly describes how the Portuguese people are and how they live their lives. And because of them I have found my personal harmony and treasure every moment that I have the privilege to be with them.