Mail and language on Caminho Portugues

[frida1]

Last year I walked the Camino Frances, and in mid-September I plan to start walking the Portuguese from Tomar and walk to Muxia. I hope to mail some things to Ivar in Santiago from Lisbon. I will arrive in Lisbon on the weekend, and understand there is a post office in the airport. Does anyone know if the post office will have mailing boxes? Or whether I'll need to bring materials to prepare the stuff for mailing myself? Next question is about the Portuguese language. My Spanish is pretty good, but I am needing to review it. I'm also trying to learn Portuguese, and finding that it's pretty confusing to do two languages at once! Probably end up in sacrificing some of my Spanish. So I'm wondering if pretty good Spanish will get me through Portugal, and I just should work on that. Does anyone have input on this? Thanks so much, and I'm really looking forward to my camino.

 

[fraluchi]

Hi Frida. I don't know about mailing efficiency between Lisbon airport and Santiago, and perhaps an other member will clarify this.
As far as foreign languages go, English is generally better understood (and spoken) than Spanish. And as far as quickly learning portuguese is concerned, even if you take a crash course you'll have a problem understanding the Portuguese who swallow most parts of any word in a sentence.

 

[Camembert]

Frida the Spanish and Portugese grammatics are almost the same.reading Portugese with your Spanish knowledge will easier for you.
I speak Spanish as I worked for some years in Spain and am learning Brasilean Portuguese for almost a year now. You will see there is a lot in common. However and I agree with Fraluchi that the Portugese sound different.
Nevertheless they understand your Spanish too. Show your smile and all doors are opening. No problem.

 

[peregrina2000]

Last year I walked the Camino Frances, and in mid-September I plan to start walking the Portuguese from Tomar and walk to Muxia. I hope to mail some things to Ivar in Santiago from Lisbon. I will arrive in Lisbon on the weekend, and understand there is a post office in the airport. Does anyone know if the post office will have mailing boxes? Or whether I'll need to bring materials to prepare the stuff for mailing myself? Next question is about the Portuguese language. My Spanish is pretty good, but I am needing to review it. I'm also trying to learn Portuguese, and finding that it's pretty confusing to do two languages at once! Probably end up in sacrificing some of my Spanish. So I'm wondering if pretty good Spanish will get me through Portugal, and I just should work on that. Does anyone have input on this? Thanks so much, and I'm really looking forward to my camino.

Hi, frida, The Lisbon airport post office has hours from 9 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 9-1 and 2-5 on Sunday, at least according to this website. https://www.ctt.pt/feapl_2/app/open/stationSearch/stationSearch.jspx It also says they have boxes for mailing.

In terms of language, you will find that English is spoken much more widely (and fluently, I dare say) in Portugal than in Spain. Portuguese people can more easily understand Spanish than Spanish people can understand Portuguese, so if you speak to them in Spanish, they are likely to respond in Portuguese, except for the few in the tourist industry who speak Spanish (there are many many weekend tourists from Spain in Portugal). So if you have a few Portuguese phrases to say hi, thanks you, and do you speak English, I think you'll be fine.

 

[edumad]

I subscribe to the messages about language.
Regarding boxes these are the options, which should be available at any CTT store.
Add 23% VAT to the prices stated, these are for the box itself, not the shipping.
Check dimensions, if you need multiple boxes it might be cheaper and easier to bring some bin liners and duct tape.

 

[KentuckyJay]

Last year I walked the Camino Frances, and in mid-September I plan to start walking the Portuguese from Tomar and walk to Muxia. I hope to mail some things to Ivar in Santiago from Lisbon. I will arrive in Lisbon on the weekend, and understand there is a post office in the airport. Does anyone know if the post office will have mailing boxes? Or whether I'll need to bring materials to prepare the stuff for mailing myself? Next question is about the Portuguese language. My Spanish is pretty good, but I am needing to review it. I'm also trying to learn Portuguese, and finding that it's pretty confusing to do two languages at once! Probably end up in sacrificing some of my Spanish. So I'm wondering if pretty good Spanish will get me through Portugal, and I just should work on that. Does anyone have input on this? Thanks so much, and I'm really looking forward to my camino.

Just rely on the universal language-lingua Euro and things will work out fine.

