A Short Trip to Seixal

Our apartment is located at a transit nexus call Largo Calvário. From here it is easy to catch a bus or an electric tram to Cais do Sodré a major transit hub for boats, trains, buses, trams and Metro. Today we took a tram from Calvário to Cais do Sodré where we caught a ferry across the Tejo to the small riverside town of Seixal.

Seixal was a fishing community with a large cork factory as the main source of employment. That was in the past, now the town is a mix of retired people and foreign investors buying investment property for Airbnbs etc. The attraction for us is the old historic town on the rivers edge, the town is unique in this regard.

The housing is mostly small row houses with shared walls. You find elderly and young families living next door to each other. The older ladies often have song birds in cages hanging from a window, balcony or door. The birds songs are truly beautiful, they make the old ladies happy, putting a sparkle in their eye and a smile on their face. The song birds can be heard up and down the narrow streets.

Young people walk by with their children, they are more circumspect and may not look you in the eye as they pass. Older people sit outside the numerous cafes or bars, smoking, drinking coffee, spending their day talking to one another. There is often one who is curious about us and starts a conversation in Portuguese if possible we shift to english by pointing at our mouth and saying “English”.

Many of the houses are old and dilapidated, literally crumbling. This gives them a certain cache, I cherish the look and wish for the towns success. Example House