You know that aha moment you get when you visit your friend's parents house? How suddenly your friends' wants and needs and priorities made more sense, when you see how they grew up? Similarly, I've only been here 4 nights, seen only Lisbon, the beach due west of it, and Sintra area, but already Latin America makes a new kind of sense now that I've visited Portugal.
Portugal feels Hispanic but rounded off, less macho, more mature and wise. Where Mexico hustles, Portugal executes. But Portugal is definitely not fully developed. Clearly political things went very wrong here, in the past, and Portugal seems like it is mostly recovered, though not done. Internet and cellular is spotty. A lot of cars emit blue smoke, many fences need repair, but there are no trash piles on the roads, and most people seem like they can afford decent cars, not just motorbikes like Thailand. Portugal is inexpensive but not dirt cheap, economically struggling a bit, though major construction is everywhere.
But even in the touristic sites, and the general bustle and noise of Lisbon, people have a calmness and centered quality. It has great quality of life. Good medical, free university. Roads are clean but like most old world places, there are no shoulders on the roads, nowhere for pedestrians to walk except in traffic. There is awareness of and support for many progressive values, ecology and social, but also an embracing Western progress. More than accepting change, Portugal feels remarkably fearless and confident, almost entitled, in the literal sense, toward progress and participating in the future of the world, including technology.
Maybe what i am calling maturity is the sadder-but-wiser fallen world power, so notably absent in USA.
Overall I really enjoy portugal. I would visit again and longer. I hope to see the more remote Northwest area.