Loving the marvelous markets of Portugal!

The indoor market in Tomar is open daily, but Fridays are the main market day when the plaza around the indoor market is filled with vendors of clothing, shoes, kitchen equipment, tools, garden supplies and furniture.

Visiting local markets is one of my favorite things to do in Portugal. It’s a wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the local community. I love hearing the market sellers calling out their wares and the hubbub of people crowding around the stalls.

Markets are an age-old tradition in Portugal. Every town has its regular market day. In days gone by it was the only way people could buy items they didn’t grow themselves. Nowadays, market day is the still the time when residents shop for fresh produce and take the opportunity to meet and chat with their neighbors.

My village, Chãos, (roughly pronounced shah-oosh) has a market every Sunday morning. The indoor market area features vendors from two different bakeries, a fish seller, two butchers, two vegetable stands and a stand that specializes in cheeses, bacon and chorizo sausage. On the plaza outside, there are a couple of ladies selling vegetables and olives and a van that has linens.

If you are hungry, there is couple that sells grilled chicken and fries. Or, you can get coffee and a drink in the tiny cafe inside at the back of the market and another upstairs in the community hall. It’s a great time to meet friends.

Pots, pans and live chickens

The second Sunday of the month is the “big” market in Chãos and the plaza is covered with vendors. That’s when you can buy a pair of jeans, sneakers, pots and pans, tools, live chickens and ducks, plants and young fruit trees, and the distinctive terra cotta colored Portuguese pottery.

One of the fish stands at the indoor market in Tomar, central Portugal. Portugal is the country with the highest fish consumption in the European Union, according to the US Dept. Of Agriculture.

Towns around where I live have their own different market days. Tomar, a town of about 22,000, holds its market on Fridays. Its market covers several acres in the center of town. One of the things I like best about the Tomar market is the stands selling dried fruit and nuts. You can buy quantities of walnuts, almonds, dried figs and apricots. There is even a variety of items like Chia or sesame seeds and quinoa!

The other towns near me, Ferreira do Zezere and Freixanda, hold their markets on Mondays. So, I have plenty of choices to indulge my love of markets. The prices are always great. I load up on vegetables, buy plants for my garden and have also scored a slinky pair of jeans and some lovely sheepskin slippers!

Pistachios nuts, chia seeds, sunflower seeds and different types of grains are available at this stand at the indoor market in Tomar.

May is pilgrimage season in Portugal

A floral pattern on the paving stones in the village of Chaõs in central Portugal. Foral patterns are a common site during the many religious festivals and processions that occur during the summers in Portugal.

Pilgrims were on the move this week in Portugal. Huge crowds of walkers, clad in high-visibility vests lined the country roads heading to the town of Fatima. May 13 marks the day in 1917 when the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in a field outside of the town. The children; Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco said they saw her several more times. The last time was on October 13, reportedly witnessed by 70,000 people.

Nowadays, the ornate Basilica of the Rosary of Our Lady of Fatima dominates a vast plaza around the site of the original apparitions. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come here each year.

This week I was on a cycling trip through an area of central Portugal near Fatima. My fellow cyclists and I saw several pilgrim groups. They were happily chatting and laughing, waving at us as they strolled along the country roads in their brightly colored vests.

My Portuguese teacher, Helena, recalls making the pilgrimage in her youth. She said she and her parents walked “dozens of kilometers”. They had to reach Fatima by the night of May 12 so they could take part in the traditional candlelight procession. She mostly remembers how cold and exhausted she was during the night spent there.

Many Ways

There are several “official” routes waymarked with blue signs. The 141-km Tagus Way starts at the Parque das Naçoes in Lisbon and continues along much of the same route as that which leads toward Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The Northern Way is a 260-km route beginning in the town of Valença on the Spanish border. The 111-km Coimbra route begins in the university city of Coimbra. The Nazaré Way starts in the coastal town of Nazaré which has a shrine of its own to Our Lady.

Olive trees and poppies are a common sight along the pilgrimage routes to Fatima in central Portugal.

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My book is an Award Winner!

