A day in the Alentejo.

Portugal is a country devoid of pretension. Its marble sidewalks are smooth as glass because of their age, its food delicious because of its comforting simplicity, its people open, generous, and easy-going.

In 1974, the Portuguese people led the first non-violent overthrow of a government in the world’s history. They held carnations as they marched to the capitol building in Lisbon and verbally demanded that the dictatorship, which prohibited phones, gatherings after dark, and differing opinions, come to an end.

The country is poor, though it has fallen from great wealth, ruling the known world in the 15th century. Above all, the Portuguese are oceanic. They live and die with the sea, and if any group of people can claim to master it, it would be the Portuguese, with their unique caravelas and their innate navigation acumen. It was Henry the Navigator, after all, who thought it silly to travel by animal across the expanse of Europe, and Central Asia, and Russia - just to get tea in China. “Can we not just sail around?”

Today, fishing towns line the coastline, and the peixe is a national symbol - of nourishment, of income, and of pride. Portugal is the westernmost country in continental Europe, and the long, thin land faces the deep green Atlantic, constantly facing the unknown, constantly at the edge of discovery. 

To taste Portugal, head southeast from Lisbon to the Alentejo. Renting a car for the day is easy and inexpensive, and within 40 minutes you’ll be out of the city’s outer limits. Suddenly, the countryside will surround you, and with no speed limits, you can choose your own journey (though the roadsigns will bid you cuidado!).

You’re heading to Sines, a larger coastal town about two hours south of Lisbon. Along the way, you’ll see miles and miles of trees missing their undergarments. Though you may be embarrassed for them, it’s not necessary - they’ve been stripped of their bark. These, after all, are cork trees, and Portugal supplies the world with more than 70% of the corks you pull out of your wine bottle. You begin to love the nonchalant naked trunks, with their low-hanging branches and warm tones of clay and olive green. Soon you’ll long for a few your own.

Taking the A1, the countryside will meet the oceanside, and the brilliance of the deep blue that meets your eyes in every direction will also make you long - perhaps to be in it? Or maybe to see it every day? No matter, you’re just longing.

It also doesn’t matter which village you decide to stop in along the way for a bathroom break. In each one, you’ll be met with a choice of at least four cafés, and in each, you can expect to find a delicious pastry, a strong shot of espresso, or a soothing galão - coffee with milk that goes down without hesitation. Sit for a few minutes, because there is no rush, though you’ll understand that from the moment you are waiting at baggage claim in Lisbon. Is there ever any rush?

The locals will look at you and smile, they’ll nod hello, and they won’t bother you. You’ll likely witness a mother with several young children yelling at no one in particular, a few old men drinking bicas with sugar packets scattered about their tables, and a young man in sunglasses, a cell phone, a coffee, and a cigarette in his mouth. He may or may not have an attractive young woman with him. The owners of the café will be either a grandmother who is round and grey, wearing a patterned apron, or a collection of men in collared shirts and jeans who move quickly. After all, it takes a few good men to do what one grandma is capable of. 

After coffee, and snack, and bathroom (with a toilet that predates even you), you’re back on the small, winding county road that leads you through cork forest after cork forest, edging closer and closer to the deep blue. 

Arriving in Sines, you can take the road down to the beach. There’s a boardwalk (made of stone, of course) that will give you a nice view of the ocean on one side and the village tumbling into it on the other. Depending on your timing, it could be a beach day, the sun shining brightly on its bathers. Or, it could be a grey day, and the sky will be ominous. Either way, the humidity will feel as it does only when near the sea. And though it will weigh heavy, it won't be unwelcome.

In town, you can visit the Cultural Center, a surprisingly large and world-class space created to host theatre, exhibitions, programming, and a library for the the region. The building is decidedly monolithic in structure, with its architect, Manuel Aires Mateus commenting, “I like to build spaces that do not know time or purpose. Maybe it will be a church. Or hospital, or a school. It can serve any function.”

For lunch, you can have your pick of restaurants. But head north to the coast, five minutes outside of town, and you’ll be met with a seaside café that serves a good steak and the freshest of sardines. Take a beer, and run to the sea. It will welcome with you or terrify you, depending on its chosen ferocity of the moment.

Heading back north, you’ll wonder what you see on the ridge. Is that a wall? A fortress? There aren’t many signs and you hadn’t heard of this before. But do stop - it’s the Castelo Santiago do Cacém, one of the best preserved castles from the Moorish period. Its walls were first built in the 500s, and reinforced throughout the millennia that have passed since. Situated in an otherwise un-noteworthy town, the stillness is omnipresent. You’ll have the walls and turrets to yourself, and the whole experience will feel like you’ve crossed over into another time.

Outside the castle, there’s a sign that tells you about a hiking path that spans the southern coastline of Portugal, from the southern city of Faro to Lisbon. There are seaside villages to sleep in overnight and rocky cliffs to traverse. Impetuously, the several hundred mile hike rises to the top of your list.

In Portuguese, there is a word for all this: saudades. It has no direct translation in any other of the world’s 6,909 languages, and everyone has their own feeling for the word. Perhaps that’s just it, because when trying to describe saudades, it’s a feeling. It’s the longing for a feeling you once had in a place in time.