Guimares, Portugal, Torture Exhibit Haunts Visitors

By Carlos Martinez


We first arrived on a rainy morning to Braga, Portugal, where we took in some historical sites. After leaving the city, we took a  bus ride along similar winding roads that are found in Spain. These roads reach high elevations, and put travelers in contact with nature rather than cutting through the environment as the interstate system in the USA tends to do. These views allow for the traveler to get  lost in the sights and wonder how the country was before the cities came about. However, even with the modern buildings, the landscape still adopts the old houses that could’ve been used centuries ago.
    Our next destination was the city of Guimaraes, which has an impressive castle and is the birthplace of the first King of Portugal. But, something else caught the attention of the men on this trip, and that was a special  torture exhibit.

     This exhibit had actual devices and a miniature guillotine which was an accurate representation of what the real ones looked like with the basket at the base where the person was laid and the executioner standing by the lever. There was the Iron Maiden, a standing noose that would lift the poor soul in the air, and the rack which stretches its victim across some rollers with spikes until the blood loss from the spikes would kill them or literally cause them to be pulled apart. People were extremely gruesome just three to four centuries ago.  "I felt demonized after this exhibit." Kevin Centeno, fellow traveler, said.
    After this, we finally made it to the beautiful city of Porto where we were taken on another tour across the city and we ended up at this gorgeous boardwalk to relax and collect ourselves before going to our hotel and enjoying the night. This boardwalk break helped us relax and just take in the views from the river.

Students enjoyed a day on Porto's Doro River.

All and all, the cities in Portugal were fantastic and it’s an experience that won’t be forgotten.