I was so excited to get an email from the National Federation of Press Women this week with this news.

Every writer dreams that readers will love their book. This week I got one of my wishes! An email arrived from the National Federation of Press Women letting me know my debut novel “The Power of Rain” was awarded Third Place in the 2023 NFPW At-Large Communications Contest.

The National Federation of Press Women is a US-based organization of professional women and men working in all types of communications, including broadcast and print Journalism, PR marketing advertising and more. The book was inspired by many of the weird and wonderful situations I experienced during the 18 years I was a staff writer for the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico. Many states have their own state-based contest, but since I am no longer living in New Mexico I had to enter the “at-large” contest.

Receiving this award is a real validation of my instincts as a writer.

The Power of Rain– the story

Passions clash in Las Vistas, a Southwest desert town where money buys power and corrupt politicians turn a blind eye. Elizabeth “Digger” Doyle is a tough young reporter investigating Johnny Raposa a shady developer who wants a road built to his luxury new subdivision. Hispanic activist Maria Ortiz begs Digger to save her heritage, a historic Spanish chapel that lies in the path of the road. Digger’s investigation into Raposa’s past is complicated by her powerful attraction to Maria.

As the two navigate a tightrope relationship fellow reporters warn Digger she’s risking her career by getting involved with a story source.

Can Digger get the story without losing Maria’s trust? Can she expose Raposa and stop the bulldozers before they destroy the chapel?

I published the book in June 2022 and have been working hard since then to market it. I have received a lot of good feedback in the reviews on Amazon and in other places.

What the judges said:

A strong sense of place pulls the reader immediately into the story. Characters are fully developed. Good dialogue.

Action, conflict and resolution are well-represented in this novel, creating a smooth delivery of a mystery dealing with contemporary topics.

National Federation of Press Women contest judges – (fiction for adult readers category)

Readers reviews

This book gave me sleepless nights….quite literally. I usually like to read a chapter or two of something before I go to sleep, and this was so darn good that I kept finding myself up until two in the morning finding out what happened next!

Written with a deep knowledge, both of the setting, New Mexico, and the background, local journalism, Rosalie Rayburn has got a winning formula here.
Amazon Customer

Another Amazon Customer: Set in a city in the New Mexico desert, this novel has all the characteristics of a page-turner –romance, underhanded or bewildered City officials, journalists at work to shine light on bureaucratic dealings, nefarious developers and the power of local people who keep showing up and speaking the truth.

Michael Rothrock, The Book Commentary: Rosalie Rayburn’s The Power of Rain contains expertly crafted prose that pulls off the seemingly impossible by making small-town politics a page-turning subject matter. The protagonist is well-developed and leads a life filled with enough turmoil and intrigue to keep the reader on the edge of their seat as she navigates a complicated relationship, a journalistic mystery, and uncertainty regarding her employment. Raposa is an antagonist equally well-developed that the reader will love to hate for his hidden motives and arrogance. Filled with intrigue and suspense, mystery fans will love The Power of Rain.

A new book coming soon

Over the past year I have been working on a sequel to The Power of Rain. Many of the friends who gave me encouragement and support during the writing process said they wanted to hear more about what happened to my main characters (Elizabeth) Digger Doyle and Maria Ortiz. The new book is called “Sunshine Dreams” and I hope it will be published by the end of 2023.

I’m not going to give the plot away, but I will say that it’s another story about political intrigue, intrepid reporting and REVENGE!

Follow my blog for more news about life in Portugal. Check out my website: rosalierayburn.com

Portugal celebrates nearly 50 years since the Carnation Revolution

The evening news on April 25 shows people dancing in the streets of Lisbon, all part of the celebrations for the 49th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution in 1974, a nearly bloodless coup which ended 40 years of authoritarian rule in Portugal under Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. (Note the man in the bottom right of the picture. Portuguese news programs always have someone signing.)

Dancing in the streets, parades, singing and joyful speeches. Portuguese people turned out everywhere last week to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which ended a decades-old dictatorship.

