Guimaraes, the proud

It is the home of a small nation and the new European Capital of Culture 2012.

It is a metropolis that stands in the shadow of a mountain. The Pena. The secular and urban landscape blends with the surrounding green pastures. We can breathe fresh air. It was the first capital of the Portucalense county. Here warriors left for the many battles that ended in the blue sea. And so was born a country planted in the edge of the ocean as sang by the poet Camoes. Guimaraes is the cradle of the nation. In the sacred hill of nationality we remember that our existence is due to the indomitable will of a man who dared to dream of becoming a king. The castle guards the high battlements of its truculent people. How many stories this walls could tell. In this neighborhood we visited the palace of the Dukes of Braganza, but what strikes us is the imposing figure of Dom Afonso Henriques, the conqueror with his sword in hand. Without him there would not be one people, one flag and one language. Time for another mandatory visit to the palace of Vila Flor defended by their seventeenth-century ash seedlings statues that line up in its white walls surrounded by a wealth of camellias and boxwoods that unfold in many places.

We walked towards the old town. It's like a trip back in time, sharp centennial archways houses lead us through the cooled corridors to the Olive square with their colorful terraces, full of people who happily babbles from a coffee and a beer. Just opposite the church erupts with the same name the default Salado, a meeting point for friends and lovers. Everyone knows where it is. We made our way through the crowd to another plaza, named Santiago. It's airy; the worn stones are embellish with vibrant colors of the flower pots and the tone of its garish facades. This is also the city of the thousand parks. Of the Pevidém. The Quinta. Of Insua. The Selho. Da Ponte. Of the Hortas and of course of the City. And also is home of the unique and bucolic garden called Carmo. Must be the greenest metropolis in all of Portugal, have I already said that we can breathe clean air? Yes, I forgot. Pardon my insistence!
The monastery of St. Torcato is the privilege stage of great celebrations in this city of Minho. This is where we celebrate the feast of the first year, the 27th, because it happens in February. The festivities attract thousands of outsiders who want in this holy place the blessing of their animals and the healing waters of many evils. The Lane of Dr. Francisco Pimenta is the window of the industrialized city. Of modern buildings and the stadium named after the founder of the nation. It is the periphery that consumes the mountainous landscape that still insists on splashing the recesses of the buildings. It is the world of men who go step by step winning the foothills of the mountain. The cold bases as the sun sets. It's time to go. One last look at the ancient walls announcing the end of this journey with a taste of history. Goodbye centennial Guimaraes. Hello capital of culture 2012.