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James Bond Was Born in Estoril

There was something strange about Miguel – something I sensed but couldn’t identify. My travelling companions and I were spending a long weekend in Estoril, the Portuguese coastal region just west of Lisbon, and we had arranged do meet the tufty-haired, bespectacled lecturer at an outdoor café, where he was supposed to regale us with tales of World War II espionage over cinnamon-infused coffee. He would explain how Estoril buzzes with both Allied and Axis secret agents as a result of Portugal’s neutrality. We expected him to describe how british naval intellingence officer Ian Fleming was inspired by Estoril Casino and the Palacio Estoril Hotel to write Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. The Palacio, a grand hotel built in 1930, was a nest of Allied spooks and later served as a set for the Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

All fascinating stuff, but I didn’t learn it from Miguel. Not two minutes after we sat down, a wailing police car and two black SUVs whipped around the corner and screeched to a halt. Out of the SUVs jumped four black-clad “spies” (later revealed as professional actors), and Miguel, with an evil grin and a flourish, whipped ooff his glasses and a wig: a double agent! We weren’t just learning about intrigue, we were getting a firsthand taste. After frogmarching us into the SUVs, the spies raced madly through the town of Cascais and the nearby Sintra-Cascais National Park to our secret destination: not the lair of an evildoer, but the Michelin-starred Porto de Santa Maria restaurant. João Aníbal Henriques, the crafty mastermind of our little adventure, greeted us with a smile and an exquisite meal of sea bass baked in bread.

Henriques loves surprises, and as the founder of TOW, a bespoke tour company launched last year that promises – and delivers – the insider’s Portugal to small groups, he never organizes the same trip twice. In addition to variations on the madcap secret-service excursion inspired by the Estoril’s Bond history, TOW also offers tamer itineraries that could include wine routes, remote hiking and an exploration of Portugal’s folk-art traditions. Henriques is also passionate about authenticity, notwithstanding Miguel’s wig. Just before we boarded a wooden fishing boat similar to vessels used during the war, he cheerfully informed us that he had asked Tony, the boat’s captain, “not to clean it, so that you can experience a real Portuguese fishing boat.” Tony didn’t obey (“Thank God”, whispered my friend Sarah), but the trip was no less authentic without the fish guts. We bobbed on the Atlantic swells, checked crab traps, and feasted on fresh fish-and-red-wine stew. Estoril sheltered dispossessed royal families during the war, and monarchs still visit today. Royalty and spies have at least that in common: they recognize a great getaway when they see one.

By Michelle Patient Time Magazine