PORTUGAL #5 Direct Swap

The Rabelo boat is a traditional Portuguese cargo boat that for centuries was used to transport people and goods along the Douro River. Native from the Douro region, it does not exist in any other place of the world. Its history is closely linked to the production and trade of port wine. Before the arrival of the railway, the rabelo was the fastest and the most efficient means of transport between the Douro Valley, where port wine is produced, and the city of Porto, where it was traded and exported world wide.

Thanks Joana!

PORTUGAL #5 Direct Swap

The Dom Luís I (or Luiz I) Bridge (Portuguese: Ponte Luís I or Luiz I) is a metal arch bridge that spans the Douro River between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal. At the time of construction its span of 172 m was the longest of its type in the world. The government held a competition for the construction of a metallic bridge over the Douro River on a site that was adjacent to an existing bridge that it would replace. Téophile Seyrig had engineered the D. Maria Pia Bridge project nearby, whilst working as a partner of Gustave Eiffel. He now took sole responsibility for the new, major Luís I Bridge. The construction was begun in 1881 and the bridge opened on 31 October 1886 (the upper deck; the lower deck opened in 1887).

Thanks Catarina!

PORTUGAL #4 Direct Swap

The Pombaline Lower Town (Baixa Pombalina) area covers about 235,620 square metres of central Lisbon, Portugal. It comprises the grid of streets north of the Praça do Comércio, roughly between the Cais do Sodré and the Alfama district beneath the Lisbon Castle, and extends northwards towards the Rossio and Figueira squares and the Avenida da Liberdade, a tree-lined boulevard noted for its tailoring shops and cafes. The Pombaline Baixa is an elegant district, primarily constructed after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. 

PORTUGAL #3 Direct Swap

Porto also known as Oporto in English, is the second-largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon, and one of the major urban areas in Southwestern Europe. The urban area of Porto, which extends beyond the administrative limits of the city, has a population of 1.8 million (2011) in an area of 389 km2 (150 sq mi), making it the second-largest urban area in Portugal. Porto Metropolitan Area, on the other hand, includes an estimated 2.4 million people. Located along the Douro river estuary in Northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European centres, and its historical core was proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.

Thanks Joana!

PORTUGAL #1 & #2 Direct Swap

This envelope brought me many surprises, gifts algusn friend Manuel of Portugal. In particular the second which is made of cork (yes!). The first is about Silves, the former capital of the Algarve and is of great historical importance. The stamp shows the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil in 1808.

Thanks Manuel!

Sent on: 12/01/2015
Received on: 29/01/2015
Travel time: 17 days