Portuguese people have a lot to be proud of. They endured more than 40 years of a brutally repressive regime which began in 1932 and ended in 1974. During the “Estado Novo” which was created by Prime Minister Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, there was strict censorship of the press, books, music and arts. People lived in fear of being reported to the secret police, the PIDE (Policia International e de Defesa do Estado). Thousands were arrested, tortured and imprisoned during those years.

Salazar was a staunch supporter of Portugal’s colonies; Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, in Africa, Goa in India and Macau in China. In the early 1960s Portugal sent troops to quell independent movements in the African colonies. These colonial wars were very costly and unpopular. Many Portuguese fled their home country to go work in France so they didn’t have to participate in those conflicts. (When I moved to Portugal in 2019, I quickly found that many older Portuguese speak fluent French from their years there.)

Salazar suffered a debilitating stroke in 1968, was replaced as prime minister by Marcelo Caetano, and died in 1970. Meanwhile, many of the lower ranking officers serving in Africa began planning to overthrow the dictatorship. The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) was also active in organizing opposition.

Popular song gave the signal

On April 25, a song played on the radio, “Grandola Vila Morena”, was the signal for the armed forces, with widespread popular support, to overthrow the regime. The coup gained its name because people in the streets handed red carnations to the soldiers who put the flowers in their gun barrels or on their uniforms. Within a few hours Caetano had resigned and the Estado Novo came to an end with hardly a shot fired.

Children and their teachers participate in parades in Lisbon during celebrations on April 25 to honor the 49th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution.

Soon after the overthrow of the regime, the former colonial countries in Africa began their own struggles to complete the transition to independence. Back in Portugal a major symbol of the change was the renaming of the iconic bridge across the river Tejo in Lisbon from the Salazar Bridge to the 25 April Bridge.

The 25th April Bridge (Ponte 25 de April) over the River Tejo in Lisbon. It was designed by the consortium that constructed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.

Happy to be home again in Portugal

Parade in Rua Serpa Pinto, Tomar, Portugal — Students embrace in the street, followed by a parade to mark the end of the school year in Tomar, Portugal.

It’s been one week since I returned to Portugal after a six-week visit to the US. The past seven days have gone by in a flash; reconnecting with friends and neighbors, tending to my weed-infested land, taking my energetic dog for a walk, and loving the kindness that is all around me here.

A neighbor of mine, an Englishwoman who has lived here for more than fifteen years, described the Portuguese as a gentle people. I think that is a good description. In the nearly four years I have lived here, I have so rarely heard people arguing. I could count the number of times I have experienced a rude or impatient response in a store, or from a person waiting in line, on the fingers of one hand.

Long journey home, but reassuring welcome

The evening I arrived back in Lisbon, after a nearly 20-hour delay-plagued journey, I stayed at a modest guest house. Marta, the young woman who functioned as the check-in person, was so calm and reassuring that I felt as though I had arrived at an expensive spa. The guest house itself was across the street. The entrance was a door with no sign. She led me up some flights of stairs to a door marked with the guest house name. She showed me to my room and advised me about a nearby restaurant where I could get dinner.

When I returned after dinner it was dark and I got confused as to which floor the guest house was on. Tired and a bit panicked, I went back to Marta and she very kindly came back across the street with me and showed me to the right door. I really doubt I would have had that experience anywhere in the US.

If I had been in a large US city, I think I would have been terrified to be mugged or shot. I am glad to be living in a place where people are not afraid. Where people do not open the door holding a gun and risk being shot by police.

Spring flowers are always a welcome sight in my little corner of Portugal.

Useful things to know about life in Portugal

These iconic yellow and white tram cars are a useful way to get around in Lisbon. They are very popular with tourists!

When I first spent an extended time in Portugal I noticed a lot of little differences about the way people do daily life compared to what is commonly done in the US. Now that I have been living in Portugal for more than three years, I just take all these differences for granted. But my current trip back to the states makes me realize how much I have accommodated to my new life in Europe. I also appreciate how many of the customs in Portugal reduce water, plastic and paper waste that is harmful to the environment.

