波尔图，葡萄牙 Porto, Portugal (© Kanuman/Shutterstock)

An important port of Portugal

Welcome to Porto, the second city of Portugal. Known on some English-language maps as Oporto (the Portuguese call it 'o Porto' in conversation, meaning simply 'the Port'), this attractive, ancient city is most famous today not for the port itself but for what's shipped out of it.

Follow this river, the Douro, east out of the city and you'll soon enter a valley flanked by vineyard-covered embankments. This long, narrow wine country is where world-renowned port wine is produced: A smooth, typically red wine fortified with a grape brandy to halt fermentation, resulting in a sweeter beverage. Douro valley vintners send their product downriver to Porto, from which it ships off to dessert tables worldwide. To be called port, the wine must come from the Douro valley—a stipulation dating to the 1750s—making the area one of the world's oldest protected wine regions.

葡萄牙的一个重要港口

欢迎来到葡萄牙第二大城市波尔图。在一些英文地图上被称为“波尔图”（葡萄牙人在对话中称之为“波尔图”，意思简单地说就是“港口”），这座迷人的古城今天最著名的不是港口本身，而是从港口运出的东西。

沿着这条河，杜罗河，向东出城，你很快就会进入一个山谷，山谷两侧是葡萄园覆盖的堤岸。这个狭长的葡萄酒之乡出产世界闻名的波尔图葡萄酒：一种光滑的，典型的红酒，用葡萄白兰地强化以停止发酵，从而得到更甜的饮料。杜罗谷葡萄酒商把他们的产品送到下游的波尔图，从那里运到世界各地的甜点桌上。要被称为港口，葡萄酒必须来自杜罗河谷——这一规定可以追溯到1750年代，使该地区成为世界上最古老的葡萄酒保护区之一。

Rodrigo Koxa riding the biggest wave ever surfed, on Nov 8, 2017, off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal (© Pedro Cruz/AP Photo)

Big wave hunters watch Nazaré

Today's image captures Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Koxa in action, surfing a record 80-foot wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. Nazaré began attracting surfers to the area in the 1960s and has since become a major destination for men and women who want to surf some of the world's biggest waves. Nazaré's Praia do Norte (North Beach) is the site of the two latest records for largest wave ever surfed. The previous record was set by American Garrett McNamara on November 1, 2011, when he rode a 78-foot wave here. Then, on November 8, 2017, Koxa set a new record with this ride.

Surfers' ability to catch these giant waves is a relatively new accomplishment that's made possible by using a watercraft, usually a Jet Ski or a helicopter, to tow a surfer into the wave. This time of year, with the return of the big-wave season, surfers from around the world are descending on this seaside town with their support teams. Together, they anxiously await the optimal conditions required to create these monster waves, hoping for an opportunity to test their skills and see their names added to the record book.

Tidal pools of Leça da Palmeira, Portugal © Fernando Guerra/age fotostock

A splash by the sea

You wouldn't know there's a highway behind these beaming blue pools, and that is just what architect Álvaro Siza Vieira intended. At the young age of 26, Álvaro Siza designed these Piscinas das Marés (Pools on the Beach). His creation is a national landmark and is praised for the way the pools blend into the landscape from some perspectives, and show a harmonious blend of nature and artificiality from others. The design respectfully floats the pools between the soft sands of the beach and the rocky outcrops that have been here long before 1966, when the project was completed. The shapes of the pools simultaneously follow and oppose the natural lines of the terrain that surround them, a masterful balance that foregrounds the beauty of each, as well as the entirety of the scene Álvaro Siza has helped to set.

Of course, pools are for swimming, and locals and visitors flock to Leça da Palmeira for summer fun. The larger saltwater pool is designated for adults and sits close to the ocean. The other pool is located more inland and has an entrance that is fairly low to the ground—a lighthearted signal that this is where young kids can swim. Álvaro Siza built changing rooms and a café here too, with low-walled pathways that are carefully positioned to not only leave the views of the coastline undisturbed, but they follow the right angles to enhance what you see, whether you are headed to grab a bite or take a swim.

阿尔加维海岸附近的Ponta da Piedade岩层，葡萄牙 Ponta da Piedade rock formations off the coast of Algarve, Portugal (© David Santiago Garcia/Offset)

Ponta da Piedade rock formations off the coast of Algarve, to celebrate the Day

Today we're featuring the Ponta da Piedade rock formations in the Algarve region as a nod to Portugal Day, a celebration of the Portuguese nation and its people. Observed throughout the Portuguese diaspora, the main festivities are military ceremonies, exhibitions, concerts, pageants, and parades on June 10, the anniversary of the death of Portuguese poet Luís de Camões. Camões was an incredibly colorful character whose poem 'Os Lusíadas' chronicled the discovery of the sea route to India by Portuguese explorers and the development of the Portuguese Empire. It is regarded as the national epic poem, much like Virgil's 'Aeneid' was to the Ancient Romans, and his influence is so great that Portuguese is often referred to as “the language of Camões.”

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