Off The Beaten Path: Sintra, Portugal

Sintra is a town within the municipality of Sintra in the Grande Lisboa subregion (Lisbon Region) of Portugal. Owing to its 19th-century Romantic architecture and landscapes, it has become a major tourist centre, visited by many day-trippers who travel from the urbanized suburbs and capital of Lisbon.

In addition to the Sintra Mountains and Sintra-Cascais Nature Park, the parishes of the town of Sintra are dotted by royal retreats, estates, castles and buildings from the 8th-9th century, in addition to many buildings completed between the 15th and 19th century, including the Castelo dos Mouros, the Pena National Palace and the Sintra National Palace, resulting in its classification by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1995.

Long the home of Portugal’s monarchs, Sintra is a magnificent town of marvelous historic mansions, all set against the backdrop of lush hills. Sintra’s many castles include the Palácio Nacional de Sintra (a main abode of Portuguese royalty until the early 20th century), the hilltop and storybook Palácio da Pena, Quinta de Regaleira (incorporating several architectural styles and with gorgeous surrounding gardens), the Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle), and the Palácio de Monserrate.

Palácio Nacional de Sintra
The star of Sintra-Vila is this historic palace, with its iconic twin conical chimneys and lavish interior. Of Moorish origins, the palace was first expanded by Dom Dinis (1261–1325), enlarged by João I in the 15th century (when the kitchens were built), then given a Manueline twist by Manuel I in the following century.

Castelo dos Mouros
Soaring 412m above sea level, this mist-enshrouded ruined castle looms high above the surrounding forest. The 9th-century Moorish castle’s dizzying ramparts stretch across the mountain ridges and past moss-clad boulders the size of small buses. When the clouds peel away, the vistas over Sintra’s palace-dotted hill and dale to the glittering Atlantic are – like the climb – breathtaking.

Quinta da Regaleira
This magical villa and gardens is a neo-Manueline extravaganza, dreamed up by Italian opera-set designer, Luigi Manini, under the orders of Brazilian coffee tycoon, António Carvalho Monteiro. The villa is surprisingly homely inside, despite its ferociously carved fireplaces, frescos and Venetian glass mosaics. Keep an eye out for mythological and Knights Templar symbols.

Convento dos Capuchos
Hidden in the woods is the bewitchingly hobbit-hole-like Convento dos Capuchos, which was originally built in 1560 to house 12 monks who lived in incredibly cramped conditions, their tiny cells having low, narrow doors. Byron mocked the monastery in his poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage , referring to recluse Honorius who spent a staggering 36 years here.

Sintra-Cascais Nature Park
In its territory, the park presents a stunning diversity of environments and landscapes, including sand dunes, forests, lakes, a rugged coastline where high cliffs are interspersed with lovely beaches, the imposing and Cabo da Roca, in the center, the magnificent Serra de Sintra and the entire area classified by UNESCO as a cultural landscape heritage of mankind.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

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Culinary Travel: Portugal

It might only be a small country but Portugal manages to be both astonishingly beautiful and endlessly surprising. If, when you think of places to visit in Portugal, you imagine the sandy beaches of the Algarve or the idiosyncratic cities of Lisbon and Porto, then any journey into the real heart of Portugal promises to be a revelation. It’s not just the landscape that captivates, though there is a stunning variety of scenes, from the steep mountains and lush valleys of the center and north to the arid plains and cove-speckled coastline of the south. But there’s also great charm in a country that preserves its medieval villages, walled towns and glorious monuments while at the same time embracing progress and modernity with a style all its own.

These qualities are best displayed in the capital, Lisbon, which has acquired a contemporary, boutique sheen without quite jettisoning its most endearing, rather old-fashioned, characteristics. On the Algarve and elsewhere, family-friendly resorts – the mainstay of European tourists for more than fifty years – also combine a gentle sophistication with enduring traditions. And other main towns all have their thriving festivals, restored historical quarters, sparkling new cultural centres and wi-fi zones. But head into the deep rural areas,  the Alentejo, the mountainous Beiras or Trás-os-Montes, and a different, slower-paced Portugal emerges. Despite massive EU-funded road-building schemes, and a burgeoning interest in rural and ecotourism, central and northeastern Portugal particularly are still conspicuously underdeveloped. For anyone wanting to get off the beaten track, there are limitless opportunities here to experience small towns, hamlets and rural regions that still seem rooted in earlier centuries.

