A photograph of the Palheiros – traditional, brightly-painted striped houses along the shores of the coastal village of Costa Nova, Portugal. It took a 15-minute bus ride to get from the Central Canal of Aveiro to the shoreline of Costa Nova. Here, we found restaurants, gift shops, and occupied houses painted with bright stripes.

It was in the early 19th century that the migration of fishermen to the new geographic location of Costa Nova required the building of shoreline shacks to accommodate the need for storing fish, fishing equipment, and shelter. The shacks were built on stilts to protect it from sand and seawater. The brightly painted striped color was originally red or ochre to easily distinguish the shacks while sailing in during heavy sea fog.

The colors of the stripes changed to more colorful ones when the shacks were acquired by new owners. The shacks were then repurposed as rest houses, restaurants, gift shops, and even permanent dwellings.

Random photographs of our travels. Memories found and captured in a photograph.

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