Traveling with children. Sights of Sao Vincent Island - what to see
The morning was once again filled with sunshine and a delicious breakfast.
Yes, you need to set an alarm here, but in sunny and warm country, when you have to get up early just to see more or spend more time on the beach, it's a pleasure.
Today I will go to Cape San Vicente.
There is a bus stop not far from the hostel. I’ll go out early, given my topographical cretinism on this trip, I can look for a stop for a long time.
At the bus stop good news- the bus I wanted to take goes not only to Sagres, but also to the cape itself. Great, although I’m mentally prepared to walk 6 km one way.
I stand, wait, rewrite the schedule. Finally, a bus appeared around the corner, joyfully flashing its sign - Cape San Vicente cheerfully rushed past me, filled with tourists. What the hell is this?
It turns out that the direct bus to the cape no longer stops in the city. And then the next one will stop, which will only take me to Sanresh. Well, I was mentally ready to walk. The weather is favorable, so it's not scary.
3.8 euros one way. Beautiful road, snow-white houses. That's how much white there is around. I remember back in Panama I was surprised by the number of white cars, but here the white architecture is very pleasing to the eye.
An hour later we landed in Sagres. I can say that I immediately liked it here. As I understand it, you can judge the quality of a city by its bus station. If it’s big and noisy, then it’s not very good, but if it’s just a stop on the main square, then that’s what you need.
The area is exactly what it should be in coastal cities. White, with a palm tree and the blue sea in the distance. Absolutely a panel that I didn’t have time to complete. But I will finish it, because if there is no way to see it in reality, then at least somehow.
In the distance I saw it - a lighthouse. This is the place where I have to come. Visually, it seems that it is not necessary to follow the road and you can take a shortcut along the field, which runs along the picturesque coastline.
Here it is in civilized Europe, in the middle of a field on a road where no one is standing there is a pedestrian crossing.
So I do, I turn into the bushes and walk. To be honest, in the first 15 minutes I was glad that the direct bus passed me by, otherwise I would not have seen all this splendor.
Who said that the south of Portugal is not interesting and beautiful? So far I only see good and wonderful things. Like yesterday, my favorite landscapes. Harsh rocks and long coastline. Waves crashing on rocks and the violence of the elements. Moreover, all this is illuminated by the sun. Young and not so young surfers conquer the elements, and I continue my way along the path. No one walked here except me, and it was great. Complete harmony with nature and no one around. Plus, of course, confidence in safety. In Nicaragua, under similar conditions, I felt a little complex. And here - complete peace.
I walk through the bushes, but from time to time the path still leads to the road. It’s good that I went in the morning, and not as LP advises at sunset. There was a lot of time for stopping and leisurely contemplation. The sun was scorching, I thought after the walk I would treat myself to the beach. From the heights of the harsh cliffs the beaches looked very tempting.
After 1.5 hours I reached the lighthouse. As I expected, the lighthouse disappointed me. Yes, there is a good view from there if you got there by bus and didn’t see the scenery along the way. But, if you walked and saw all this splendor, then the parking lot filled with tourist buses, tourists eating hot dogs in restaurants, and paid toilets are unlikely to strike your imagination. Mine was not hit. Just like yesterday, the best landscapes were before the hyped spots. To the ponta de pierdade, to the lighthouse of San Vincent. I was trying to figure out from what angle all these fantastic postcard photos were taken, probably from a boat or from a long zoom lens.
In the lighthouse itself there is entertainment - sitting on a large chair. I couldn’t resist either.
Well, lunch is eaten, it's time to head back. As it turned out, my attempts at cutting were exceptionally good for enjoyment natural beauties. In terms of speed, the asphalt road is the most shortcut, even though from a distance it seems that you can get there faster.
Along the way you can go to the Beliche fortress, also a so-so attraction. There is also a beliche beach, it is nice. But I decided that I had to go to the city and while away the time there, in close proximity from the bus, in case of natural disasters.
And indeed, the weather began to deteriorate the moment I left the lighthouse. As always, I'm lucky.
I also thought that I would wait here for the bus that leaves the cape at 15-something. But there’s absolutely no point in spending 2 hours there, unless you follow the paths along the rocks further north.
Therefore, I made the way back along the road in about 50 minutes.