 

[jsalt]

So I'm wondering if pretty good Spanish will get me through Portugal

Hi, very many young people in Portugal speak English, rather than Spanish. This is because in Portugal the English-speaking movies on TV have Portuguese sub-titles, so viewers read Portuguese, but hear English. I met one lovely lady (receptionist at Soltejo in Vila Nova Barquina) who spoke fluent English, and she said she picked it up purely from watching TV. In Spain the movies are dubbed into Spanish. Jill

 

[fraluchi]

[...] many young people in Portugal speak English, rather than Spanish. This is because in Portugal the English-speaking movies on TV have Portuguese sub-titles, so viewers read Portuguese, but hear English. [...]

This is true. On the other hand, Portugal has historically had more links with the British and their language than Spain. I've found that, though there may be linguistic similarities between Portuguese and Spanish (which I speak) the young Portuguese (obviously) prefer their own language or English rather than Spanish. And they generally are quite good at it too!

 

[frida1]

Thanks for the advice. I have learned a bit of Portuguese, just because I think it's good to show willingness to do so. I understand the pronounciation is very different from Spanish! So I think I'll wing it as you suggest. Also thanks for the mail advice. I'm really looking forward to my Portuguese camino!

 

[Pelegrin]

Hi Frida. I don't know about mailing efficiency between Lisbon airport and Santiago, and perhaps an other member will clarify this.
As far as foreign languages go, English is generally better understood (and spoken) than Spanish. And as far as quickly learning portuguese is concerned, even if you take a crash course you'll have a problem understanding the Portuguese who swallow most parts of any word in a sentence.

I agree. I am Galician. The Galician language is quite similar to Portuguese in vocabulary but not in pronunciation.
Actually, I can hardly understand two Portuguese people talking between them if I don´t know the subject of the conversation.

 

[edumad]

Spanish has vocabulary that is very similar to Portuguese, Galician even more so. There are some subtle differences in many words and the language has more of a melody to it. Much like brazilian portuguese which is a melodic portuguese which some new vocabulary thrown in.

I remember going on a school trip to Galícia, when I was 14, and understanding virtually everything the natives spoke. Spanish is a bit tougher but still understandable for the most. Speaking and being understood by the spanish can be a challenge though.

The similarities are natural, both invaded by romans, germanic tribes, moors, and for a time under common rule. However, for a border than stands for over 8 centuries the similarities between galician and portuguese are strange.

 

[Prentiss Riddle]

I agree with all of the above: English will serve you well in Portugal. Spanish will get you well down the road to reading Portuguese, and even maybe to understanding Brazilian Portuguese, but the language as it is spoken in Portugal continues to defy my ears after several years of traveling there on business.

That said - if you are determined to learn Portuguese by way of Spanish, this excellent podcast from the University of Texas at Austin is an invaluable resource. It features native speakers of English, Spanish, and (Brazilian) Portuguese who compare the languages point by point. Be sure to listen to the podcasts in order.

http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/brazilpod/tafalado/

 

[Camembert]

I agree with all of the above: English will serve you well in Portugal. Spanish will get you well down the road to reading Portuguese, and even maybe to understanding Brazilian Portuguese, but the language as it is spoken in Portugal continues to defy my ears after several years of traveling there on business.

That said - if you are determined to learn Portuguese by way of Spanish, this excellent podcast from the University of Texas at Austin is an invaluable resource. It features native speakers of English, Spanish, and (Brazilian) Portuguese who compare the languages point by point. Be sure to listen to the podcasts in order.

http://www.coerll.utexas.edu/brazilpod/tafalado/

That's a great website. A good aid next to my regular study Brasilean Portuguese and avoiding a mix up between my Castilean and Portuguese skills as I do now regulairy Obrigado para o compartir.

 

[Pelegrin]

For those who know Portuguese on this funny video, Dani who speaks normative Galego invites Ramon who speaks rural Galego to have lunch to know Ramon's opinion about his sophisticated cuisine. Obviously the result is desastrous.
In the first part of the video Dani has to invite Ramón in a "proper way" to be accepted. In the end Ramón invites Dani to have lunch the following day to teach him how to cook properly. See how Ramón tastes a Rioja Gran Reserva and compares it with the wine produced by him.