FROM TRAVELLER TO TOURIST: PORTUGUESE VOYAGES AND TRAVELLERS IN SPAIN IN THE LATE XIX CENTURY

Abstract

Carlos García-Romeral lucidly points out the paradox: “Viajar desde Portugal a España en el siglo XIX parece una empresa fácil. Dos países vecinos con una larga frontera desde el norte gallego, pasando por Tierra de Campos, Extremadura hasta Andalucía. Extensa frontera más frecuentada por contrabandistas, bandidos, partidas guerrilleras de uno o otro país, que por viajeros que se interesasen en recorrer, ver y contar lo que pasaba a uno u otro lado de la frontera hispano-portuguesa. Dos países que parecen vivir de espaldas.”(GARCIA-ROMERAL 2001:9). In fact, the geographical proximity did not imply that it was easy to cross the border, given the poor condition of transports. This article is devoted to the discovery of the era of transition from what many researchers call "the real journey" and the era of tourism. We will begin with a brief explanation of the transition from travel explorations to the touristic ones; secondly, we will focus on the traveler’s profile, especially the Portuguese writer who travels to Spain. We will conclude with a reflection upon the importance of the enormous development of the means of transportation, in particular since the second half of the 19th century, with the introduction and development of the railway in the Iberian Peninsula, which would operate a real revolution in modes of travel, ushering in the so-called "era of tourism."