I suppose you might say the first touristy thing we did was go to the Botanical Garden. Again, our location is so good that it is about a 6-minute walk away. Entry was a mere 5 Euro. (I’ve got to figure out how to add that cool Euro symbol to future posts.) It was a hot sunny day, but as soon as we entered, it was magical. Lots of shade and since it occupies 10 acres, space for the breeze to move in.
What a great place. On our walk over, we are coming to understand how ubiquitous cobblestones are here. They make up the sidewalks, the streets in many places, and even the stairs and steps are made of cobble. Inside the garden, we found large areas paved with them. Many other pathways are paved or are made of packed dirt/sand. Yet, the gutters alongside them use tiles. Amazing.
Discovering Portugal’s First Dermatologist
One particular staircase is quite ornate, moving up on either side around a statue of Bernardino Gomes dated 1768-1823. I couldn’t resist looking him up when we got home. He was a noted physician, chemist, and botanist, clearly recognizing the powerful healing properties of plants. Involved with the Portuguese Royal Navy, he traveled to and worked in Brazil from 1797 to 1801, studying plants there. His work was instrumental in isolating compounds from plants, treating malaria, calming epidemics, and addressing skin diseases. I’m not going to regurgitate Wikipedia here, but if you find these kinds of people fascinating, I encourage you to look him up. Yeah, I’m a geek.
A Map of the World
You get a feeling for how widespread the travels and the empire of Portugal was as your tour this garden. I found one reference to the botanical garden stating it shows neglect. I’m not sure I agree with that. But that reference went on to note it was considered one of the best botanical gardens in Europe with one of the largest collections of subtropical vegetation. Indeed, palms abound as well as trees from locations in South America, Africa, Indonesia and the south Pacific.
We know this because so many of the plants and trees are labeled and there are lots of interpretive panels, too. It was a geeky thrill to be able to recall some of by knowledge of plant families and genera. We found a small tree that looks almost exactly like the Eastern Redbud in Texas. Indeed, it is related as it belongs to the same genus Cercis. We also found a tree native to southern Texas and northern Mexico, an actual Anacua! Did I mention I’m a geek?
I’ll save you any more of that boredom. Here is a gallery of images.
