Walking the Length of Portugal: Stephen Powell's Incredible Journey | Small Towns, Secret History & Brexit Relocation

Registrations are open for Stephen’s Travel Writing Course in the Algarve: https://stephenpowellauthor.com/travel-writing-course-in-the-algarve Check out Stephen’s book “Walking Europe's Edge - Reflections on Portugal”: https://www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk/walking-europes-edge-by-stephen-powell In this episode, we sit down with former Reuters journalist Stephen Powell at his home in the Algarve to discuss his incredible journey walking the entire length of Portugal. Stephen shares his path from acting aspirations to global journalism, and why he decided to write "Walking Europe's Edge" after hiking 1,500km through Portugal's lesser-known interior. Discover fascinating stories about unique Portuguese towns, hidden Muslim history, and what motivated this Welshman to make Portugal his home after Brexit. Takeaways Before his 27-year Reuters career, Stephen originally wanted to be an actor but chose journalism after traveling the world for two years Stephen decided to walk Portugal's interior rather than coastal areas to discover places most tourists never see The Douro Valley's beauty is partly natural but also man-made, with thousands of laborers shaping the terraced vineyards Tomar brands itself as the town of Knights Templar - Portugal's king simply renamed them when the Pope abolished the order Mértola celebrates its Muslim heritage and has a museum showing cultural similarities between southern Portugal and Morocco A unique Sufi warrior monks settlement once existed near Aljezur - the only one in Europe Brexit was a major factor in Stephen's relocation to Portugal in December 2019 Stephen found Portuguese bureaucracy challenging but values the cultural differences Chapters 00:00 Introduction & Stephen's background 00:41 From acting aspirations to journalism 01:49 Two years of world travel 03:52 First radio journalism experience 05:41 27 years at Reuters as global correspondent 09:42 Transition to writing travel memoirs 11:07 The Caucasus calling - first book 15:05 Why walk the length of Portugal? 16:50 Walking tradition in travel writing 19:32 Focusing on Portugal's interior 20:03 Most memorable places: Douro Valley 22:36 Tomar and the Knights Templar 25:25 Mértola and its Muslim heritage 27:22 Sufi warrior monks near Aljezur 30:53 Brexit's influence on relocating to Portugal 32:44 Moving just before COVID lockdown 35:30 Comparing Portugal to other relocations 37:30 Advice for people relocating to Portugal 38:33 Cultural differences in efficiency and service 39:54 Portuguese bureaucracy challenges 41:58 Stephen's travel writing retreat 43:48 Rural depopulation in Portugal 45:44 Decline of traditional Portuguese industries ➣CONTACT US for relocation assistance Get on a free discovery call and we can outline how we can work with you. https://www.algarveaddicts.com/contact Check out my Instagram on / algarveaddicts - I enjoy a little bit of Insta! #PortugalWalking #TravelWriting #AlgarveLife #ExpatsInPortugal #KnightsTemplar #MértolaPortugal #BrexitRelocation #PortugueseHistory #HiddenPortugal #DouroValley #RuralPortugal #PortugalInterior #SufiHistory #WalkingEurope #PortugalRelocation