Portugal 

(2019-12-24)

Perched on the western edge of Europe along the Atlantic, Portugal is a land where maritime history and soulful tradition intertwine. From the Age of Discovery—when navigators like Vasco da Gama opened sea routes to India—to today’s sunlit coastal towns, the country carries a quiet sense of adventure. In Lisbon, yellow trams rattle past tiled façades and steep alleys that echo with the melancholic strains of Fado, a sound said to capture the national feeling of saudade—a deep longing for what once was. Beyond the capital, terraced vineyards of the Douro Valley produce the world’s famous port wine, while the windswept cliffs of the Algarve glow gold above turquoise seas, completing a country that feels both ancient and vividly alive.