Portugal Jail
Moving to another country involves quite a bit of uncertainty and a whole lot of patience. Jack and I applied separately for our long-term stay visas in Spring 2025. That process alone required stacks of documents and a trip from Boise to San Francisco to prove our worthiness of living in Portugal. It has never been a particularly quick process but with Portugal's current immigration system backlog, it can take several more months (at least) after visa approval to be issued a temporary residency card. That magical card proves that we are legally allowed to live in Portugal and allows us to travel freely without concerns of re-entry to our new country of residence. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to stay in the country until the glorious day that our residency cards finally arrive. At our house, we refer to this in-limbo status as Portugal Jail.
We were determined to make the most of our sentence. To avoid worries of a potential Iberian inquisition, we decided to stay put until our status in Portugal could be easily proven to authorities. In the meantime, we would focus on finding our place in our new community and on exploring the diverse regions of Portugal. Lucky for us, our previous visits as tourists still left plenty of undiscovered sights in the country's mountainous regions, wine country, island archipelagos, medieval villages, and beach resorts.
Southern Beach Resorts
Portugal's Algarve seems to be the prime destination for many visitors from abroad but was never a must-see for us. The beach resorts with reliable sunshine attract tourists and expats from all over, but we noticed a disproportionate representation of visitors with British or South African accents. When our daughter visited last summer and asked for a beach getaway, we decided to see what the fuss was all about. We rode the train from Braga to Faro, almost the full length of Portugal, north to south. Once in Faro, we rented a car and explored oceanside towns between Albufeira and Portimão. A few days in the scenic village of Carvoeiro made me understand why Portugal is considered to be part of the Mediterranean, despite being on the coast of the icy Atlantic. The whitewashed houses perched on high cliffs, above rocky arches and sea caves had us humming Abba songs and picturing ourselves in the movie version of Mamma Mia. The English influence made me miss authentic Portuguese culture but it certainly made it easy to communicate in the many beachfront cafes and cabana bars. I still dream about the grilled lulas (squid) and fresh gazpacho we lunched on one afternoon at Praia dos Arrifes.
Furloughed Across the Pond
Our original residency visas granted us two entries into Portugal, which meant that we had one more chance to leave (and easily return to) the country after our late summer move from the U.S. Rather than prematurely using this get-out-of-jail card, we waited until November to travel again, just in case family matters or something else of an urgent nature called us back to the U.S. We were still in the clear by fall, so decided it would be low-risk to venture to Scotland and Ireland. We had about four weeks left to travel freely without inviting scrutiny into our residency status in Portugal. Despite the gray drizzle, medieval Edinburgh was just as stunning in late fall as we found it to be when we visited the previous spring. The crowds were light so we could thoroughly enjoy touring castles and art museums without long lines. I never realized how highly I regard comfort foods like shepherds pie, grilled Halloumi cheese, and a good bloody mary until I had a few months of eating mostly fish and rice focused Portuguese food. On a whim, we asked about high tea in the Crown Square tea room after touring Edinburgh Castle. Only during low season could we so easily get a table and be allowed to slowly down our hot tea, champagne, finger sandwiches, and tiny pastries. Those royals really know how to live!
Edinburgh: castles, more castles, and pubs
We had recently binged watched “House of Guinness” on Netflix so Ireland was top of mind. It was not hard to convince Jack to take a short hop from Edinburgh to Dublin. We loved exploring this prosperous industrial city and arrived just in time to take in the elaborate Christmas light displays. Thanks to our retiree status, we now had plenty of time to take the Guinness brewery tour, stroll the campus of Trinity College, crawl between cozy pubs to enjoy a pint with some mandolin-forward folk music, and still spend a full day wandering around and watching deer graze in Phoenix Park. A cold rainy afternoon in that sprawling park was the perfect time to tour Farmleigh, the Edwardian mansion that was once owned by the Guinness family and now serves as Ireland's official guest house. After spending a couple of weeks in the bustling pre-holiday atmosphere of Edinburgh and Dublin, it was refreshing to venture to the outlying coastal area where we hiked along oceanside bluffs and wandered around the quaint fishing village of Howth.
Life in a Northern Town
We stayed put in Braga for most of the rainy winter. Between language study, social meet-ups, church involvement, leisurely lap swims and de rigueur gym workouts, there was not much time to twiddle our thumbs. By February, we turned our attention to our long-awaited appointments with AIMA, Portugal's immigration agency that makes the final decision on our residency status. To complicate matters, Jack and I were assigned locations in two different cities on the exact same date and time. I typically served as the family administrator and was prepared to present our document packets, but this time Jack would have to go it alone. He was assigned to the Bragança office, which, despite the similar name, is almost 100 miles east of our home in Braga, where my appointment was scheduled. Bragança sits close to the Spanish border and does not have rail service. Since we don't own a car, Jack had to travel there by rental car. To reduce our anxiety a bit, we decided to use the upcoming bureaucratic task as an excuse for a weekend road trip to the mountains. Turns out, Bragança was well worth the visit. Despite heavy rains, the drive through the terraced, rolling hills of Douro Valley wine country and into the Trás-os-Montes (which fittingly translates as “behind the mountains”) region was stunning. Moments after arriving in Braganca, we found the small municipal agency where Jack would appear for his immigration appointment. That helped us to relax and freed us to enjoy the rest of our weekend. With few winter visitors, the 12th century castle and citadel sat practically vacant, as if forgotten by time. Military history is a special draw for Jack and in the castelo's Museu Miltar, he was able to carefully study the collection of medieval armor, war weapons from various ages, and art found (well, stolen) by Portuguese soldiers from colonized countries. We capped off our visit with a memorable dinner at G Pousada, a Michelin starred restaurant with dazzling views of the hilltop castle. We feasted on locally sourced and creatively prepared delicacies like beet root and goat cheese salad, hake with pork belly, and chestnut mousse, each course perfectly paired with a generous “tasting” of regional wine, Who would ever guess that such a special place could be tucked away in one of the most remote areas of mainland Portugal.