The country has a striking north-south divide that’s as much to do with history and politics as geography and climate. Above a roughly sketched line, more or less corresponding with the course of the Rio Tejo (River Tagus), the people are of predominantly Celtic and Germanic stock, living in a corn, cabbage and potatoes belt of often marginal land. It was here, in the north at Guimarães, that the Lusitanian nation was born (following the Christian Reconquest from the North African Moors), and here too that early industry was concentrated, with the city of Porto still considered an economic powerhouse. The Romans, and later the Moors, on the other hand, established themselves south of the Tagus, where vast agricultural estates could be developed, producing the classic Mediterranean crops of oranges, olives, figs and cork.

Salted Cod or bacalhau is probably the most traditional ingredient you can find in Portugal, especially during holiday seasons.

Baked Salted Cod with Cream (Bacalhau Com Natas)
Serves 6 
Preparation 10hr
Cooking 1hr 55min

Ingredients
400 g bacalhau (salted cod) (see Note), cut into rough pieces
4 large pontiac or desiree potatoes, unpeeled
125 ml (½ cup) olive oil
2 large onions
300 ml pouring cream

Instructions
You will need to soak the cod overnight.

Rinse salt from cod and place in a large bowl with enough water to cover. Stand overnight, changing water 3 times. Drain and pat dry with paper towel.

Place potatoes in a large saucepan with 3 tsp salt and enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour or until almost tender. Drain. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into 1 cm-thick slices.

Preheat oven to 200°C. Using your hands, break cod into 3 cm pieces. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook cod for 1 minute each side or until golden. Transfer to a plate.
Add 1 tbsp oil to same pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Heat remaining 60 ml oil in same pan. Cook potatoes, turning halfway, for 5 minutes or until golden.

Layer a greased 30 cm round baking dish with half the onions, then half the potatoes, then the salted cod. Top with remaining onions, then remaining potatoes. Season with salt and pepper, then pour over cream.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden and potatoes are very tender.

Cooking Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C.

Bacalhau is available from good delis. Ask your deli to cut it for you as it’s very hard or use wet-salted bacalhau which has no bones and is much softer, and cut into 4 cm pieces.

If you have a taste for culinary travel, let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you plan your next vacation and all of your other reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
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Dry Tortugas National Park Florida

Explore a 19th Century Fort and snorkel crystal clear water with incredible marine life. Almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West lies the remote Dry Tortugas National Park. The 100-square mile park is mostly open water with seven small islands.  Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park is known the world over as the home of magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs and marine life,  and the vast assortment of bird life that frequent the area.

Visitors from around the globe journey to the Dry Tortugas. A variety of remarkable experiences await those who arrive. Whether you find yourself camping, snorkeling, birdwatching, fishing, or just enjoying a view from the top of massive Fort Jefferson, you quickly realize how magical this place can be.

Fort Jefferson
The commercial ferry operator provides daily guided walking tours of Fort Jefferson. Tours begin daily at 11:00 am near the entrance to Fort Jefferson and last approximately one hour. A self-guided tour of Fort Jefferson is also available. Simply follow the interpretive signage, or inquire at the visitor center for more information.
 

Camping at Garden Key is an incredible experience. Amazing star gazing, snorkeling, sunsets and more! But you must be prepared to camp in this remote location. A 10-site, primitive campground is located on Garden Key, the same island as Fort Jefferson, and is a short walk from the public dock. Campers must bring all supplies, including fresh water, fuel, ice, and food.

With less than 1% of Dry Tortugas National Park being dry ground, the best way to see this remarkable national treasure is by getting in the water. Dry Tortugas National Park is situated at the southwest corner of the Florida Keys reef system, the third largest in the world. Due to the remote location, and easterly flowing gulf current just south of the park, you are sure to discover a much greater abundance of marine life and often much larger versions than anywhere else in the Florida Keys.

Historic Coaling Pier Pilings - In the late 1800s the US Navy built coaling warehouses and piers to refuel their ships. Eventually a particularly strong hurricane saw to the destruction of these structures and the Navy decided not to rebuild them. Fortunately for the visitor today, the pilings these piers were built upon did survive and offer an excellent opportunity to see some of the parks larger marine animals. The shelter created by the pilings, mixed with a deep drop off into the dredged channel, attract large groupers, tarpon, barracudas, and the occasion shark. You can also expect to see a variety of smaller fish and colorful coral living on and around these pilings.

