The portuguese train company (CP) has partnered with Google to capture 360º imagery of some of our railways, from the north of the country to the south, allowing anyone to enjoy virtual train travels that will show you just how varied Portugal's landscape is:
This definitely is no match to actually coming to Portugal and experiencing it for real, as there's no way you can enjoy the warmth of portuguese people or the taste of our regional cuisine looking at images on your screen - but it can be the thing that may help you decide "this is it, I'm going there!"
If you do come and happen to pass near Porto, be sure to let me know, as I'll be happy to give you some pointers. :)
Thanks for this amazing article Carlos. I notice that there are many folk all ready with tripods and cameras along the way so was the event published in the media?
ReplyDeleteI only found out about it afterwards, but I imagine that the railway guys might have "leaked" it to friends and such. In any case, some of these places are commonly visited by tourists and photographers... :)
DeleteYes, it was only by great chance I found this train version of Streetview, given there only seem to be 2 in the world (other in Switzerland) as I was looking in Google Maps for the tiny town of Pinhao which was in the wine book I have had for many years. Suddenly I was looking at railway tracks.
ReplyDeleteI am also developing a new "blue sky" venture/genre I call Slow Web (sibling of Slow TV) and this "footage" in Portugal is providing an outstanding example of the possibilities.
Yes... in less than 1000km we have a small sample of practically everything, from modern cities to picturesque villages frozen in time, from snowy mountains (in winter) to awesome beaches (in the summer), world record giant waves for surfing, and all there is in between. :)
DeleteI am from the famous surfing beaches of Sydney Australia but have retired to Cairns in Far North Queensland where the Great Barrier Reef kills any surf.
ReplyDeleteI regret that in my first adventure around Europe in 1970 Portugal was a no-go zone because of civil unrest (was it Angola problem?) and after that I never got to visit there, but still maybe??
Do you know who I might contact in Portuguese Tourist Bureau (or Railways) about my App for Douro? (and the other 4 Lines?)
If they are interested and I get to make the trip I will certainly look you up in Porto before taking the Google Train trip to Pocinho.
Well, that was "ages" ago. Yes, at that time we had lots of issues with the colonial wars, which ended up working up just fine: we were in a dictatorship back then, but it ended up contributing to the peaceful revolution we had in 1974.
DeleteIt's a completely different country by now, even though one might ask if most (younger) people might not really understand how lucky they are to be free to do as they please and go wherever they want.
You can try contacting the Porto Tourist Office: http://visitporto.travel/Paginas/Contactos.aspx
Should you ever drop by, please to let me know. :)