There is a fortress almost in Sagres itself. There seems to be an entrance fee, but all around are the same paths that are already familiar to me, windingly dotted with bushes and sand. They offer a slightly different view. The wind is getting stronger, I'm afraid it might blow me away. I didn’t go to the fortress.
Firstly, there were a lot of people there, secondly, there was a paid entrance, and thirdly, I looked towards the lighthouse, where just recently I was sitting on a luxurious chair and was horrified. There was a wall of rain there. I’m not afraid of him, I have my full uniform with me today, but I’m already tired and overwhelmed with impressions. It is unlikely that the fortress will bring me much new emotions. However, I am very pleased that I swerved to this lapel. Found it romantic place on a rock where you can sit and look around. Look straight ahead - surfers are conquering the waves, look to the right - people are sunbathing on a long beach, look to the left - waves crash against the rocks. Great places to stick. And surprisingly, a minute’s walk from the fortress with a million tourists and no one.
Well, it's time to know the honor. The rain is getting heavier. The small cafe serves tea along with Wi-Fi and toilet facilities. Here you can while away the time before the bus. Apparently today is not a beach day for me. It’s not scary, I’m full of impressions and on an emotional high. Getting closer to nature helps set the accents. You look at all this, for example, at the size of a person compared to this rock. How insignificant we look on such a scale. How many deca-tons of water are there, how many kilograms of stones, how many kilometers of sky. All this has existed for so many years and will exist for so many more... We came and went, often leaving behind not the best trace, but all this will remain and will delight those who come after us.
Alas, there are fewer and fewer untouched places left on earth. As those who traveled 10 years ago say, everything was completely different. How green forests and sea views are spoiled by giant hotels, how poorly restaurants with noisy music often fit into the virgin ocean shore, how ugly the chimneys of factories look in a mountain landscape. Man did all this.
But in such places I seem to fall from heaven to earth. You see a miniature dot on a rock in the distance, which is a person, and you realize the scale and grandeur of a non-human creation.
There are a lot of car-dachas for camping. But how convenient it is for conquering roads. I thought about it.
Sagres is a great city! Here you can always find a place where you will be completely alone.
The bus arrived on time, the main thing is not to miss my stop. Manu Chao goes very well on buses. Thank God, I noticed the necessary sign in advance and came out correctly. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if I went to the bus station. This is my trend.
After a busy day, you want to treat yourself to something delicious.
For example, half a grilled chicken, cheese with holes, and lo and behold, I saw oysters. For only 5 euros 6 or 8 pieces. I couldn't resist. Still today is mine last night in the Algarve, you can have some fun.
The world has been favorable to me in the form of people and weather. Just like everything was made to order!
It turned out that I was unaccustomed to delicacies, or the oysters were simply larger than usual. They opened with great difficulty. At first I had to take off my jacket, then wipe the sweat from my face every 10 seconds, nervously adjusting the protective rag on my palm. But still, you can’t drink the experience away; after 30 minutes, the open oysters, generously sprinkled with lemon, were beautifully arranged on the plate. According to the law of the sandwich, what was obtained in unbearable pain was consumed in a measly 5 minutes. I had to snack on grilled chicken for aesthetic reasons. It’s good that only Germans live with me here. The French would not have survived such an insult.
One of the Germans said that this was the first time he had seen a Russian person speaking English. Hm. Some kind of nonsense. It seems to me that everyone here speaks it. Or even several.
It started to rain again in the evening, and Madeira awaits me tomorrow. The news from there is disappointing. Shower and thunderstorms. I don't need this. Just 5 days to explore the island. In addition, the cyclone should come to Lisbon tomorrow, and flying into a cyclone is scary. So I'll go to bed and think about good things.
Moral of the day: Sagres is an awesome city! Moral number 2 - my second plan for Portugal, implemented in this moment, much more logical and better than the original one, interrupted by hepatitis. Whatever is not done is for the better, which was once again confirmed by the bus that did not stop at my stop.
Goodbye Algarve! Hello Madeira!
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Since childhood I had two dreams: to dance Carmen on stage Bolshoi Theater and go to the very End of the World!
Already at the age of 10, with a height of 1 meter 58 cm and cheeks that were visible from the back for a kilometer, even with myopia -7, it became clear that Carmen would not be able to become long and flexible!