Moat wall – In order to protect Fort Jefferson from an amphibious assault, and to add protection from the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a wall was built around the fort creating a moat in between the fort and the moat wall. While swimming in the moat is prohibited, swimming around the moat wall is a wonderful way to discover some of the great cultural artifacts and superlative marine life in the park. Visitors can expect to see anything from reef squid, cement barrels, nurse sharks, anchor chains, hogfish, and maybe even the endangered American crocodile that lives in the waters of the park.

Coral heads – Located at the edge of swim area are some of Gardens Keys largest and most well preserved coral heads. These coral heads grow so massive that you cannot swim over top of them. Here you will see excellent examples of both stony and soft corals. Along with the coral formations, you will also find a variety of colorful reef fish including parrot fish, angel fish, triggerfish damselfish and others.

Look but don't touch! All coral, reef fish, and cultural artifacts are protected.

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you with all your reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

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6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
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Let Us Help You Get Lost

Whether business or pleasure, Rawhide Travel and Tours delivers. Internet Travel sites list hotels and destinations, but offer little else. Our years of experience in the industry will help you design the perfect traveling experience. From romantic getaways to large events, our experienced agents will handle all the details. Traveling does not need to be stressful. You can count on us for great value and dependable service.

We arrange travel air, land and sea. We can arrange the perfect destination package including, resorts, conference rooms and meeting locations, special events, and attractions.

Call us and start planning that special vacation or event today. 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
 rawhidetravel.com

In the News: "It's a Small World" turns 50. Sing along!

The timeless Disney tune "It's a Small World" that wafts through our memories from past theme park vacations turns 50 this year, and on Thursday, Disney parks worldwide hosted a global sing-along.

At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, a huge chorus of the song was performed in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom by cast members and a children's choir from Central Florida Performing Arts.

The kids, who didn't seem to mind belting out several takes of what some consider an earworm, sang for a live broadcast on "Good Morning America." Tributes to the song will also be held throughout the park all day, and other parks around the world also held sing-alongs.

Not that the parks are in short supply of the song on any regular day. Disney officials estimate that during a 16-hour operating day, the song is played, on average, 1,200 times.

It was written by Richard and Robert Sherman at the request of Walt Disney himself. The brothers won Academy Awards in 1965 for the music for "Mary Poppins."

The "It's a Small World" song and animatronic attraction debuted at the 1964 New York World's Fair in a salute to UNICEF. It was moved to Disneyland in California in 1966 then recreated at the other Disney parks. The attraction opened at the Florida park in 1971.

While some adults may complain about the infectious nature of the song, the gentle boat ride is a calm and air-conditioned respite from the crowds and heat and little kids love it.

With its hundreds of costumed dolls, the attraction was considered high-tech back in the 1970s. It's definitely different than many of the other new theme park offerings these days. There's no 3D, no complicated storyline.

Also in tribute to the song is what Disney is calling the first-of-its-kind online global sing-along. Fans can record videos of themselves singing the catchy tune at SmallWorld50.com, where many truly painful renditions in multiple languages already are playing.

You also can create virtual small-world dolls on the site to benefit UNICEF, the United Nation's Children's Fund. Disney will donate $1 (to up to $100,000) for each video and doll created on the site.

We defy you to evict this earworm from your brain.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
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Off The Beaten Path: Spain

Away from the big cities and the holiday costas, Spain rarely fails to surprise and please the eyes, be it with the huddled stone houses and red-tile roofs of ancient villages, a set of rolling wooded hills rising from the plains, or a line of cliffs washed by strong Atlantic surf. Nowhere in Spain is untouristed, but it's never hard to get well off the beaten track and make surprising discoveries, especially in the less-travelled north, west and center of the country.

The northern coastal regions of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque country are sometimes described as "green Spain", which is accurate because this is the rainiest part of the country. But in the most popular travel months, from June to September, you have almost as much chance of sunny days here as you have by the Mediterranean. The greenery extends from high inland mountains right down to a coast that is liberally endowed with dramatic capes and curves of sandy beach.

In the west, bordering Portugal, lies Extremadura, a land of more rolling plains, olive groves, oak forests and surprisingly abrupt mountains rising around its edges, along with villages, towns and cities such as Mérida and Cáceres, that still echo the Middle Ages. It was from here that many Spanish conquistadors hailed, including Francisco Pizarro; moreover cities across the Americas; Albuquerque, Mérida, Medellín, were first founded in Extremadura.

