Porto Santo island, The parish Church of Baleira village and Christopher Colombus and Brum do Canto's House Museums - The 10th of October 2016

I couldn't help walking into the little parish church, which was built in 1928. Its interior walls were partly covered in glazed tiles and on a right hand sides chapel I came across a fairly interesting last supper sculpture, right in front of the main altar.

Right behind it stood what is believed to have been Christopher Columbus' house in gray brick stone, to which a small museum displaying some navigational instruments and artefacts of the time could be seen (though not photographed).

From it I walked towards another House Museum, this time pertaining to Brum do Canto, who happens to have been a prominent figure on the island and beyond. I was actually able to watch part of the first ever produced film by him - Canção da terra, which I really enjoyed, despite not having had the time to fully watch it.

(To be continued)

Porto Santo island - on the way to the heart of the village of Baleira - The 10th and 12th of October 2016 (morning).

Twice I walked towards the centre of the village of Baleira prior to having been collected by a student and actually started the refresher course. Cristopher Colombus's statue  and the townhall building stood out among those palm tree stretches of land surrounded by a beautiful blue sea and patches of golden sand.

Some islands just have an idylic way of conquering one's heart  ...

(To be continued)

Porto Santo island, Hotel Porto Santo - The 9th (evening) and the 10th (early morning) of October 2016

I reached Porto Santo on the evening of the 9th, having barely had time to walk to the closest restaurant so as to have a quick dinner prior to getting things ready for the following four days refresher course.

I was taken by the  surrounding peacefulness and the hotel setting scenario, which I wouldn't be able to take advantage from, but which nevertheless would certainly help me carry out my duties in a less stressful way.

(To be continued)

Figueira da Foz - Back and forth on the burocratic lane ... or I wonder ... The 7th of October 2016

Because of the rather complicated Government approach to inheritance documentation I had to go to Figueira back and forth in an almost crazy driving adventure that ultimately led me to getting to know several offical departments and their working dynamics, which might be interesting writing about some day, (for the record of the number of hours spent to obtain a single sheet of paper), but what I am about to write about today is the transport adventure therewith associated. 

I left Oriente train station on a train bound to Porto with a stop over at Alfarelos where I would get the connection to Figueira on the western line trains. This rather short trip of two hours and an half took me back to my adolescent years in which my brothers and I used to stop over at Alfarelos train station, so as to get on a train bound to Porto that would take the whole day.


How could we consider this "painful" day long trip an exciting adventure then I honestly don't know ... but we did look forward to those twice ayear train trips on our way to the boarding schools we were studying at and back. It made me equally wonder how my mother coped with these weekend trips throughout her medical practising life, as if she just went around the corner on an errand ...

Figueira da Foz has changed a lot since my childhood and adolescent years but there are enough recognisable features dating back to those days, amongst which some old buildings like the local market and the townhall with its sculpted panels ...