A blog with pictures and memories from life in Lisbon. Um blogue de recordações de Milan Perveze...

Wednesday, February 16, 2005


The only way to reach some of these beaches is by using a small train, which is only operational during a few months in the Summer. The tracks are now covered by sand.

6 comments:

bingo and betty said...

Man Milan, now you gone and made me want to go to the library and get a book with maps and stuff on Portugal, and read Location: Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean,
west of Spain

Map references: Europe

Area:
total area: 92,080 sq km
land area: 91,640 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than Indiana
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands

Land boundaries: total 1,214 km, Spain 1,214 km

Coastline: 1,793 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: sovereignty over Timor Timur (East Timor
Province) disputed with Indonesia

Climate: maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier
in south

Terrain: mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south

Natural resources: fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium
ore, marble

Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 6%
meadows and pastures: 6%
forest and woodland: 40%
other: 16%

Irrigated land: 6,340 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and
vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas
natural hazards: Azores subject to severe earthquakes
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Desertification, Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban

Note: Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along
western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar

Portugal:People

Population: 10,562,388 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (female 943,412; male 1,000,971)
15-64 years: 68% (female 3,625,086; male 3,499,176)
65 years and over: 14% (female 889,142; male 604,601) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.36% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 11.72 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 9.65 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 9.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.53 years
male: 72.11 years
female: 79.16 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores,
Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to
mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant denominations 1%, other 2%

Languages: Portuguese

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population: 85%
male: 89%
female: 82%

Labor force: 4.24 million (1994 est.)
by occupation: services 54.5%, manufacturing 24.4%, agriculture,
forestry, fisheries 11.2%, construction 8.3%, utilites 1.0%, mining
0.5% (1992)

Portugal:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal
local long form: Republica Portuguesa
local short form: Portugal

Digraph: PO

Type: republic

Capital: Lisbon

Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos, singular -
distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular -
regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca,
Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa,
Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila
Real, Viseu

Dependent areas: Macau (scheduled to become a Special Administrative
Region of China on 20 December 1999)

Independence: 1140 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)

National holiday: Day of Portugal, 10 June (1580)

Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982 and 1 June 1989

Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews
the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Dr. Mario Alberto Nobre Lopes SOARES (since
9 March 1986); election last held 13 February 1991 (next to be held NA
February 1996); results - Dr. Mario Lopes SOARES 70%, Basilio HORTA
14%, Carlos CARVALHAS 13%, Carlos MARQUES 3%; note - SOARES is
finishing his second term and by law cannot run for a third
consecutive term
head of government: Prime Minister Anibal CAVACO SILVA (since 6
November 1985); note - will be replaced in the October 1995 elections
Council of State: acts as a consultative body to the president
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on
recommendation of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral
Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica): elections last
held 6 October 1991 (next to be held NA October 1995); results - PSD
50.4%, PS 29.3%, CDU 8.8%, CDS 4.4%, PSN 1.7%, PRD 0.6%, other 4.8%;
seats - (230 total) PSD 136, PS 71, CDU 17, CDS 5, PSN 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (Supremo Tribunal de
Justica)

Political parties and leaders: Social Democratic Party (PSD), Fernando
NOGUEIRA; Portuguese Socialist Party (PS), Antonio GUTERRES; Party of
Democratic Renewal (PRD), Pedro CANAVARRO; Portuguese Communist Party
(PCP), Carlos CARVALHAS; Social Democratic Center (CDS), Manuel
MONTEIRO; National Solidarity Party (PSN), Manuel SERGIO; Center
Democratic Party (CDS); United Democratic Coalition (CDU; Communists)

Member of: AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, EC, ECE,
ECLAC, EIB, FAO, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NATO,
NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Jose Laco Treichler KNOPFLI
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610
FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726
consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San
Francisco
consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence
(Rhode Island), and Washington, DC

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley BAGLEY
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600 Lisbon
mailing address: PSC 83, Lisbon; APO AE 09726
telephone: [351] (1) 7266600, 7266659, 7268670, 7268880
FAX: [351] (1) 7269109
consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Flag: two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red
(three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the
dividing line