Eco-friendly shopping

In Portugal the supermarkets and small grocery stores do not bag your groceries. You must bring your own shopping bags or buy one at the checkout. The bags you can buy are sturdy and generous sized so you can fit a lot into one bag. You yourself must stuff all the items you have bought into the bag at the checkout. This saves a mountain of plastic bags from ending up in landfills. I was saddened to see that in Albuquerque, where I used to live, the city council reversed a decision to ban those plastic bags.

Another practical innovation is the way you use shopping carts. They are typically linked together and you must insert a coin or a plastic token to release the cart to take it into the store. After you’ve unloaded your shopping, you return the cart, reconnect it and you get the coin or token back.

This is a simple way to ensure that carts are returned. In Albuquerque I was used to seeing shopping carts abandoned all over the place. On a windy day a rogue cart could damage your car. It was also probably a big expense for the supermarkets to lose them.

Bathroom etiquette

In a lot of private homes, restaurants and even small hotels in Portugal, it is common to see a sign asking you not to put any paper or other products into the toilet. In private homes it’s because they have a septic system that can’t handle large volumes of toilet paper. I’m assuming the restaurants etc have some similar problem. Anyway, you have to re-train yourself to put the TP into the small container next to the toilet. It took me a while to be consistent about this.

I have even found some bathrooms, such as at a train station or a shopping mall, where you have to grab a length of TP from a huge roll hanging on the wall by the sinks, BEFORE you go into the stall.

Of course men rarely have either of these problems.

A couple of other points about bathrooms. Most toilets in Portugal have dual flush options which save water. Bathrooms typically have hot air blow dryers instead of paper or cloth towels to dry your hands.

Time and temperature confusion

After more than three years of living in Portugal, I have become figuratively bi-lingual in matters of time and temperature. I am no longer flummoxed when trying to decide whether to take the train at 17:00 or 19:00, hint 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. Now, having to say a.m. and p.m. seems so inefficient. You also know immediately whether you’re talking about 12 noon (12:00) or midnight (24:00) .

I’ve also adjusted to using Celcius versus Fahrenheit when referring to the weather. I’ve become used to thinking that 20 degrees C (68F) feels pretty comfortable and 40 degrees C (104F) is nigh-on unbearably hot. Coming back to the US and reading that it’s 21 degrees I have to do mental gymnastics to remember that is really cold! Or, I could just stick my nose outside!

How far is that?

I must confess, I have not adapted so well to using kilometers versus miles, or kilograms instead of pounds. I used to be a very enthusiastic cyclist in New Mexico. There are mountains in NM but there are a lot of opportunities to ride on flat ground too. A 30 mile flat ride was considered pretty easy. I live in a hilly area in central Portugal and it is hard to find flat routes. Hence, a 30 km (18.6m) ride in my area is pretty tough!

I have to use grams and milliliters for European cooking recipes but I keep my bathroom scales on pounds so I still can’t tell you what I weigh in kilos. (I probably wouldn’t anyway!)

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Riding in the area around Figueiro dos Vinhos in central Portugal involves climbing a lot of steep hills but it’s beautiful.

Return to US, long trip and big culture shock

The Walmart sign has become pretty much synonymous with shopping in most US towns and cities.

I’ve been back in the US for a couple of weeks on my annual visit to my son and grandchildren. I have been living in Portugal for nearly four years now and have made the trip several times. The first time was in January 2020, just before the arrival of Covid.

The pandemic soon changed the world as we knew it. Restrictions introduced in efforts to prevent the spread of the virus made international travel impossible for many. I was only able to visit the US and return to Portugal in late 2020 because I had already obtained my Portuguese residency permit. Covid traveling rules also added to the already high cost of an international trip. I had to show a negative result on a Covid PCR test to be allowed on the flights. The test cost about 100 Euros in Portugal for the outward journey and $175 in the US for my return trip.

Even though it’s now easier, it’s still a long trip. The best connections I’ve been able to book meant a 17 hour journey. When my son lived in California it took 26 hours!

Mind boggling!

