Portugal and France: Where Rivers Meet History

Points of Encounter - Portugal and France: Where Rivers Meet History

By Armand Ortiz

In December 2024 Yeny and I visited Portugal. We mainly went for the food, and because Portugal is relatively compact, we were able to explore several different regions in just a few days. I was excited to visit Lisbon because I'd already experienced the city through Fernando Pessoa’s writings, long before I walked its streets. Yet the things we saw and experienced, as I later reflected, came to mean much more than I had expected.

In Lisbon we took a walking food tour and tasted bifanas which you could lather up with spicy oil called piri-piri. We also ate the iconic bolinhos de bacalhau, which are toasty, crunchy, soft and chewy all at the same time. The hot chocolate was like none that I had had before: creamy, thick, and deeply chocolaty.

As we strolled along the edge of the Tagus River we were greeted by a giant monument dedicated to the Age of Discovery and the men that set off from Lisbon to explore the world. In their attempts to have direct access to goods and spices they first sailed along the coast of Africa, then rounded the continent on their way to India. As a result, Portugal became one of the earliest European nations to launch an era of maritime exploration. Standing before it, I admired what it celebrated, though I had yet begun to understand the larger story it represented.

We learned of Henry the Navigator, Vasco da Gama, and Ferdinand Magellan. The Portuguese also explored and colonized South America, creating new networks of trade and cultural exchange while also contributing to systems of conquest, slavery and forced migration. Brazil would become Portugal’s largest and most significant colony. In Portugal it seemed that everything had a story, and that story often led somewhere else– a spice, a crop, a tradition, or a person who had crossed an ocean.

We were fortunate enough to travel around Portugal, learning about its history and how its architecture, art, and cuisine were influenced by centuries of exploration and overseas connections. We visited places like Nazare, where a small chapel dramatically atop a coastal cliff. Today, the town is best known for the giant Atlantic waves that have made Nazare one of the world’s premier surfing destinations. At Sintra, we stopped to admire the architecture of Pena Castle, a building containing symbols of Portugal’s maritime history. Although we enjoyed every place we visited, Lisbon stayed with me the longest. It was also a place where a major battle between Crusader and Muslim armies took place, which reestablished a Christian kingdom in 1147.

At that time I had not fully understood the significance of our visit. It was not until we’d returned from our trip to France that things gelled in my mind.

A few months later we went to France, spending most of our time exploring different parts of Paris. Walking through the Luxembourg Gardens allowed us to experience a city shaped by centuries of artists, writers and revolutions. We dined at one of the restaurants Ernest Hemingway once frequented, and at times I felt that his descriptions of Paris and its people were on point.

We also took several walking tours. One was a guided tour that had us tasting foods as we meandered through the Montmartre neighborhood. The tastiest dishes were the rich beef bourguignon and the cheese board. By the time we had crepes, we were full but still eager to taste the savory pastry, all under the backdrop of the Sacre Coeur. The other tour started on the Ile de la Cite, which is the historical center of Paris and is located in the middle of the Seine River. We were taken to different parts of the island and given brief descriptions of how Paris grew and evolved over the years.

We managed to take a day trip to Rouen, a city along the Seine River where Viking, French and English influences converged. The city is closely connected to the Viking world and the Christianization of Scandinavia, and it is also remembered as the place where Joan of Arc was executed. From Rouen, Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, embarked on the expedition that eventually led him to explore the Mississippi River.

The circle of discovery continued after our return from France. I thought that we had traveled to see places. Only later did I realize we had been walking through places where worlds had collided. Soon after, I began to understand that France and Portugal were not simply destinations but meeting points– places where people, ideas, foods, religions and cultures crossed paths. Through those encounters, history continued to shape the world we live in today.

Looking back, I remember standing beside the Tagus River watching small sailboats drift quietly across the water. Now I see these memories differently. Rivers, ports, and crossroads are more than places on a map. They are places where civilizations meet, where ideas are exchanged, and where the traces of those encounters endure long after travelers have gone.