The End of the Ancient World

[sallysimpleton]

Sit on the point and gaze across the "Sea of Darkness," where monsters roam. Long before [Prince] Henry [the Navigator]'s time, Romans considered it the edge of the world, dubbing it Promontorium Sacrum -- Sacred ("Sagres") Promontory. Pilgrims who came to visit this awe-inducing place were prohibited from spending the night there -- it was for the gods alone.

In Portugal's seafaring lore, capes, promontories, and land's ends are metaphors for the edge of the old, and the start of the unknown voyage. Sagres is the greatest of these.

I'm biased now when it comes to European travel guides and I don't care how uncool it might be. Way back before I'd ever crossed the Atlantic for the first time in 2000, Rick Steves' nerdy PBS TV show used to entertain me during dinner prep in Utah, and fueled a lot of dreams. I've dabbled with a variety of competitors over the last decade, but I realized sometime last Fall that my life really was simplified when I see what he has to say before cross-referencing. He keeps me from wasting time while planning priorities, where Lonely Planet would overwhelm me on first read. I still supplement with other sources, but I always buy his books.

When I got to his section on the tiny beach town of Sagres and Prince Henry's School of the Navigators (responsible for training Magellan, Vasco da Gama, Columbus, Bartolomeu Dias, and others), I knew I was going to have to go there but didn't read the whole chapter before committing to a 2-night hotel nearby. It was a delightful surprise to read the above passage the night before we visited the School and nearby Land's End in the distance. That passage felt so fitting for this final vacation hurrah, meant to punctuate the end of our time in Europe, the end of all the plans I've ever made to this point.

P.S. I'll make this public for a few days, but will probably be keeping most posts friends-only for awhile to come. Log in to read more!

Comments

[prince.livejournal.com]

Saw a great film at siff in 2010 shot in Portugal called "Por el Camino" (Beyond The Road). So good I saw it twice. Made me want to visit the country.

[sallysimpleton.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the tip! Do you know if they distributed it for rental? I didn't find it on Netflix but could swing by Scarecrow.

[prince.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find anything online about that last night unfortunately.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Nice.
Rick Steves, our nerdy pot smoking uncle who knows where the good shit is in Europe.
(though I have quibbles with his food choices. But that is okay.)

[sallysimpleton.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on his food choices. He will point you at *something* to eat when you just need to get that done, but that's not exactly his mission so recs on that are generally better via Internet sources these days. Plus, in high season, I hear his food recs are overwhelmed! We followed a few of his in Arcos de la Frontera and had suitable casual meals but our food turned amazing once we started following all the restaurant advice of the Sevilla Tapas blogger. So, thank you for tipping me off to her tours. We had a great time hanging out with her and she pointed us in the right direction for the rest of our meals for Seville, Granada, and Lisbon.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you were able to go on her tours. I figure she would have good ideas since she has lived in Spain for such a long time.

I used to rely on "Great Eats" but they haven't updated those books in a few years. I used them in France and Italy and I found some of my favourite restaurants that way.

[acey.livejournal.com]

It *does* look like the edge of the world!

[sallysimpleton.livejournal.com]

I could probably hang out there staring at that open sea for weeks.

[annesblog.livejournal.com]

There is something infinitely calming and yet, enticing, about an open sea.

[pr1ss.livejournal.com]

I think that we were LJ friends in one of your previous incarnations. I've started to read here again and who knows, may even write sometime.