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Camino de Santiago - O Camino Português (The Portuguese Way)

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Plan: Day 1 ( Valen ça  / Tui, 3km) : We caught the train from Porto to  Valen ça. We walked from the station to the Fortress and explored the district area inside the fortress. After the fortress, we walked across the Portugal-Spain border-bridge (Ponte Rodo-Ferroviaria) to Tui. Stayed in the Albergue Buen Camino in Tui which cost €15 per night and included breakfast in the morning.  Day 2: (Tui to  Redondela, 35km ): Leave accommodation in Tui and head to  O Porriño. Stay overnight in  O Porriño. Day 3 ( O Porriño to  Redondela):  Leave accommodation in  O Porriño  and head to Redondela . Stay overnight in  Redondela. Day 4 (Redondela to Ponteverda):  Leave accommodation in  Redondela  and head to Ponteverda . Stay overnight in  Ponteverda. Day 5:  (Ponteverda to Caldas de Rei):  Leave accommodation in  P onteverda  and head to  Caldas de Rei . Stay overnight in  Caldas de Rei . Day 6:  (Caldas de Rei to Padron):  Leave accommodation in  Caldas de
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Top day trips from Porto (in order of rank)

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Day trip from Porto (exc. Vila Nova da Gaia, Maia, Foz, & Matosinhos): 1. Coimbra 2. Guimarães 3. Barcelos 4. Braga 5. Pinhão (small town with beautiful scenery & wineries) 6. Pesa da Régua (main hub to surrounding wineries) 7. Valença (Portugal) + Tui (Galícia) 8. Vigo (Galícia em Spain) (2+ hours one way) 9. Leiria (2+ hours one way) 10. Fátima  11. Viseu 12. Póvoa de Varzim 13. Vila Conde 14. Espinho to Miramar (walking; train from Porto less than 1 hour) 15. Viana do Castelo 16. Aveiro + Costa Nova 17. Ovar + Válega 18. Santa Maria da Faria Note: Tomar is kinda close but not possible for a day trip via public transport
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SEF Appointment (Resident Permit/Autorização de Residência )

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After successfully obtaining your D7 (temporary) visa, there is usually a web link on your Portugal visa attached to your passport. This link provides you the information for SEF appointment (eg. date and location). The SEF appointment is to obtain your residency permit or known as the Autorização de Residência. Note : I did everything myself and did not use an agent or lawyer (which I hear other people doing). In most cases that I gathered, most appointments are located differently to where you live in Portugal. So there is some hassle to get there. But luckily in my case, my appointment location was in the same city I live in and I got there 45 minutes before the appointment schedule (not necessary, as I still had to wait about 40 minutes until my ticket number was called). When you arrive at the SEF office, you go to the staff/security and let them know you have a SEF appointment and he/she will check your name against the schedule he/she has and give you a ticket number. You just w
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What I learnt being a value investor

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1. you have to be a patient long term investor 2. avoid listening to predictions 3. you have to stay invested (at least in part) amidst market volatility 4. understand what you are investing in or know what the business does accurately, rather than assumptions 5. take advantage of Mr Market as a person 6. taking advantage of the stock when the opportunity presents itself 7. compare the valuations with other peer companies
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PORTUGAL: Top places to visit in Porto and surrounds

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Porto: 1. Ponte de Dom Luis I (English: Dom Luis I Bridge) 2. Ribeira do Porto  3. Estacao Ferroviaria de Sao Bento (English: Sao Bento Railway Station) 4. Cais de Gaia (English: Gaia Cable Car) 5. Capela das Almas (English: Chapel of Souls): this chapel is quite beautiful with its artist blue tiles. 6. Se do Porto (English: Porto Cathedral): this has one of the best views of Porto and Douro River. 7. Rua de Santa Caterina: this is one of the main shopping streets with lots of cafes and patisseries. The Capela das Almas is on this street. 8. Igreja de Santo Ildefonso 9. Igreja dos Clerigos 10. Livraria Lello 11. Igreja do Carmo 12. Camara Municipal do Porto (English: Town Hall of Porto) 13. Ponte da Arrabida 14. Vila Nova de Gaia 15. Matosinhos/Foz do Douro Recommended Surrounds: 1. Povoa de Varzim 2. Guimaraes 3. Barcelos 4. Braga 5. Douro Valley wineries esp. Regua and Pinhao 6. Vila Conde
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DIY low cost method for a Portugal D7 visa

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I've always believed in doing things by myself as much as possible and trying to lower the costs of doing each activity by understanding the entire process. So I've written this post to explain the steps I took with my "Do it yourself (DIY)" application process and recorded the cost of each process. To begin with the process, I enquired about the D7 visa with the Portuguese Consulate in Sydney Australia, and this is the list of the requirements they provided me (note: amount requirements was based on November 2021 eg. minimum income in Portugal at the time): The official application form and passport requirements are self-explanatory. You should follow the steps accordingly esp. application of the NIF is the very first step, without this you cannot open a Portuguese bank account and sign a registered rental lease. 1. Application of a NIF Use either NIFonline.pt (cost 59.90 Euros plus extra VAT which totals to 73.68 Euros), bordr.io (cost 150 Euros), or AlgarveKnowHow
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Opening a Portugal bank account remotely (easy step by step)

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Other than using the services of bordr.io (cost 350 Euros to open at the time of writing), the Portuguese bank account I found on the internet that you can open outside of Portugal is Banco Atlantico Europa . When you navigate to "Open Account" the following screens asks you to download its app on Android or Apple app stores. This is what the app looks like in the Android app store. Once you open the app, the following screens will appear and it states the relevant documents you need to upload via the app either from photos or pdfs. You will need to follow the steps to create a User ID, enter your email address, your cellphone number (even if its a non-Portuguese number), your residential address (in your country), your work profession (job title and employer name) and your NIF. Once completed you will need to upload these documents to prove your name (eg. passport), DOB, passport number, nationality, your proof of residential address (eg. driver's licence, utility bills,
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