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Portugal's Lourinhã: the capital of Dinosaurs…and brandy!

 

In the Oeste region of Portugal, an hours drive from Lisbon, there is a small town where almost every shop and local business names begin with Dino…if you start seeing these signs along the road it means you’ve reached Lourinhã, the Portuguese capital of Dinosaurs.

  Lourinhanosaurus_antunesi

With unique paleontological findings, Lourinhã has a museum entirely dedicated to this remarkable findings, including two new species of dinosaurs and a nest that even though smashed it allows to observe its eggs – the pieces of shells and the remains of two dino-embryos.

 

In fact, the nest was the first, groundbreaking, finding made by local born Octavio Mateus when he and his family were in one of their many family outings. Nowadays Octavio Mateus is a renowned Paleontologist, responsible for identifying new dinosaur species not only in Portugal but also in Angola and Bulgaria.

 

The predator Lourinhanosaurus antunesi is one of the unique dinosaurs identified and named after the town by Octavio while he was still a biology undergraduate.

 

"This species received the name of the town, which for us is a bit iconic," he told BBC News in a recent article.

 

“Aguardente da Lourinhã” – local firewater

  Aguardente_da_Lourinhã

Lourinhã is not all about its dinosaur heritage. The region has a great offer of beaches, surf and seafood. But particularly the town of Lourinhã is famously known for its ‘Aguardente da Lourinhã’, one of the three demarcated areas for brandy production alongside with Cognac and Armagnac (both in France).

 

Although much less recognized than Cognac and Armagnac, Lourinhã’s Aguardente has been produced since 30 years from now. It was also used to produce Port Wine because of its superior quality that was recognized in 1992. 

Comments

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Joe Friedheim

Do you have a contact for Aguardenre Lourinha ?
I will be visiting Portugal & would like to visit.
Thanks

Portugal Adventures

Yes, http://www.doc-lourinha.pt

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