We sail in the same sea but have as a destination a close location: towards the enchanting Bay of Cascais. During the sail, by means of coastal navigation, you can enjoy a breathtaking scenery. From the Estoril coast and the view of Serra de Sintra, Costa da Caparica’s beaches to Cape Espichel.
Luís Vaz de Camões, one of the major figures of the Portuguese literature and one of the great poets of the West, had the opportunity to sail to distant and unknown destinations.
The famous national epic, The Lusiads, is the main work of this remarkable writer. In this he narrates the glorious achievements of the Portuguese in verse.
He was born in Lisbon in 1524 and lost his right eye in a naval battle in the Straits of Gibraltar.
He docked at Goa for the first time at the age of 30. He faced huge storms at the Cape of Good Hope. He sailed in the Red Sea. He was in Ormuz, in the Persian Gulf.
In a journey between Macao and India, near the mouth of the Mekong River, he was shipwrecked, saving only himself and the manuscript of The Lusiads.
In 1567 he embarked in Malacca to Sofala, on the island of Mozambique. Just over two years later, with 46 years, he returned to Portugal and docked in Cascais onboard the Santa Clara ship.
It is of such great importance that June 10 (date of his death) is a national holiday, celebrating the Day of Portugal, of Camões and of the Portuguese Communities.
* Luís de Camões, The Lusiads
** Sri Lanka, known as Taprobana in ancient times, is an Asian island country, located off the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.