Espinho is a town in Portugal, located in the Aveiro district, in the North region, in the Grande Porto subregion, and is the seat of the municipality of the same name.
*Located on Portugal’s renowned Costa Verde, about 15 km from Porto and 50 km from Aveiro, Espinho received city status in 1973 and is one of the smallest municipalities in Portugal. The town’s name means “thorn.” The town is a resort located in an area where gambling is legalized (Casino Solverde). It also boasts a trade fair, the Feira de Espinho, which has been held since 1894 and is known throughout Portugal. Furthermore, CINANIMA, the Festival Internacional de Cinema de Animação (international animation festival), takes place here. Espinho has a train station in the town.
*The city is home to two sports clubs, Sporting Clube de Espinho and Associação Académica de Espinho.
*Regional market in Portugal, Espinho. October 2018. On Thursday, we unloaded near Porto. Our workday was drawing to a close. And we were scheduled to load on Friday. Unfortunately, it turned out that Friday was a holiday, so they wouldn’t load us after all. We had just a few minutes left (out of 21 hours). We set off in search of a parking space. Hoping to find something near the ocean. After all, it’s been three days of waiting. As if to make matters worse, there’s nothing! I nervously search Google Maps. Zero parking, a disaster. We start looking for any place we can park within 10 minutes. I continue searching the map, Karol driving. I found a spot in a square near a tiny gas station. In the satellite view, I see a truck parked there. Well, that’s our spot. It’s 5 minutes to our destination. We enter the town. I feel Karol’s gaze touching me, I glance over… he shakes his head. A million speed bumps surrounded by palm trees, and we’re at our destination. A miniature gas station and, thankfully, a square beyond it, which we can enter. At the station, we’re told it’s okay, we can wait here. But they don’t work at night, and on Monday mornings, there’s a market in this place. There’s no shower. But I’ve gotten used to that in Portugal. You have to conjure up this luxury here. It’s gotten dark. To sleep, or not to sleep? The area looks peaceful, but who knows. There are several supermarkets and a train station nearby. You can see the ocean between the buildings, but the path to it isn’t so straightforward and takes a good few dozen minutes. On Sunday evening, Karol moved the set to the wide street opposite the square. During the night, the hustle and bustle began, with stalls setting up. Besides the typical chaos among the buses, they have everything here. From farm animals, through pots and pans, ceramics, vegetables, fruit, clothes, and cheap-looking Chinese shoes. I expected the stalls to be a bit more aesthetically pleasing – everything is so much better in the West, after all. Back then, I was still getting to know the Portuguese clumsiness and mess. I was only in the market for a short time.