Winsome El Gastor (population 1,900), sitting on its hillock up from the nearby lake, goes by the moniker of the “Balcony of the White Villages.” You wouldn’t think it makes its living from agriculture and cattle farming, so proudly kept, neat as a pin it is. El Gastor is one of those quintessentially unassuming Andalusian villages where the church bells chime happily, old men adorn the square under towering palm trees, and nothing much ever happens. It makes an agreeable difference to be in a place where people still greet each other in the street, where the simplicity of a restaurant belies the quality of its home-cooking, and you get more change in your hand for a beer or coffee than you’re used to. The warm climate makes the location an interesting holiday choice from early spring to late autumn. If your stay coincides with the feast of Corpus Christi, just for once in the year you’ll witness a very different scene. White turns to green as the villagers deck the streets with palms and garlands, setting up impromptu altars for the church procession to bless. Afternoon music accompanies the festivities with melodies played on unusual traditional wind instruments, developed from the Arabic chirimia. 

La Sierra del Sueve, south-east of the chaming seaside town of Gijón, is unknown to most visitors to Asturias who generally head directly for the spectacular Picos de Europa. What they miss out on is a self-contained natural environment that still has patches of Europe’s original forest, holly, ash and beech woods, birch and almond, mingling together with the most significant concentration of ancient yews in this part of the continent, thousand upon thousand of the tree which once gave shelter to long-gone druids. A mild microclimate obtains here thanks to the proximity to the coast, which also brings sea mists rolling in to cloak and swirl around this magical little world linked by meandering pathways. Limestone outcrops rise above a gentle, peaceful, yet still wild landscape populated by few people but many other animals, including a very special one. Sueve is the home and last refuge of the asturcón, one of the world’s oldest horses.

Looking for that uniquely different vacation destination. Call Rawhide Travel and Tours today 602-843-5100 or visit our website rawhidetravel.com. We can help!

 Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona  85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com 

Culinary Travel: Spain

Spain is a diverse country sharing the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the country with the second-largest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, after Italy, and the largest number of World Heritage Cities. 

Spain is considered an exotic country in Europe due to its friendly inhabitants, relaxed lifestyle, its cuisine, vibrant nightlife, and world-famous folklore and festivities. Among many places worth visiting are Spain's thriving capital Madrid, the vibrant coastal city of Barcelona, the famous "Running of the Bulls" at Pamplona, major Andalusian cities with Islamic architecture, like Seville, Granada and Córdoba, the Way of St. James and the idyllic Balearic and Canary Islands. 

Spain conjures images of flamenco dancers, café-lined plazas, white hillside villages, and soaring cathedrals. Beyond these traditional associations, this modern country offers top-notch art museums, inventive cuisine, and exciting nightlife. From the Pyrenees to the coast, its landscapes and varied cultures are worth exploring. Especially enticing is the national insistence on enjoying everyday pleasures. The Spanish live life to its fullest whether they are strolling in the park, pausing for a siesta, lingering over lunch, or dancing until dawn.

Braised Chicken - Pollo Estofado

This chicken dish is served with rice cooked with green peppers and paprika.

Makes 4 servings.
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hr.

Ingredients:
1 chicken weighing about 2 - 1/4 lb, in pieces
Salt
Pepper
5 oz streaky bacon
3 tbsp oil
1/2 onion
1 tbsp flour
1 cup white wine
Water or stock
Short grained Spanish Rice, such as Bomba or Calasparra
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
2 green peppers
1 tsp paprika 
7 oz rice
1 pint stock or water
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Brown in oil in an earthenware dish together with the diced bacon. Add the chopped onion and, before it browns, sprinkle with flour and brown lightly. Pour over the wine and cook over a gentle heat until reduced to half. Pour hot stock or water over the chicken until it is almost covered; cover the pan and leave to simmer for 45 minutes.

Rice: Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the chopped onion and peppers for about 15 minutes until soft. Add the paprika, making sure it does not burn, then add the rice and stir. Pour the water or stock over the rice and vegetables and cook for 10 minutes over a high heat, then turn the heat down and cook for a further 7 minutes. Check the seasoning and leave to stand uncovered for a few minutes. Serve the chicken in its sauce alongside the rice. The best peppers for this dish are long, narrow ones because they are softer and have very thin skin.

If you have a taste for culinary travel, let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you plan your next vacation and all of your other reservation needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

Presented By:
Rawhide Travel and Tours Inc
6008 West Bell Rd # F105
Glendale, Arizona 85308-3793
(602) 843-5100
rawhidetravel.com