Coming back to the US has become a culture shock. The size of the vehicles, the size of the meals and the size of the people is, at first, mind boggling!

Other aspects of life here make my eyes pop too. My son is currently living in Kentucky, a solidly conservative state. There are flags and churches everywhere. The camo-bedecked, a genial grizzled old army veteran, proudly told me about his warm relationship with guns. I smiled and said nothing.

Kentucky is proudly celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, news anchors are beginning to talk about what hats to wear for Derby Day (May 3), and the stock market is on a roller coaster ride thanks to another banking scandal. Shades of 2008?

Follow my blog to read more about the real experience of daily life in Portugal. Lots of useful hints and tips if you’re thinking of relocating.

It’s “Carnaval” time in Portugal

A little boy drummer leads his school friends in the carnival parade in Ferreira do Zezere, central Portugal.

It is “Carnaval” time again in Portugal this weekend. Yes, that is how they spell it here in Portugal, where every town and city around the country is celebrating with music, dancing and parades. The carnival tradition supposedly originated hundreds of years ago in Italy. Catholics were not supposed to eat meat during the season of Lent which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until Easter Sunday. So, they began the custom of holding a lively costume party festival on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. They called the festival “carne vale” which means “put away the meat.”

Here in Portugal, the tradition goes back to the Middle Ages. The oldest known carnival celebration started in the thirteenth century in the city of Torres Vedras, about 43 kilometers (27 miles) northwest of Lisbon.

Often groups in small villages all around a larger town will get together to create a float or parade group around a theme. Movies, popular bands and local sport clubs are frequent themes. Sometimes the floats have highly political messages, with signs or costumes satirizing current issues or poking fun at well-known government personalities.

Maybe Celtic origins?

The village of Podence in the Tras os Montes region of far northeastern Portugal is known for its unique colorful costumes and the bizarre antics of the revelers, called “Caretos.”

Men from the village and surrounding area are clad in home-made woolen costumes in red, green and yellow. They wear red masks made of wood or leather. They hang metal rattles and bells from their belts and often carry a wooden staff.

These “Caretos” go round the village shaking their rattles and bells at any women they find. Supposedly it’s all about spring, fertilization and new growth after the long winter. The festival in Podence and Macedo de Cavaleiros nearby, has been designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Some historians believe the festival is linked to ancient Celtic fertility rites.

The village where I used to live celebrated with a carnival dance “Baile Carnaval” in the local association hall. There was plenty of traditional Portuguese music, which sounds to me a lot like polka tunes or the kind of Mexican “rancheras” I was used to in New Mexico. A lot of local people showed up and danced enthusiastically or joined in the conga line if they couldn’t find a partner.

This year I will experience Carnaval in the town of Tomar where I moved late last year. In addition to the usual parades for children and adults there will be concerts at night and a masquerade ball. As is typical here in Portugal, the concerts will start around 10 p.m. Since I live in the historic center of town, I am sure I will hear the music. However, I am not a late night person, so I might not see the bands in person.

Local musicians bring a carnival spirit to the local market in Chãos, central Portugal.

In the US, the carnival tradition is observed in New Orleans as “Mardi Gras” or Fat Tuesday. The days-long festival in Rio de Janeiro is world famous for its samba bands. My nearby town of Tomar also spread the festivities over several days with parades for children and night time concerts in the main square. On Tuesday, the actual carnival day, many businesses observed a holiday as the streets became choked with onlookers watching the parades.

Revelers crowd the streets of Tomar, central Portugal to watch the carnival parade.

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Portugal is great for hiking

Hikers walk beside a flower-covered stream in near Alvaiazere in central Portugal. The white, red and yellow marking on the tree is a symbol to guide walkers on the trail.

Springtime in Portugal is a wonderful time to enjoy the countryside on foot. Whether you walk by yourself, take your dog with you or join and organized hike, there are endless trails to choose from. Of course there are the famous hiking experiences; the Camino de Santiago and the Rota Vicentina. The Portuguese Camino traditionally begins in Lisbon and continues about 660 kilometers into the Spanish province of Galicia to reach Santiago de Compostela. But many people chose to start in the northern city of Porto

For those who want a day hike, many municipalities regularly organize events which are popular with participants of all ages. Even in my small village, several dozen people showed up for a hike during the fall.