But the second dream was pushed into the background by one passion after another. That series “Sex in big city”, then perestroika, or even completely Male. It was he who sent everyone to the bathhouse and took them further away, that is, closer to the End of the World.
I’m in Seville, and it’s only 400 km to the End of the World. At first everything was fine. Preparing the route, booking a villa, discussing lunches, breakfasts and wine brands for dinner.
But there was a problem! What to wear?
Almost lost it historical event- a journey to a dream.
For this important event, an early departure was planned from the capital of Andalusia, the city of Seville, to the most southwestern point of the continent,
The Algarve is a neighbor of the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. They are separated only by a river called Guadiana, through which one of the most long bridges in Spain and the third longest in Portugal.
The word Algarve is of Arabic origin and means Western Cape.
As soon as you cross the river, you will immediately feel another country. Rocky soil, sparse vegetation, different architecture
The population is engaged in breeding goats and sheep, growing oranges, olives, and grapes.
Ceramics in Portugal - business card countries.
Ceramic Paradise!
There are a lot of products made from recycled cork oak bark.
70% of world production is in Portugal.
The distance from Seville to the first stop in Portugal, in the city of Lagos, is 355 km.
Coves, caves, rocks. The best thing you can do to quickly see almost the entire coastline is to take a catamaran excursion. Buying a ticket is not a problem; they are sold by numerous companies in the port area. Choose according to your taste. The journey lasts about an hour. There are a lot of impressions, emotions are overflowing!
The city of Lagos is well known to tourists. The most famous person who glorified these shores was Infante Enrique.
Don Enrique (Infante Dom Henrique o Navigator) - a Portuguese prince, nicknamed the Navigator, lived and grew up in the city of Lagos.
Almost nothing is known about the prince’s childhood; it seems that the boy preferred to ride a horse and hunt over all mathematicians.
He was knighted for the capture of the Ceuta fortress. A little later, the father transfers control of the Order of Christ to his son. This allowed the young prince to concentrate enormous wealth in his hands.
Infante Enrique organized a school in Sagres, near Cape San Vicente, in which sailors were trained.
It was a real academy of sages, navigators, cartographers and mathematicians.
From now on, all ships setting sail had to pay a fifth of their profits not to the king, but to the infanta.
“The Portuguese Sea is flammable salt,
Our tears and grief, Portuguese pain!
How many tears have you stolen from their mothers' eyes,
How many of their sons sleep in your depths,
How many lovely brides did not go down the aisle,
So that you, the sea, can finally become yours!”
Fernando Pessoa
Thanks to the visionary infanta, the Portuguese achieved triumph in navigation: they circumnavigated the south of the African continent, sailed to India and even reached Japan.
It was from Lagos that ships sailed to the shores of distant Africa and brought black slaves and ivory here.
“Maybe the sacrifices are in vain and everything is nonsense?
But the soul yearns into the distance, even though it is truly solid.
Who sailed ships to Cape Verde,
He never saw Portuguese land afterwards.
How many abysses are there in you, sea, you are a risk and a catch,
But only heaven and God look at you!”
Fernando Pessoa
Lagos has retained its charm despite the tourist boom of recent years.
On the streets of the old center, restaurants beckon with homemade aromas.
In a port city, of course, the first thing
- eat fresh fish. Cod, or bacalao in Portuguese, baked in cheese and cream. Tasty!
I'm happy like a child! I only have the ocean behind me! And somewhere there is distant America, and in it NY! The same Big City.
God! Thank you for being here!
Inaccessible rocks, the inhuman power of the ocean, crashing mighty waves and a turquoise surface merging with the horizon!
"He is mighty and great - the Ocean."
By the end of the day, a couple of hundred romantics are accommodated on the most inconvenient rock ledges.
Everyone is waiting.
The sun touches the edge of the ocean.
It sinks into the water very quickly.
And disappears.
The day is over!
And tomorrow there will be new things to do and new impressions.
It is impossible to get all 33 pleasures in one day, so we chose this house in a quiet cozy place between Lagos and Cape San Vicente. We stopped to relive the sunset impressions.
Large living room with fireplace, dining room and kitchen.
Dishes and everything you need for the first time: salt, sugar, coffee, milk, fruit.
