PORTUGAL WITH PLEASURE

[Music] hey [Music] [Music] [Music] our trip through portugal began in lisbon and to arrive at twilight was unforgettable when darkness falls the photos haunting songs so typical of portugal tell their poignant story [Music] [Music] queen [Music] [Music] [Music] the morning light revealed one of the world's most beautiful cities spreading gracefully over a series of hills that dipped down to the tagus river [Music] lisbon's romance and history of yesterday are reflected in the ancient tower of belem [Music] the church and monastery of geronimos and the impressive discoverers monument dedicated to prince henry the navigator who brought about some of the world's greatest explorations among the important landmarks devoted to portugal's past we found black horse square a splendid setting for the parades of the present along with the historical places of interest to see lisbon's air of gaiety and glamour is accented by the many sidewalk cafes scattered throughout the city [Music] although lisbon is a large cosmopolitan city with a population of one million the charm and graciousness of its people give it all the warmth and friendliness of a small town [Music] the most exciting time of the year is the holiday dedicated to saint anthony the patron saint of lisbon and the oldest section of the city known as the alfama reflects the festive moon for the celebration the maze of its narrow streets are all ablaze with brightness and color here everyone is caught up in the infectious spirit and dancing in the streets goes on from early morning all through the day and long into the night of saint anthony's eve [Music] [Music] oh the next day is saint anthony's day and since he's also known as the marrying saint what an appropriate time for a wedding here comes the bride and another and another the grand total in this wedding is 61 brides in all the annual wedding is a gift from the city with the brides being given their gowns and trusodes also local businessmen for this occasion provide each bride with their own chauffeur-driven limousine [Music] the couples must have known each other for more than a year and have applied last saint anthony's day in order to be married this year this was the largest number of couples ever to be married in the history of the ceremony which i'm sure accounts for the largest wedding portrait ever taken later that day we waited for our limousine to be delivered having thoroughly enjoyed ourselves exploring lisbon the time had come to continue on to see more of the country once all our baggage and paraphernalia were packed in the car we'd be on our way but that seems more easily said than done obviously he's an optimist but with all this still to go in it will take more than optimism he assured us this could be easily rectified we had our doubts this ought to do it and it did [Music] we drove out of town to what could be called the riviera portugal [Music] one of the most interesting beaches of all we found at nazareth almost 4 000 years ago phoenician ships landed here and today nazareth still bears the mark of those early seafarers the main street offers some unexpected features [Music] here even the women's routine chore of putting the fish out to dry creates a tapestry of color and design [Music] when the men return from the sea a new tempo takes over this group of fishermen is headed by silvino since he owns the boat and employs the crew he is called master of the nets oxen play an important role in nazareth and with their help the boat is drawn up on the beach then silvino and his crew as well as his family and friends all join in the task of pulling in the fish-laden nets [Music] [Music] with the work completed silvino takes a few moments to relax with his family they share with him the life of the beach foreign all work and social activities center along the water their clothing is most unusual one reason being they have no pockets so their stocking caps are not only hats but are quite like a woman's handbag perhaps this is where the saying keep this under your hat originated they're in congress plaids were said to have been brought here by scottish troops during the napoleonic wars it was fascinating to visit the people of nazareth and to find their ways have changed so little over the centuries we drove on to coimbra a city crowned by its 13th century university which is the first seat of learning in the country as well as being one of the most important universities in europe here we found the students have some customs that are most original for instance the ribbons they carry tell at a glance their class and the subject they are majoring in the short yellow ribbons these students have indicate they are juniors in the school of medicine red and long denote seniors in the study of law and these girls are seniors in science another custom concerns the capes the boys wear with the fringe on the bottom that tells quite a story when a boy and girl kiss she is given the dubious honor of making a tear in his cape what a sly way to kiss and tell [Music] football's a popular sport only here the opposing team is a bull on this play it's coimbra's ball with the bull fast gaining every spring this amazing football game takes place along with one of the most extraordinary sports of all [Music] the object of the game is for the boys to bring the bull to a complete standstill they are rarely hurt as the lead boy knows just how to land between the horns [Music] the rest join in to bring the indignant bull to a halt [Music] the next event was billed as the twist of the ballerinas or as the program said bottoms up [Music] [Applause] after the fun in coimbra we went in quest of the inns we had heard so much about called pusadas and cradled within the medieval town of obidos we discovered the end to be of all things a castle [Music] we were magically transported back to the 12th century when kings of yore occupied its royal rooms which have now been remodeled into charming accommodations for the guests due to the extreme popularity of the pusadas one can stay only a maximum of five days in each scattered throughout the country each pusada is distinctive in mood and architecture although one thing is always uniform the low price of less than four dollars a day for everything the most outstanding one is dramatically located seven miles at sea on the rocky island of berlinga [Music] here this isolated old monastery fortress has been ingeniously converted into another enchanting posada surrounded by the sea the views are wonderful and this view is no exception well except for one thing it's from our own posada the vast stretches of deserted beach provided a perfect place for setting up what we called our portable pusada complete with icebox stove closets beds everything needed for light housekeeping the camper added another enjoyable as well as most convenient feature to our trip through portugal with over 