Part of the World Project. One country, one evolving collection of places, experiences, photographs, and memories.
My experience
I spent an extended period in Lisbon, including teaching and volunteering, and returned on later journeys. Portugal was especially important to my study of Portuguese and my wider experiences around the Lusophone world.
Places and journeys
Lisbon; Oeiras; Faro and the Algarve
Photographs already in the archive
These images and their location labels appeared in my earlier published travel writing. I’ll add more photographs and firsthand experiences as I develop this country chapter.
The years that connected me to Portuguese
I spent several weeks in Lisbon in 2018, studying and using Portuguese while volunteering and teaching. It was long enough to build routines and experience more than the usual sequence of tourist attractions. Oeiras and other places around Lisbon became part of that period.
I have returned to Portugal since then, including journeys through Lisbon and the Algarve in 2023. I want to keep those visits together here, while allowing the stories from different years to stand on their own.
Portugal also connects directly to my experiences in Brazil and Cabo Verde. Language links those places, but each has its own history, culture and character. The longer I study Portuguese, the more interested I become in those differences.
Photographs and future chapters
I’m gradually working through my personal photo and video archive to add more of the experiences behind this destination. This is a living page, not a finished guide.
Explore more places
Other country chapters in Europe: Greece · Spain. Browse the full Europe list or explore the travel map.
