Replica of the Caravel Boa Esperança

This is a full-scale replica of the 15th-century caravel used by Bartolomeu Dias when he became the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. Built in Vila do Conde using traditional wooden shipbuilding techniques, it gives you a real sense of just how small and daring these Age of Discovery vessels actually were. Surprisingly humbling to stand next to — or better yet, board — when you consider it crossed the South Atlantic.