Prince Henry is probably the most celebrated figure in Portugal as it was he who launched the Age of Discovery bringing Portugal into the spotlight. Prince Henry was the one who persisted in �pushing the limits� of his time by doubting the navigational perils of Cape Bojador and proving the superstition wrong. After Prince Henry�s death, writers embellished his name so that he became known as Prince Henry the Navigator or Henry the Navigator, thus helping to create the myth about his having had a navigational school. In truth, Prince Henry never went out on any voyages of Discovery and never was a navigator. Instead, with his wealth and power, he was the encourager and financier of the explorations and the hands-on controller of all its operations.
Before flying to Florida from Lisbon on October 19, 2004, we spent six days exploring Portugal. (See Portugal land trip log.) While in Florida we enjoyed the holidays with our family and helped our son Scott get his sailboat ready for his Caribbean cruise. On January 13, 2005, we flew back to Portugal. Upon our arrival back in the Algarve, the almond tree was in full bloom and its pink and white blossoms added a lovely color to the landscape. Once back in the marina, we used the wireless modem which we had brought back with us to connect to the Internet.
Upon our return to Lagos, we started enjoying the �cruiser walks� taking place every other Wednesday. We would take the bus or train to the beginning of each walk and then stroll along the back roads and paths of the Algarve�s countryside enjoying the varied scenery plus socializing with fellow cruisers. Each cruiser walk was organized by a different boat and was usually around six miles in length. A highlight of one of the walks was seeing the pilgrimage of the processional caterpillar (also known as the palmerworm, pine tree worm, or scientifically Thaumetapoea Pityocampa). These caterpillars had just left the pine tree and were traveling along the ground in a long head-to-tail procession in search of some warm, soft earth in which to penetrate and chrysalise. What was amazing was that the length of the procession was around nine feet long, and each caterpillar was only about two inches long. |