Our immigration interviews in early March came with a few minor hiccups but we both left our respective appointments with assurances that our documents were complete. We were told that we could expect to receive our official residency cards by mail within a couple of months. Even so, after hearing stories from other recent immigrants, we prepared for the possibility of several more months of Portugal jail. Spring brought some happily anticipated visits from close friends and relatives from the U.S. We had to decline their invitations to travel with them to nearby Spain or France. Instead, we spent their visits showing them around Portugal. We managed some group outings to Porto and Lisbon, sharing favorite spots, seeing big-city monuments, and catching theater performances.
Road Tripping
Once our last round of house guests departed in late April, we planned a road trip to celebrate Jack's 60th birthday. Portugal is a small country, but there were (and still are) unexplored towns and regions that friends rave about. For this road trip by rental car, we focused on Portugal's central coast. Aveiro is billed as the “Venice of Portugal” but we didn't stay long enough to ride one of the colorful gondola-like boats (called Moliceiros). Instead, we drove a few more minutes to reach the beach town of Costa Nova do Prado. We found a nice patio restaurant that welcomed us (including Julep) for a pleasant lunch of arroz de mariscos as we gazed upon the marina and the vibrantly painted, striped houses.
We continued driving inland to Coimbra, the old (and I mean old) university town and UNESCO world heritage site that was our main destination. Jack's birthday wish was for a sweatshirt with the school seal displaying its origin date of 1290. Not only is Coimbra the oldest university in Portugal, it is among the world's oldest educational institutions. I easily accomplished the sweatshirt mission at the university book store right off the central square, Paco das Escolas. The ornate architecture of the Royal Palace, Joanina Library, and Capela de São Miguel was unforgettable, especially as a backdrop for scholars wearing their black caped uniforms. The rest of the area proved to be just as scenic and exciting. A special tip from our history-buff friends (who also happen to be Portugal transplants from Boise), led us to the well-preserved Roman ruins of Conimbriga, an ancient settlement dating from Celtic rule at the end of the Bronze age. The city's subsequent Roman conquest and eventual fall of the empire caused Conimbriga's decline by the Early Middle Ages, some time before the end of the 6th century.
Driving around Portugal, I was struck by the number of hilltop castles, rustic villages, and remnants of ancient civilizations that are still quietly existing, seemingly undiscovered by the tour bus crowd. It reminded me of our first visit to Portugal over 25 years ago and offers a glimpse into what Portugal might have been like long before it became a tourist hotspot.
Next, we visited beach towns along the Silver Coast of Portugal, including the famous surf mecca Nazaré, and the magical (if rather Disney-esque) walled city of Obidos. Each city had it's own unique atmosphere that we could not grasp simply by watching YouTube videos or passing through by train.
You Mean I'm Paroled?
As it turns out, my residence card arrived in mid-March, less than three weeks following my AIMA interview. My Portugal jail sentence is over. Jack has received assurances that his residency permit has also been approved, but as of this writing, he is still waiting to receive his card in the mail. For that reason, I will hold off on planning trips abroad until my partner in adventure can safely join me. Our upcoming travel plans include a winery tour to the neighboring Douro Valley, a concert weekend in coastal Figueira da Foz (Sting live in Portugal!) and a longer respite to the Azores, where my mother plans to fly-in (all the way from Northern California) to join us for some island relaxation and to explore our ancestral roots. We are playing it safe by planning our summer sojourns in Portugal.
It's Not Such a Small World, After All
A year ago, I expected that retiring to Portugal would allow me to travel freely and inexpensively to other parts of Europe and the world beyond. For now, bucket list destinations like Morocco, India, and Turkey will have to wait. The next time we see our former exchange students may be at our home in Braga, rather than visiting them with their families in Italy and Germany. But you won't hear any whining from me. I have some new favorite spots in Portugal and I look forward to going back. It is reassuring to know that, if something comes up or if I catch a nasty case of homesickness, I can visit the U.S. and still be allowed re-entry to Portugal. For now though, I'll keep working on completing my domestic travel to-do list. For starters I have not yet made it to Évora, Madeira, Castelo Branco, Viana do Castelo, Praia da Comporta, or even Peneda-Gerês National Park which is just a stone's throw from Braga. Give me time--I just got here.
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