the local guide

Random photos from Portugal

thelocalguide — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:10:44 +0000

Not so much time to blog nowadays. Here are some nice photos from Portugal. Don’t forget to check my other posts or categories for more.

Visit the Junkyard

thelocalguide — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:33:54 +0000

Take that Moody's

After the rating agency “Moody’s” downgraded Portugal 4 levels to “Junk” level there has been a lot of anti-Moody’s activity by some inspired Portuguese. Here’s a good example in the following video in Youtube where someone sends portuguese junk to Moody’s by mail:

This one sends a more positive image to Moody’s:

There were also some internet attacks to Moody’s site one of which took their server down. As a result Portuguese IPs have been blocked by Moodys.com

Even with all this Economy news I hope Portugal is still in your destination wishlist. Here are some photos I took this last Friday in Matosinhos to cure us from the economy stress:

By the way, my “thank you” to the European Union for believing that we’ll pay our debt agains Moody’s opinion.

Discovering Portugal… in Youtube

thelocalguide — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 18:37:01 +0000

Today while checking the internet at work (sorry boss) I came across 2 nice videos with views from Portuguese beaches.

This is not from any destination I have covered in this blog and the creator of the video is just testing his new camera but i think the beauty of the images is worth it.

Enjoy:

There and back in work again

thelocalguide — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 21:19:32 +0000

I have a new job this month, 50 Kilometers north from Oporto in Esposende (Portugal). Trying to make me feel more comfortable in the area my new co-worker (apparently a hiking addict) recommended me to cut through the fields towards the ocean for a walk after lunch. It’s less than 10min each way. I had my camera with me so I took some photos to share. Judge my lunch break sights.

What do you see in your luck break?

Madeira: more photos (4)

thelocalguide — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 20:21:11 +0000

This is my 4th post with Photos taken in Madeira, feel free to check and comment. And don’t forget to add this island in the Atlantic Ocean to your “must-go destinations” .

Photos taken in 2009

Melgaço: Solar do Alvarinho

thelocalguide — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:00:25 +0000

“Solar do Alvarinho” is a building in the old historical town of Melgaço – Portugal dedicated to the advertising, development and sale of Alvarinho wine. (Marked as a Cup in the map)

Alvarinho Soalheiro

Alvarinho is considered by many to be the noblest of the Portuguese white wines and is for sure the “Vinho Verde” which reaches the higher alcoholic graduations.

This wine has spread to other regions in the planet but the real Alvarinho production is limited to the sub-region “Monção and Melgaço” in northern Portugal. And it’s only made from Alvarinho grapes.

The building was among the centuries a town hall, a courthouse and a library. The top floor features a tasting room where you can try and compare the brands for FREE. Following the guidance of the employee I tasted the 2010 “Soalheiro” and a new addition to the Alvarinho family: Organic Farming – “Quinta das Alvaianas”.

At the ground floor there’s the bar/cafeteria and the shop where besides the wine you can also find other local traditional products like the “chouriço” or the “presunto”.

Wine&Spirits magazine describes “Follies Alvarinho 2009” like this:

“Rating: 92/100 – As reviewed by Wine & Spirits Magazine on 08/09. While the aroma is flinty and a little undeveloped, the flavors already show layers of fruit, from Mandarin orange and lime to white peach and an anise-like fennel note. The contrast between smoky richness and freshness makes this a luscious wine to enjoy in late summer with lobster and corn on the cob, both off the grill.”

For more information about Melgaço please check the other posts in this category.

Photos taken in January 2011.

Matosinhos in January

thelocalguide — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:37:46 +0000

Seashells in Matosinhos

It’s winter in Portugal of course but snow is not common in Portugal. Especially not compared to the temperatures in central Europe, our January here had snow in some mountain districts but in the north coast the temperatures were always around 10ºC (50F) and we had some sunny days too.

In sunny days there was a considerable amount of people walking along the beach. The surfers also enjoy this days for some practice since, except some occasional brave person, they are the only ones in the water.

For more information about Matosinhos please check my other posts in this Category.

Photos were taken in January 2011.

Up to “Peneda”

thelocalguide — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 21:10:57 +0000

The sanctuary of “Nossa Senhora da Peneda” is located high in the mountains and is not in fact part of Melgaço but of another municipality: “Arcos de Valdevez”.

Peneda Sanctuary

But taking your time to go up there from Melgaço you’ll also enjoy the views and explore the mountains and small villages in the way.

Even just following the road (by bicycle or by car) with some occasional stops you’ll certainly enjoy the view of the wind turbines spinning as they produce electricity, the water courses cutting their way in the mountains and you’ll enter the Peneda-Gerês National Park in “Lamas de Mouro” – Melgaço. It is possible to find wild mountain horses often.

Please don’t forget to check my other posts about Melgaço.

More photos from the sanctuary can be found: HERE

Photos taken in January 2011. Temperatures in Melgaço were around 10-15ºC (50-59F)

Around the webs: Melgaço in Youtube

thelocalguide — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:07:59 +0000

Melgaço is one of those unknown destinations in Portugal with plenty to offer as you can check on my previous post.

Sign on the Spanish side of the Bridge

I’ve found some interesting videos on Youtube that add a different angle.

Video 1 – Aerial view

This video shows an aerial view of the Minho River and Melgaço.

It begins with the River and the international bridge between Spain and Portugal.

At 0:42 you can see the rural Hotel “Quinta do Reguengo”

At 1:09 it shows the Sports Complex

You can get a good view of the town with the castle tower standing out at 2:30

Video 2 – Bridge Jumping

I’ve talked about the practice of extreme sports in Melgaço in my “Melgaço Radical” post.

Here’s a video of some people jumping from the International bridge if you’re feeling brave today.

Video 3 – RC helicopter films the Monte de Prado Hotel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7IXtENrSHc

This video shows the “Monte de Prado” Hotel located in the Sports Complex and near the river.

2010 in review

thelocalguide — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:15:03 +0000

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 7,200 times in 2010. That’s about 17 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 13 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 42 posts. There were 63 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 66mb. That’s about a picture per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 12th with 122 views. The most popular post that day was About.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were WordPress Dashboard, search.conduit.com, facebook.com, leavemehere.wordpress.com, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for cervejaria gazela, bifanas, conga bifanas, cervejaria gazela porto, and prego no prato.