Last Sunday, two friends and I joined a hike set up by the municipality of Alvaiazere. The event advertised a 10 kilometer (6 mile) hike or a 14 km run. We opted for the walk. We had to sign up online and pay the princely sum of five euros. When we showed up at the meeting point in a tiny village, it looked like a fairground. There was a bright green inflatable arch, lively dance music and a crowd of about two hundred walkers plus dozens more runners. We had to check in and get a number.

The runners set off first. Then came the walkers. They ranged in age from gray-haired grandmothers to a little kid who looked about six years old, plus a couple of well-behaved dogs. Our group proceeded at a pretty leisurely pace and dozens of hikers soon passed us. No problem, it allowed us more room to enjoy the trail. The route took us through woods, past tiny villages, through a rocky dry stream bed, up two steep hills and along a beautiful stream.

A popular destination for hikes in Portugal is to visit one of the many giant swings (Baloiço) that have been erected on hilltops all around the country. They provide a great lookout point to view the surrounding landscape. It’s also fun to indulge your inner child and get on the swing.

A giant swing or “baloiço” looks out over the countryside in central Portugal. In the background you can see one of the many windfarms that dot the landscape. Wind energy makes an important contribution to the electricity grid in Portugal.

Follow my blog to learn more about daily life in Portugal, exploring this country and fun things to do here. Also, check out my mystery novel “The Power of Rain” available in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.

The hike organized by the municipality of Alvaiazere took us over this old stone bridge and on to a magical spring called the Olho do Tordo, or “the eye of the thrush”.

Cycling in Portugal is a dream!

Portugal offers miles of rural roads with little traffic and stunning scenery.

Cycling on the Portugal’s rural roads has given me some of the most thrilling rides of my life. The scenery is always changing, the traffic is minimal and the drivers you do encounter are considerate of cyclists. The country offers thousands of miles (kilometers) of wonderful cycling and plenty of weather to enjoy it.

Before I moved to Portugal in 2019, I was an enthusiastic member of a very active cycling club in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We did a lot of rides around the city and ventured out into the high desert countryside as well. There were places where you had to do a lot of climbing, but it was easy to avoid. Not so in central Portugal. There are hills everywhere! But the hills and valleys are verdant green and I’ve been able to ride beside rivers and even the Atlantic Ocean.

Autumn weather not helpful

Portugal has recently emerged from a nearly three-month spell of rain which brought flooding to several cities. At first the rain was welcome. In 2022 we had a very dry spring and very hot summer. Streams, rivers and lakes were drying up everywhere. But after nearly three months of constant rain, and serious flooding in Lisbon and Porto, people were thinking you can have too much of a good thing.

Finally the sun emerged and I was able to join two cycling friends for a long awaited ride this week. We met just outside the city of Coimbra, famous for its historic university. Our leader Graham, took us on a route he had pioneered that followed a road in a valley along the Mondego river. We could look down to the river and up at the many tiny villages that clung to the impossibly steep sides of the valley.

Left: the Mondego river flows at the bottom of a steep valley. Right: my fellow cyclists Chris and Graham above a weir on the river.

River beaches

We rode as far as the small town of Penacova which perches on the steep hillside above the river. Not wanting to tackle the 20 percent grade to climb to the higher part of town, we chose a cafe closer to the river to enjoy a coffee and a wonderful chorizo roll. After out coffee stop we crossed a bridge and rode along the famous N2 road on the other side of the river. The N2 is a national road that traverses the entire length of Portugal from the Spanish border to Faro in the southern province of the Algarve. It is popular with touring cyclists.

At several points along the return journey we took a detour down to one of the “river beaches”. Portugal makes good use of its rivers using the wide sandy areas as inland beaches. They are hugely popular in the summer months. I’m looking forward to a lot more riding and maybe even some kayaking on the Mondego!

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