This wonderful place was called Belver Porto Dona Maria
Thanks to everyone who was with me today reading this article about a dream.
Forever yours Raisa Sinitsyna(Andalusian)
Guide in Andalusia, excursions and tours, transfer, summer beach holiday.
[email protected]
+34 690240097 (WhatsApp/Viber)
In the previous episode of our journey, we checked in. The main goal was achieved. Behind us from Minsk to Cabo Da Roca is about 5000 kilometers. It was decided to relax at yet another end of Europe - in the town of Sagres near Cape San Vincente. This is the extreme southwest of Europe.
From Mafra we moved south. We didn’t stop by the Portuguese capital Lisbon, but we were impressed by the many kilometers long bridge over the Tagus. Here he is.
The landscape in this part of Portugal is actually quite monotonous, except that these trees and olive plantations attract the eye. We also saw a tree with 3-4 dozen storks, but at a speed of 130 km/h we did not have time to photograph them.
There is no trace left of the “northern” mills.
But finally, not far from Albufeira, we reached the highway that runs along south coast Portugal and turned to the West. Another couple of hours - and we are at Cape St. Vincent - the extreme South-West of Europe. This tray clearly speaks about the latter fact: “The last sausages before America.”
Here, in Sagres, a lot of Germans vacation, which determines the language preferences of the local population. Although, when you come to watch the sunset on San Vincente, it seems that you are in the Babylonian pandemonium.
Cape Sao Vincente is, as usual in Portugal, a cliff that rises vertically straight from the ocean. Of course, not as high as Cape Roca - 50-80 meters. There is a lighthouse on the rock.
If local souvenir sellers do not abuse Photoshop, then during winter storms the ocean surf overwhelms the building. In any case, such photographs are sold as souvenirs at a reasonable price of 1 euro.
The main entertainment on San Vincent, if you are not eating sausages and not choosing souvenirs, is walking along the edge of the cliff and photographing the rocks. What is striking is that the surface is absolutely flat within a radius of tens of kilometers.
The wind on the cape is very strong, so you need to be careful - it will blow away, it will not blow away, but this plaque in memory of the fallen German is alarming
It’s also customary in San Vincente to watch the sunset. From Sagres itself, the sun falling into the water is not visible - the cape with the lighthouse is in the way. It is about 6 kilometers from the town to San Vincente, so it is better to come by car. In the evening a strong wind blows from the sea. The air is extremely humid. We only got out once. Unfortunately it was cloudy. But it's still beautiful. What was especially striking was how fast the clouds were rushing across the sky here.
Now let's go to the local center of life - Sagres. This is what it looks like from St. Vincent
Sagres is a small town, more like a village of thousands for 3-5 people, a little less than entirely consisting of resort real estate for rent and for sale. Sagres is a car resort. You can't live here without a car. Firstly, there are few cafes in the town, and only a couple of shops. The nearest supermarket is 10-13 kilometers away, but very good.
We stayed in an aparthotel, that is, it is a hotel with apartments. For 60 euros (out of season) you get two rooms, a kitchenette and a balcony overlooking the sea. There is no other view at the hotel, as it is located on a small cape. The good thing about a mini kitchen is that you can go to the supermarket and buy fresh fish there. For example, good dorado cost 4 euros per kilo. There are 2 fish in a kilogram. For two - you can't imagine anything better, with local wine, of course. There is also a swimming pool on site, but we did not use it. We ran to the ocean.
The beaches in Sagres are small coves with huge rocks hanging over them. From our hotel it was a 5-minute walk to one beach, 10 minutes to another, and the best one - Belici - was 4 kilometers away. It's better to travel by car.
Sagres is a difficult place. The main attraction is Ponte de Sagres - the fort from which Infante Henrique - aka Henry the Navigator - was going to begin his conquest of the world. But subsequently, the main navigation school, from where Bartolomeu Dias and Vasok da Gama came, was located in Lagos, a city 20 kilometers from Sagres. The main Portuguese naval expeditions departed from there.
Today the Sagres fort has been turned into a museum under open air. You pass through the gate, and then follow a route of a couple of kilometers, getting acquainted with the development of Portuguese navigation and the Portuguese Empire (there was such a thing). Everything is very interesting, especially for children. And it’s not bad for adults either, because there is not much entertainment in Sagres. And most importantly - rocks, cliffs and fishermen. casting spinning rods from a height of 30-50 meters.
