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Here in Lisbon (Lisboa is the real name), it is 6:55 p.m. In New

York, it is 1:55 p.m. The thermometer marks 17ºC, that is (17 x 1.8

32) about 63 degrees in Farhenheit.

In the U.S, we don't talk much about Portugal. In our imagination,

the name triggers few evocations. Vasco da Gama, the most prolific

(the word successful might offend the fans of Columbus) discoverer of all times, is one of them.

The only contemporaneous Portuguese who have made it big on

internationally is Luis Figo. He was the most expensive soccer

player before his soccer team, Real Madrid bought French star Zidane

for $65 millions. He was nevertheless made FIFA player of the year

for 2001, and he is going to the World Cup.

Before Figo, there was the untouchable Eusebio da Silva Ferreira, the

master of Benfica of the 60s. But, this is another story.

So Portugal evokes world exploration and original football. The city

is therefore worth a weekend detour on The Traveller's route down to

carnaval in the Canary Islands.

Though Portugal is about one fourth of the Iberian Peninsula, it is

as much as Spain, France and England, one the great empires of the

Renaissance Age, one that contributed to the transformation of

the globe, to make our world as we know it.

Traveling to understand where we, from the Americas, come from,

encompasses a stop and a reflexion on the sites and history of the country that bears Vasco da Gama, and that colonized Brazil.

The question this trip will answer are:

(1) Is the Tenerife carnaval deserving of the titles of the best

party in Europe and the best parade-carnaval after Rio?

(2) How is Portugal doing, in the midst of the measures and restrictions imposed by the European Union?

Reporting from the Sofitel Hotel in Avenida da Liberdade in Lisboa,

Portugal (Tel: 011-351-21 322 83 10, ext 609)

(The Traveller, Saturday, February 8, 2002, at La Caffe.)