Do you know the TV program The most dangerous roads in the world ? We covered the route that singer Maan and rapper Sjaak drove in Portugal as much as possible last week.
Inspiration
Before we left on our trip, we had done some research into the things we wanted to see in Northern Spain. We didn't really know much about Portugal. Yes, the cities of Lisbon and Porto and the Algarve of course. But other than that... The internet is your best friend and that's how we came across the television program The most dangerous roads , the Portugal edition. Singer Maan and rapper Sjaak take the most challenging roads and come to the most beautiful places. That sounds like something for us too! You can watch the broadcast here .
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Podence
The highlight of the broadcast is the village of Podence. Here they have been celebrating carnival for centuries. It is one of the most important traditional events in Northern Portugal. The great involvement of the population that has been able to preserve this tradition for centuries and its importance in the event calendar of the region were decisive for UNESCO to add the Carnival of Podence to the World Heritage List.
Masks
During carnival, the "devilish" Caretos - boys dressed in colorful costumes - walk around. The masks are made of tin, wood or leather with a pointed nose and bells on their belts. They walk happily jumping and making noise through the village. In this way they try to impress the girls. Unfortunately we were not there at the right time (from Fat Sunday to Tuesday of carnival), but the village was still very much worth seeing. All the houses in the village are painted with the most beautiful images of the masked men in particular. Really fantastic to see!
"True courage consists not in not having fear, but in conquering one's fear!"
Exciting roads
During the route we came across roads that were quite exciting. For example, we drove on a very steep mountain road with hairpin bends. The first part went quite well, but at a certain point it was too steep for Globus 2. The wheels slipped when I wanted to drive up and when I braked we slid further and further down towards the abyss. What now? It was not possible to go any further up, turning around was not an option. So we had to go a long way backwards and be very careful with the brakes. Eventually we were able to turn around carefully somewhere and had to drive a long way around.
By the way, the villages here can be very exciting too. From a two-lane road you drive into a village where it suddenly becomes so narrow that Globus 2. can just fit between the houses.
Fear
With occasional fear sweat on our backs, we brave the route of the most dangerous roads in Portugal. Whose idea was this again? After the route, we drive through the beautiful Douro valley to then arrive at Porto. Overcoming fear is actually a very nice feeling. You can be afraid of getting into a fearful moment, that is not nice and usually also unnecessary. The moment you really feel the fear, like at some moments during our trip, it is certainly not nice either, but what a euphoric feeling when the moment is over!
Where are we?
4,090 km driven since our departure. After the Peneda-Gerés National Park we drove via the village of Podence towards the eastern border with Spain where the Douro River enters the country. From there we followed the river through the Douro Valley to Porto. Of course we did a day in Porto. Then we enjoyed a few days of beach a bit further south. Now we have arrived at Serra da Estrela. The highest point of Portugal.
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