Interactive map of the Portuguese Empire
This is how satellite navigation works
But this circle is an interesting thing, especially the accompanying caption. At first you will find out that, most likely, it was a model of a compass rose for the navigator school of Henry the Navigator, but!!! there is no documentary evidence of its existence in Sagres, and not just Lagos, so it’s probably something like a compass model, but!!! archaeological evidence indicates that perhaps this is a pagan sanctuary, but!!! in fact, according to some researchers, these are just the remains of the foundation for the poles on which local residents dried fish!
And these are the same fishermen
But the fort area is used not only for fishing. There is also a beacon here:
In general, you can walk for a long time, the main thing is to stock up on a drink. Look, we're tired!
You can also take pictures of the surroundings from the fort. There is some kind of military communications station on the other side.
and these are... just rocks
The white 4-story building is our aparthotel under the eloquent name “Navigator”.
And this is San Vincente in the distance. View from Sagres
Beach “Tunnel” - it’s not entirely clear why it’s called that. Situated next to the fort. On the way from the town to the fort. Here it is above and below.
On the way to it you can see such a remnant
Another beach, Belici, is located near the fort of the same name literally a kilometer from San Vincente. The fort gradually slides into the ocean and is a popular place for fishermen. Here you can go down 10 meters above the water level, rather than casting a fishing rod from the top.
Cape San Vincente (Cabo de São Vicente) is the most southwestern point of Europe and is a very interesting place. Sheer cliffs rising from the ocean, strong winds and waves crashing against the rocks somewhere below - here you really get the feeling of being somewhere on the edge of the earth. And the working lighthouse, as a reminder of the era of glorious sailors and discoverers of new lands, adds romance to this place. At all times the cape was considered sacred place the dwelling of the gods, which is confirmed by archaeological finds Neolithic, Roman and Phoenician times. Christians named the cape in honor of the patron saint of seafarers, Saint Vincent of Saragossa.
The cape is located about 6 kilometers from the small town of Sagres, and the road to it passes through deserted terrain on the Atlantic coast.
Cape San Vincente is very similar to another no less famous place Cape Roca is the westernmost point of Europe (we will visit it in a week), but unlike the latter, it is still less crowded here, although, of course, tourists come here in the evening to watch the famous sunset.
The lighthouse is considered the most powerful in Europe, and the light from it is visible at a distance of 60 kilometers, because ships going around the cape must maintain a decent distance for safety reasons. The building contains a small maritime museum, and while Yulia and the children were examining it, I walked along the rocks in search of the best points for photos.
Rocks reaching a height of 70 meters stretch to the north, and a little further away a stone island sticks out of the water, resembling either a shoe or the head of a dragon.
The vegetation in the surrounding area is quite sparse - mostly small bushes, but the flowers on the slopes of the rocks look very picturesque against the backdrop of the raging waves.
And below the waves, slowly running onto the rocks, crash with a roar, turning into water dust and sea foam. Looking at this spectacle, you can’t help but think how weak and helpless a person is in the face of the elements - it’s scary to even imagine being in these waves.
From the neighboring rock to the east of the lighthouse the most best view. Martin is wearing a matching t-shirt with the words "sea wolf" =)
We really wanted to wait for sunset here, but by this time we still had no certainty about where to spend the night, and the prospect of looking for a place to stay in the dark was somehow not encouraging. Therefore, we drove towards Sagres, but could not help but stop along the way near the Belish beach (Praia do Beliche) in a cozy bay surrounded by rocks. From these rocks you can get a better view of Sagres, hanging over the ocean.
It's scary to look down.
And here is the beach itself and one and a half diggers on it, and while we went down there and reached the far part of it, we were left there completely alone. It would be nice to pitch a tent here, but you don’t know to what level the water rises during high tide, and collapses are possible near the rocks, as indicated by warning signs.
After Marinha beach, where we had been the day before, it was difficult to surprise us, but still Belish impressed us, and we stayed here almost until sunset, walking along the shore, running through the waves, swimming in cleanest water and enjoying freedom and solitude.
