Silvie is touring Portugal with one goal: to show 365 amazing places — like this one – Travel
Silvie Couto, 46 years old, challenged herself on September 2, 2021: visit 365 places in Portugal. In the sense of “incredible”, a word that includes Instagram description in which she shares as photographs that measure to this challenge, she was making that part for each new destination.
“It’s so beautiful and everything there are places where I feel there I feel a little bit. I have to keep my eyes, breathing, with my soul. day by day”, says Silvie to MAGG. However well known known, even today known, many are still unknown to those who live near these treasures.
“Many people say to me: ‘I live in this county or district and I didn’t know this existed’. But that is Silvie Couto’s role: to make known the wonders that are in Portugal, often and just a few kilometers from the place of residence, which also means less costs to travel and discover more incredible things.
“My goal for the Portuguese and people who show me that in Portugal we have the equivalent of any wonderful place abroad. I will give very concrete examples: we have a Venice [cidade em Itália] Portuguese in Aveiro, we have a Santorini [ilha grega] in the Algarve”, compares Silvie.
Choosing to explore what is ours and which is still so secret is, in Silvie’s view, not only an asset for the wallet — not least because most of the shares are free access or entry —, but also for the country’s economy , at a time when it is still trying to recover from two years of a pandemic that shook the tourism sector.
In order to make these places known, which, in addition to relaxing avoidance of the rush in airports, Silvie had to study much of her time for this challenge. During her day she is an event producer and on weekends she is Silvie from the 365 locations challenge in Portugal — this in addition to being the mother of Gabriel, 16, and Ema, 13. Those who accompany her are always waiting for the next one, being that now it only had destiny once and it was not through fault.
“I didn’t miss any day, except for one that wasn’t my fault, it was Instagram’s own. Right at the beginning of the challenge, there was a day when Instagram went down. me”, says Silvie between laughs
The most amazing location award goes to the northern region of Portugal
Every year, at least on a weekend, Silvie Couto went to the Algarve for a getaway. However, when it comes to longer holidays, she always chooses to go abroad. Until COVID-19 arrives. “There was still not enough familiarity with travel, and, over the last year or so, for going to know the coast of the Algarve”.
The pandemic may have had its downsides, but in this case it brought a unique opportunity for the now-influenced Portuguese. “I was fascinated. I thought: ‘I mean. I sometimes travel so many kilometers to go to Ibiza and I have here the equivalent, probably even superior, in terms of beaches and natural beauty’. Because we have there, for example, rock formations like that well-known heart on Praia da Marinha, which is fabulous and you don’t have that in Ibiza, right?”.
That’s when he began to question himself about what he could find of such beauty, therefore, earlier the country’s challenge to itself, sharing it on Instagram, which already accumulates more than 14 thousand followers. It has tried to diversify between countryside, mountains, beach and cities, as well as between north and south to get to know what is here for a wider audience.
Praia da Ursa, whose access is difficult, is one of the most surprising places on the beach, when arriving at the place, in the sense that it is in a “paradise”, but there are others that are on the same level, even some more touristy. Silvie over the last nine months, Silvie Over the last few months, Couto highlights a special place.
“It’s in Fraga do Cão, and I repeat this to everyone because that’s really what I felt when I got there and thought: ‘No. It’s impossible for this not to have had the hand of Man. This was even someone who has a Bragança structure, because it was probably indicated over the district of Bragança, in Torre de Corcorvo with what was indicated over the North of the country. of dog, Silvie contacted the municipality of Torre de Moncorvo, which confirmed to her that, yes, the nature of this feat.
This and other feats of mother nature are the focus of Silvie Couto’s photographs, who are almost always in the background. One reason? “Because of my personality. I’ve always worked in communication and marketing, but behind the scenes, therefore, in everyone else behind the camera and I don’t feel very comfortable showing up”, she begins by explaining. “My goal is to show the place, the beauty of the place and not show myself. I have to show up because I do the work itself, but in a more subtle way”, she continues.
And after the 365 days? New days, new challenge?
By September 2022, Silvie must have 365 places visited. But then what? Is there a goodbye? In principle, no, but it is certain that you will dedicate yourself to more hours of sleep after months divided between full-time work, always busy weekends to discover new places and produce content for the challenge, and manage time with your family. .
“Even as a joke I’ll say: my next challenge as soon as this one is over is to try to sleep 24 hours. Then I’ll see what I do. Maybe not post every day, but keep posting, probably a little longer “, he advances to MAGG, referring to the sharing of more than landscapes, which may include hotels and restaurants that he gets to know.
Throughout the challenge, Silvie has felt that she has become more than that. Which, in the end, ended up creating “a community of people who liked the country and didn’t know they liked it”. For that reason, I intend to continue in some way with the project, and always in Portugal, even after a year without going abroad.
“I’m really satisfied with what I’m doing and I feel that I’m hardly going to travel abroad so soon in Portugal”. reference.
But before the challenge ends, Silvie has one goal: to get to know Madeira.
“It’s one of my biggest shames, but I have to confess that I don’t know the island of Madeira. And yet, I’ve been to Lanzarote, Tenerife, Dominican Republic, Capri, Mexico. All over the world many islands and Madeira, which I feel that is ‘mine’, must be part of the [desafio]”, he says.
The influencer is just waiting for the school period to end so that she can travel to the island as a family, but guarantees that she will not end the 365 days without going to know the archipelago of ponchas and bolo do caco.