This document provides an itinerary and program for a COMENIUS PROJECT LIVING BY THE SEA meeting taking place from March 24-28, 2010 in Olhão, Portugal. The schedule includes meetings, presentations, meals, cultural activities such as a boat trip and island tour, and free time for sightseeing. On Thursday, there will be a bus trip to several historic sites including Silves and Sagres.

1. WELCOME TO OLHÃO
Friday, 26th
10:00 - Meeting to discuss the Project - all teachers
12:00 - Concert by school children
13:30 - Lunch
15: 00 - Boat trip to Ilha do Farol (Lighthouse island)
16:00 - Visit to the lighthouse COMENIUS PROJECT LIVING BY THE SEA
17:00 - Tour of the island
18.15 – Return to Olhão
19:15 - Dinner at school 2nd Meeting – Portugal
22:00 - Informal socialising in town
24th – 27th March 2010
Ilha do Farol
A small hamlet with a long beach offering peace and
quiet in large doses. The lighthouse is 52m high and
the view from the top is pretty amazing.
Saturday, 27th
Organização
10:00 - Visit of the town
13:00 - Lunch
Free time for shopping and/or sightseeing in Faro in the
afternoon
Visitors from Denmark and Iceland leave
Sunday, 28th AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS
Departure of the French, Greek, Irish and Latvian groups
JOSÉ CARLOS DA MAIA, OLHÃO

2. OLHÃO Thursday, 25th
PROGRAMME
09:00 – 19:00 - Bus trip to several cultural and historic
The town of Olhão is
Wednesday, 24th sites
essentially and historically
linked to the local fishing 10:00 - Oficial welcoming SILVES The origin of this
industry and only grew into town traces back to some
11:00 - Coffee break 1.000 BC and it was already a
existence in the 17th 11:30 - Tour of school and school grounds notable place in Roman times.
Century. It has about 12:00 - Teachers visit classes that have adopted their During the Moorish occupa-
30,000 inhabitants and was raised to the status of a tion in the early 11th Century
countries it was given the name of
town after 17 local fishermen successfully crossed the 12: 00 - Lunch (students) Xelb. It became the cultural
Atlantic Ocean in 1808 in the fishing boat “Bom centre of learning for the whole Iberian Peninsula under the
12:45 - Portuguese lesson (teachers)
Sucesso” without charts, Their mantle of Cordoba in Spain. In 1189 it had already 15.000
12:45 - Students depart to Braveland inhabitants, when the city was sacked by the Knights of San-
purpose was to announce to
13.30 – Lunch (teachers) tiago with support of Anglo-Norman crusaders. The impor-
the exiled King of Portugal, tance of Silves continued under the control of the Portugue-
14:15 - Meeting to discuss the project - two teachers
Dom João IV, that the French se kings until the 15th Century, when its commerce began
from each country; free time for the others to shrink due to the sitting-up of the Rio Arcade, Silves
invading armies had been
15:30 - Coffee break access to the sea.
defeated and had returned to
16:00 - 17:00 - Meeting
France leaving Portugal free for the King to return. SAGRES The village of Sagres is situated on Europe's
18:00 - Departure from Braveland (French and Portu-
It was in this town in 1882 that the first canning factory guese students arrive at school; Danish and Greek stu- most south-western corner near Cabo de São Vicente.
for tuna and sardines was established. Very soon dents go to the hotel)
canning factories spread along the coast and it became Due to its position on
the southern side of
the leading industry of the Algarve.
the cape, Sagres is well
Architecturally the town is protected against the
well known for an older rough Atlantic Ocean
quarter where the flat and strong westerly
terraced roofs and straight winds. It was this exposed location that made Sagres the
box-shaped chimneys show Braveland Adven- starting point of numerous expeditions during past centu-
a definite Moorish touch.
ture Park ries. The age of the Portuguese Discoveries began back in
the 15th century, initiated by Henry the Navigator. The For-
taleza de Sagres (Fortress of Sagres), located south-west of
Sagres on a small headland about 1 km in length, is a monu-
ment of national importance. After passing through the thick
The fish and the vegetable tunnel entrance, one sees a giant pebble circle , detected
markets in long building on only in 1921, of unknown age and purpose. The circle with a
the waterfront are a diameter of 43m is interpreted as a compass rose (Rosa dos
"must" to visitors. The Ventos). Normally compass roses are divided into 32 seg-
http://www.brave-land.com/
walls inside are covered in
ments, but strangely this one has 40 segments, so it could
hand painted tiles.
also have been a sundial. Most likely it dates back to the
time of Henry the Navigator.