And only when the beach was finally plunged into the shadow of the surrounding rocks, we went to Sagres in search of an overnight stay. It was another wonderful day of a wonderful trip.
Cape São Vicente (Cabo de São Vicente), the extreme southwestern point of Europe, is the main attraction of the Portuguese province of Algarve. There are always a lot of tourists here. They take pictures, blithely approaching the cliff itself - “here I am, at the end of the world!”, feast on German “wurschen” at the “Last sausage before America” kiosk, and around them seventy-meter-high cliffs crash into the ocean surface. One resembles the bow of a ship, the other resembles a protruding tongue, and all together resembles a clawed stone paw that wants to reach out to the horizon. “Shshshtotam, shshshtotam...” - the waves say. What's there? In the south there is Africa, in the west there is America, any schoolchild will answer you.
Cape San Vicente
Since then, when Cape San Vicente was the border of the inhabited world for Europeans, and they did not know either Africa
(with the exception of the northern part of the continent), nor America, a little more than five centuries have passed. For our
planets is one moment. Picturesque rocks that tourists photograph today have not changed, but
People's ideas about the geography of the Earth have changed dramatically.
The second half of the 15th century is considered the beginning of the era of the Great geographical discoveries: they follow one after another, as if someone had prepared the triumph of navigation in advance. And indeed it is! It is difficult to say how much later Europe would have learned that beyond the immeasurable water desert there are other lands, if not for a man whose name is not known to everyone - the Portuguese Infante Dom Henrique o Navigator. Just as in cinema the audience’s love goes to famous actors, and the director, the true inspirer and organizer of the action, often remains in the shadows, in the history of navigation the names of legendary discoverers are heard. Everyone has heard about Vasco da Gama, Columbus, Magellan... and about Enric the Navigator? During his life, he made only three short voyages and did not discover any new lands. And yet, Enrique the Navigator rightfully deserved his honorary title.
Infante Henrique (1394-1460), the third son of King John I of Portugal and Philippa of Lancaster, distinguished himself in his youth during the capture of the North African port of Ceuta (this sea campaign in 1415 marked the beginning of Portuguese expansion in North Africa). After the Ceuta campaign, the infanta had no shortage of tempting offers for a military and diplomatic career. However, the descendant of the Portuguese and nephew of the English kings retires into the wilderness, to the very south of Portugal, and, becoming the governor of the Algarve province, equips naval expeditions one after another. For what? To penetrate from the sea to West Coast Africa, and if you're lucky, find a sea route to the East, to India, where there is an abundance of what in Europe is worth its weight in gold - spices. Infante Enrique seemed to have foreseen the future: after the Ottoman Turks defeated BYZANTIUM in the mid-15th century, the route to the East by land was closed to Europeans.
What country, if not Portugal, should have looked for a sea route to the land of spices? “Cinderella of Europe”, pushed to the very edge of the continent, without access to the connecting peoples, already inhabited a thousand years ago Mediterranean Sea, Portugal faces only the ocean, from which, unlike the sea, there was no use, except perhaps fishing close to the shore. Who would dare to sail south along the African continent beyond the legendary Cape Nun (from the Portuguese “nao” - no), if, according to the ancient authority on geography Ptolemy, Africa - a deadly desert - is frozen to the Antarctic ice and cannot be circumvented. The path to the west across the boundless ocean, teeming with unprecedented monsters, is even more hopeless.
But it was not only superstitions and fear of the unknown that prevented sailing ships from going far to sea. Going on an ocean voyage for sailors of that time was no less difficult than for modern man make a space flight. The art of navigation was in decline, the experience of sailors of antiquity and the Vikings, who reached the end of the 10th century North America, was thoroughly forgotten. Imperfection of ships, lack good cards and more or less accurate navigation instruments, inept and fearful sailors - this is what Enrique encountered when he started his sea expeditions. What was to be done? Learn navigation!
Ponta da Piedade. Rocks around Lagos
How interesting and contradictory this strange prince is... His motto was the words “Talent for good deeds.” Severe and ascetic, he did not start a family and in 1420 became the Supreme Master of the Knightly Order of Christ, the successor to the Knights Templar, dissolved in 1312. Infante Enrique was a romantic dreamer who eagerly listened to the stories of captains about distant lands, a fanatical missionary who sought to spread Christianity throughout the world, a tough businessman who established a successful trade in African slaves. But the main thing is that he was a smart organizer and a perspicacious researcher. Retiring in Sagres, just east of Cape San Vicente, Enrique the Navigator created the first navigation school in Europe.