500 miles of coast this small country has some of the most beautiful beaches to be found in all of europe [Music] the sea has always provided portugal with a richness of life and one of its bounties is the kelp gathered by these men wearing an unusual form of dress as the early romans were here for many centuries this could account for the romanesque tunics still being worn today [Music] graceful boats are another means of gathering kelp [Music] [Applause] [Music] on both the prowl and the stern there are gay decorations depicting scenes from everyday life making them what could be called floating galleries of folk art [Music] color and drama accompanied the sardine fisherman's activities as they set forth to take their share from the sea [Music] the most exciting form of fishing takes place five miles off the coast where the giant tuna are caught here a complex series of nets have been laid far below the surface in which the unsuspecting fish are trapped and as the fishermen pull in the heavy nets the rhythmic pulse of their primitive chad rings out over the water [Music] hey let's the men pull the nets for over an hour which draws their boats closer together and at the same time brings the captured tuna near the surface [Music] the fish weigh anywhere from 500 to 700 pounds and are over six feet in length and as their moment of truth arrives a tense excitement takes over [Applause] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] the most spectacular part is when the men get right into the water to combat the fish by hand these silver giants of the sea fight furiously and have been known to break a man's back or even kill him with a single blow from the tail so the men are risking their lives in this battle of the deep [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] flourishing along the duro river are the sun splashed vineyards this is the only region that yields the special grapes used in producing port wine so famous to portugal following the river we came to porto this is the second largest as well as the oldest city of the country and is most renowned for being the home of port wine [Music] not only did porto give the wine its name but also the entire country is named after this lively metropolis although there was little room to spare our 20th century car did make it through the 12th century gateway into the medieval town of braganza here an aura of antiquity prevailed with little changed over the centuries and predating the ancient town itself a strange dance was being performed in celebration of a plentiful harvest [Music] [Music] another dance for another occasion [Music] it seems the portuguese take every opportunity to celebrate and this is in anticipation of a wedding [Music] we were invited to attend the traditional ceremony that united this young couple but were surprised to find one very untraditional note the bride wore black along with the unusual wedding gown the brides here be decked with ornate gold jewelry instead of putting their money in the bank the women put it into gold which in turn they put around their necks maria's collection has been handed down in her family for generations having been invited to their wedding we invited them to what we jokingly called the mansion and since it was a nice day we all stayed out on the veranda drinking a toast to the newlyweds what a setting for a wedding reception [Music] we were in quite a hurry as were others and for good reason close behind the campinos who were the cowboys of the country were galloping into the town of santa rem for their annual fare [Music] hundreds of them have gathered from the many ranches to exhibit the skills that are part of a cowboy's life [Music] awards are given to the campinos who excel in the various contests so the ranchers have sent their very best men after the fair this campino is welcomed home by jose rodriquez owner of one of the largest ranches here in this vast plain area he specializes in raising not only horses but fine fighting bulls as well jose is also a cavaliero the name given to the men of portugal who fight the bulls for magnificently trained horses these free moments with his wife and children are a happy treat for all of them being a leading cavalero much of his time is spent away from home appearing not only in the bullrings of portugal but also those of spain and brazil [Music] little elizabeth often accompanies her father to see the bulls which fascinate her jose explains though that they aren't like her gentle donkey and she must never get close to them but keep a good distance away a highlight is when jose on his horse named yankee practices in his private ring [Music] it takes great skill and dedicated work to train a horse in the artistic style of the portuguese bullfight during the season jose practices five hours a day with yankee carefully putting him through his turns and paces a vital part of the training is getting the horse accustomed to a bull as they're afraid of them jose now practices making passes by touching the young bull's neck with a blunt pole this sport originated when man fought war from horseback and in order to keep himself and his steed in top form for combat he trained in this manner [Music] the most stirring spectacle is seen in the big ring my [Music] escorted by this procession of pop and pageantry the cavallaros stepped from their royal coach to greet the presiding officials and enthusiastic audience the carriages and costumes of this colorful cortege all date from the 17th century [Music] the portuguese bullfight is different from others as it's against the law to kill the bull also his horns are covered with a heavy leather padding which in turn protects the horse the cavallaro must place small darts on the insensitive part of the bull's neck and at the same time keep his horse clear of the charging beast [Music] sometimes when the bull gets unnervingly near the horse a cape man leaps in to divert him but not for long [Music] after the final pass of the afternoon cows lead the furious bull dacilli out of the ring with nothing hurt but his ego [Music] after the excitement of the bull fight we re-relaxed a bit before continuing on driving along we noticed that the women carry almost everything on their heads from the more expected to the completely unexpected [Music] uh more [Music] the most remarkable side of all was this [Music] here in tomar thousands have gathered for the festival of the trades which takes place only once every four years made of paper flowers interspersed with loaves of freshly baked bread each tray weighs 30 pounds and must be as tall as the girl who carries it [Music] this procession originated in pagan times for when the romans were here 2 000 years ago it was already accustomed [Music] still topped by their towering trays they bring to an end this extraordinary pageant the final topping to a trip through portugal with pleasure all the way [Music]