Fascinating facts about the corridinho, cataplana, gecko, port, Cristiano Ronaldo or Tram 28. Enjoy the Algarve brings you loads of Portugal trivia.
Discover fascinating facts about the guitarra portuguesa See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine November 2017 Picture by Luis Benard da Costa Ghude 12 strings The Portuguese guitar is a pear-shaped plucked string instrument with twelve steel strings that are strung in six courses of two. It’s used for solo music as well […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s oldest horse breed See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine October 2017 Picture by Taty2007 Lusitania One of the oldest horse breeds in the world, the Lusitano is thought to descend from to the primitive Sorraia horse, which was already present on the Iberian Peninsula at 20,000 […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s azeitonas See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine September 2017 Fruit of the Olea europaea Olives, azeitonas in Portuguese, are fruit of the olive tree, the Olea europaea. This is the oldest cultivated tree in the world; many are over a thousand years old. How many olives […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s best known historical hotels See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine August 2017 Picture by Nikki Dawson ‘Rustic and genuinely Portuguese’ In the early 1940s, head of the National Propaganda Secretariat António Ferro wanted to create hotels that were both rustic and genuinely Portuguese. In an effort […]
Discover fascinating facts about one of Portugal’s best known princes See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine July 2017 Stay-at-home explorer Although Prince Henry (Henrique) the Navigator (1394-1460) sent many expeditions from Portugal to Africa’s west coast, he himself preferred to stay at home and never came along on these explorations. Still, […]
Discover fascinating facts about the bark of Portugal’s national tree See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine June 2017 Every 9 years Cork is the bark of the cork oak (Quercus suber), called sobreiro in Portuguese. The cork oak is the only tree whose bark can be harvested without killing it. Every […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s dried and salted cod See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine May 2017 Picture by Shatabisha Not from Portugal One of the most famous Portuguese dishes isn’t actually from Portugal. Cod is caught near Norway, Iceland and Newfoundland. The Portuguese first discovered it off the Newfoundland coast, […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s traditional sweet cherry liquor. See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine April 2017 Picture by Rosino Morello cherries, alcohol & loads of sugar Those are basically the three things you need for ginja. Infuse the sour ginja berries (fruits of the Prunus cerasus austere) in aguardente, add plenty of […]
Discover fascinating facts about one of Portugal’s best known explorers See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine March 2017 Sailor family The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was born in the 1460s (some say it was 1460, others claim it was 1469, Enjoy the Algarve isn’t sure) to a noble family in Sines. […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s best known yellow trolley See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine February 2017 Picture by Daniel Ascencao Horsecar history Lisbon’s tramway network has been in operation from 1873, when the carriages were still pulled by horses. The first electric tramway in Portugal’s capital commenced operations in 1901. In 1959, […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s best known fish See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine January 2017 Picture by Liselot Sijm Where have all the fish gone? In the 1980s and ‘90s, it wasn’t uncommon for Portuguese fishing boats to haul in 200,000 tons of sardines a year. In 2005, the catch had […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s best known mildly fizzy wine See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine December 2016 Picture by Feliciano Guimarães It isn’t green Although ‘vinho verde’ literally translates as ‘green wine’, ‘young wine’ would be a more accurate translation – it’s meant to be drunk soon after bottling (ideally within a […]
Discover fascinating facts about the Portuguese pavement See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine November 2016 Picture by Andreas Manessinger Street mosaic Many pedestrian areas in Portugal consist of calçada portuguesa, a traditional style pavement. Small flat pieces of different stones, usually a combination of white limestone and dark basalt, are arranged […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s cutest lizard See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine October 2016 Moon lizard Worldwide, about 1,500 species of geckos exist. In Portugal, the most common one is the Mediterranean House Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus), also known as Moorish Gecko or Moon Lizard. This type of gecko lives in dozens […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s traditional fruit brandy See the original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine September 2016 Strawberry tree Aguardente de medronhos, aka Medronho, is made from the fruit of the medronho tree, the Arbutus Unedo. Although this translates as ‘strawberry tree’, the fruits aren’t strawberries, but look more like small lychees. The […]
Discover fascinating facts about the Algarve’s traditional dance See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine August 2016 Folklore Portugal’s rich folklore includes many traditional dances; in fact, each region has its own. Vira is danced in the Minho region, fandango in the Ribatejo region and chamarita on the Azores. In the Algarve, it’s the […]
Discover fascinating facts about the Portuguese water dog See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine July 2016 Dog of water Cão de água literally translates as ‘dog of water’. This breed got its name from working alongside the fishermen. With their webbed feet, the dogs are great swimmers and can herd fish into the nets, […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s best-known football player See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine June 2016 Ronaldo? The name ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ sounds familiar, but wasn’t he Brazilian? No, that’s Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, also known as ‘Ronaldinho’, and also a famous footballer. Or Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, a retired Brazilian famous football […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s only officially recognised donkey breed. See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine May 2016 Terra de Miranda The Miranda donkey, or burro de Miranda, is born with a black coat, which will later in life turn brown. They have white markings around their eyes and muzzle, longer hair and […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s most spicy sauce See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine April 2016 Crushed chillies Originally from Portugal, piri piri sauce (sometimes called peri peri) is also popular in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique and South Africa. The basic ingredients of this molho picante (spicy sauce) are crushed chillies, lemon juice and oil. […]
Discover fascinating facts about the fruit of one of the most famous Algarve trees See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine March 2016 No need to water Weirdly shaped, the carob bean, alfarroba in Portuguese, hangs from the tree like a pea. It’s also sometimes called a pod. Inside, you’ll find many small beans as well […]
Discover fascinating facts about the colour-changing reptile found in south of Portugal See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine February 2016 Earth lions Yes, most chameleon-type animals are found in Africa and Madagascar. But the common chameleon, aka Mediterranean chameleon (in case you’re interested, its scientific name is Chamaeleo chamaeleon) has been introduced […]
Discover fascinating facts about Portugal’s most famous fortified wine See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine January 2016 Douro Valley Port is a fortified wine, which means a distilled grape spirit, brandy, is added to the wine during the production process. This stops the fermentation and boosts the alcohol content. It’s produced in the […]
Discover fascinating facts about one of the symbols of the Algarve’s cuisine See original article in Enjoy the Algarve – magazine December 2015 Food or pan? Confusion alert: the word cataplana is both used for the pan and for the dish inside it. The cooking device is traditionally made from copper. It consists of two clam […]