This is how Staffan Zweig describes it in the novel “Magellan. Man and His Deeds” (1938):
“According, perhaps, to the romanticizing reports of the Portuguese chronicles, he ordered books and atlases to be delivered to himself from all parts of the world, called upon Arab and Jewish scientists and entrusted them with the production of more accurate navigational instruments and tables. Every sailor, every captain who returned from a voyage, he called to him and questioned him in detail. All this information was carefully stored. secret archive, and at the same time he equipped a number of expeditions. Infante Enrique tirelessly contributed to the development of shipbuilding; in a few years, the former barcas - small open fishing boats, the crew of which consists of eighteen people - turn into real naos (Portuguese name for caravel - M.A) - stable ships with a displacement of eighty, even one hundred tons, capable of sailing in stormy weather open sea. This one is new, fit for long voyage The type of ship also determined the emergence of a new type of sailor. To help the helmsman is a “master of astrology” - a navigation specialist who can understand portolans (navigational charts - M.A.), determine compass deviation, and mark meridians on the map. Theory and practice creatively merge together, and gradually in these expeditions a new tribe of sailors and explorers grows from simple fishermen and sailors, whose deeds will be completed in the future."
We reap knowledge with interest,
Where only death loomed at first.
We know - beyond the storm abyss
The distant blue sky is rising.
One by one: so that from human words
The huge waves of the sea changed their path.
Fernend Pessoa
Sea monsters. Illustration from "Cosmogarphy" by Sebastian Munster. 1550
From 1416 until the death of the infante in 1460, dozens of ships entered the ocean at his will and on his behalf (and in fact, the order
Christ) means. The ships set off from a convenient harbor in the city of Lagos, which is east of
Sagres. The first voyages were made on single-masted barges, and from the 1440s - on three-masted caravels
with oblique "Latin" sails. A scarlet cross was inscribed on the white sails of the caravels - the sign of the Order of Christ.
The captains did not dare to turn back: the infant, angry at the failures, was more terrible for them than any naval
monsters. Why Enrique did not personally participate in the voyages remains not entirely clear. Perhaps it was thought
that a person of royal blood should only sail for military purposes, and not for research purposes. Maybe,
The infant himself believed that he was more needed on land than at sea.
Portuguese caravel
The Infante Enrique and the school of navigation on the secluded coast were legendary among his contemporaries. What can we say about later times, when after pirate raids and the GREAT LISBON EARTHQUAKE of 1755, not a trace remained of the school - only a strange stone disk resembling a wind rose. They write that Enrique was a cripple, a gloomy hunchback, that he never went to sea at all, that the navigation school did not exist at all, that a certain secret order operated under the guise of the school...
Nuno Gonçalves. Altarpiece of San Vicente (1456-67).
On the right in the second row - Enrique the Navigator
But let's get back to reality. What were the results of the expeditions? It may seem that among the amazing discoveries of subsequent decades they are rather modest. About the same as going to the Moon compared to landing on Mars. But it was these voyages that became the first step towards conquering the ocean. In 1419, the island of Madeira was discovered (in general, by chance, the ships would not have dared to sail so far to the west if they had not been carried away by a storm), in 1427 Diogo Salves reached Azores. In 1460, Diogo Gomes discovered some of the islands of the Cape Verde archipelago. After many unsuccessful attempts in 1434, captain Gil Eanish managed to move south along the African continent, rounding the fateful Cape Bojador (26° north latitude). For a long time, the cape seemed like an insurmountable obstacle, because in this place a sandbank jutted out far into the sea, and the sailors did not dare move away from the shore in order to get around it. Chroniclers report that the captain brought the infanta from this significant voyage wild roses, plucked south of the cape Bojador.
Portrait of Enrique the Navigator.
Fragment of the altar of San Vicente.