Economy

Overview: Portugal's economy contracted 0.4% in 1993 but registered a
1.4% growth in 1994, with 3% growth expected in 1995 and 1996. This
comeback rests on high levels of public investment, continuing strong
export growth, and a gradual recovery in consumer spending. The
government's long-run economic goal is the modernization of Portuguese
markets, industry, infrastructure, and work force in order to catch up
with productivity and income levels of the more advanced EU countries.
Per capita income now equals only 55% of the EU average. Economic
policy in 1994 focused on reducing inflationary pressures by lowering
the fiscal deficit, maintaining a stable escudo, moderating wage
increases, and encouraging increased competition. The government's
medium-term objective is to be in the first tier of the EU countries
eligible to join the economic and monetary union (EMU) as early as
1997. To this end, the 1995 budget posits a cut in total deficit to
5.8% of GDP.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $107.3 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: 1.4% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $10,190 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.1% (May 1994)

Unemployment rate: 6.7% (May 1994)

Budget:
revenues: $31 billion
expenditures: $41 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1994)

Exports: $15.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: clothing and footwear, machinery, cork and paper
products, hides and skins
partners: EU 75.5%, other developed countries 12.4%, US 4.3% (1994)

Imports: $24.3 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products,
chemicals, petroleum, textiles
partners: EC 72%, other developed countries 10.9%, less developed
countries 12.9%, US 3.4%

External debt: $20 billion (1993 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.5% (1994 est.); accounts for
30.6% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 8,220,000 kW
production: 29.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 2,642 kWh (1993)

Industries: textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork;
metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP; small, inefficient farms; imports
more than half of food needs; major crops - grain, potatoes, olives,
grapes; livestock sector - sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, meat, dairy
products

Illicit drugs: increasingly important gateway country for Latin
American cocaine entering the European market; transshipment point for
hashish from North Africa to Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.8 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $1.2 billion

Currency: 1 Portuguese escudo (Esc) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: Portuguese escudos (Esc) per US$1 - 158.02 (January
1995), 165.99 (1994), 160.80 (1993), 135.00 (1992), 144.48 (1991),
142.55 (1990)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Portugal:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 3,068 km
broad gauge: 2,761 km 1.668-m gauge (439 km electrified; 426 km double
track)
narrow gauge: 307 km 1.000-m gauge

Highways:
total: 70,176 km
paved and graveled: 60,351 km (519 km of expressways)
unpaved: earth 9,825 km

Inland waterways: 820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national
economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton cargo
capacity

Pipelines: crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km

Ports: Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes,
Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores),
Setubal, Viana do Castelo

Merchant marine:
total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 852,785 GRT/1,545,804 DWT

ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 5, container 4,
liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 1, short-sea passenger 1
note: Portugal has created a captive register on Madeira for
Portuguese-owned ships; ships on the Madeira Register (MAR) will have
taxation and crewing benefits of a flag of convenience; in addition,
Portugal owns 25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 155,776 DWT that
operate under Panamanian and Maltese registry

Airports:
total: 65
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 5
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 18
with paved runways under 914 m: 29
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 2

Portugal:Communications

Telephone system: 2,690,000 telephones
local: NA
intercity: generally adequate integrated network of coaxial cables,
open wire and microwave radio relay, domestic satellite earth stations

international: 6 submarine cables; 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1
Indian Ocean), EUTELSAT earth stations; tropospheric link to Azores

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 57, FM 66 (repeaters 22), shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 66 (repeaters 23)
televisions: NA

Portugal:Defense Forces

Branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National
Republican Guard, Fiscal Guard, Public Security Police

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 2,747,357; males fit for
military service 2,223,299; males reach military age (20) annually
90,402 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.4 billion, 2.9% of
GDP (1994)

Milan said...

Ahaha B&B, it's all mostly true, but a bit dated. The information about politics and economy is some 10, 15 years old, and we've improved a bit and got nearer our other EU partners by now. But the coastline is still the same, and waiting for your visit :)

zbjernak said...

B&B-> hahahah.... u search from CIA website??

milan, milan, this is fantastic shots...i still couldnt believe my eyes....railways on the beach!!!!

is this beach area very huge? how come must use the train?

Milan said...

Hello Z., the coastline is huge, but the beach area should be 10, 12kms long in this area. This is what the small train covers (its more like one of those "trains" for guided tours you find in some cities). It runs every half an hour until the afternoon, and only in Summer time.

KMJ said...

Your b&w photos are so rich and deep. Your style reminds me of Ansel Adams most lovely photos. :)

Milan said...

Hippy, whenever I post something in B/W I think of you Ehehe. Big hug

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