The psychological boundary was taken, and the following expeditions moved further and further south. By 1444, caravels from Lagos had passed southern border Sugars have reached fertile and populated coast Africa. Enrique's dream of reaching the African continent, bypassing the desert by sea, has come true! From that time on, voyages along the African coast became purely commercial - gold, “white gold” - ivory and “black gold” - slaves were brought to Portugal. The slave market in Lagos flourished. Alas, here too the infant was the first in Europe!
Slave market in Lagos
A captain leading a ship through a steep wave
He sees how far away, exhausted and weak,
Goes down with the very last galley
A slave who can't swim.
Fernando Pessoa
Monument to Enrique the Navigator in Lagos
Enrique the Navigator did not see the main fruits of his efforts. In 1486, Bartolomeu Dias reached the southern tip of the African continent and circumnavigated it. Vasco (Vasco) da Gama (it is significant that he was born in the same 1460 when Enrique died) fulfilled the Infante’s plans and in 1498, bypassing Africa, sailed to Calcutta. In 1500, Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil. Portuguese sailors did something that Infante Enrique could not even imagine: in 1543 they reached Japan! The achievements of Portugal could have been even more significant if King João I had not rejected the proposal of the Genoese Columbus in 1485, and King Manuel I in 1515 had not rejected the project of his compatriot Fernao Magalhaes, who, having turned into Ferdinand Magellan, went into the service of Spain. As a result, the voyages of Columbus and Magellan were carried out under the Spanish flag and for the Spanish crown.
The Portuguese Sea is flammable salt,
Our tears and grief, Portuguese pain!
How many tears have you stolen from their mothers' eyes,
How many of their sons sleep in your depths,
How many lovely brides did not go down the aisle,
So that you, the sea, can finally become yours!
Maybe the sacrifices are in vain, and everything is nonsense?
But the soul yearns into the distance, even though it is truly solid.
Who sailed ships to Cape Verde,
He never saw Portuguese land afterwards.
How many abysses are there in you, sea - you are a risk and a catch,
But only heaven and God look at you!
Fernando Pessoa
From the “Cinderella of Europe,” Portugal turned into the queen of the seas, but not for long: its decline began already in the 16th century. The Age of Great Geographical Discovery is the highest rise in the history of this country. Portugal remembers to whom it owes for becoming a springboard for humanity into the Atlantic, and honors Enrique the Navigator. In 1960, on the 500th anniversary of the death of the Infante, two monuments were erected in Portugal. The first is the monument to Enrique the Navigator in historical center Lagos, near the river embankment along which his ships went out into the ocean. We know what Infante Henrique looked like in his mature years thanks to the Portuguese artist Nuno Gonçalves. In the grand altar of San Vicente (1456-67) there is a portrait of Enrique the Navigator, accurately recreated from a lifetime miniature from the Chronicle of the Conquests of Guinea of 1453. Immortalized in dark bronze, Enrique appears the same as Nuno Gonçalves portrayed him - proud, intelligent, strict.
The second monument - "Padrao dos Descobrimentos" (monument to the discoverers) - is installed on the Lisbon embankment, at the mouth of the Tagus River. This is a 52-meter tower in the shape of a caravel, on board of which famous Portuguese climb: kings, knights, priests, captains, cartographers, artists, poets. Among them are Vasco da Gama, Luis de Camões (Luis de Camões), the author of the poem “Louisiades” glorifying the discovery of India, Fernando Magalhães-Magellan, and the artist Nuno Gonçalves. Figures flow around the deck on both sides, and in front, on the bow of the ship, stands Enrique the Navigator with a model of a caravel in his hands. He looks where wide Tagus flows into the ocean, as if trying to see unknown lands beyond the horizon, in the south - Africa, in the west - America.
Monument to the Discoverers in Lisbon
You, captains of the years that have flown by,
You, boatswains, to which vague goal,
Melodies of the unknown following
Do you dare to roam through the oceans?
Perhaps the sirens sang to you,
But the meeting was not judged by the expanse of the sea
With sirens - only with a witch's song.
Who sent you news from across the sea,
He foresaw everything, undoubtedly knowing
That there is not only the call of wealth
For you there is more than one earthly hunger,
But there is another thirst -
The desire to listen to the expanse of the sea
And rise above the vanity of the world.
Fernend Pessoa
Estuary of Tagus. View from observation deck Monument to the Discoverers in Lisbon.