Despite Portugal’s insistence that it discovered much of the unknown world during the period called The Discoveries, it has puzzled many visitors to the Algarve that there is no appropriate museum, display or information centre to let the public know of these achievements.
At last an entrepreneur has taken it upon himself to fill the gap left by successive councils and ministries by setting up a series of waxwork displays to explain the important role that Portugal’s explorers, mercenaries and traders played in opening and maintaining trade links with Africa, India and the Far East.
The Museum of the Discoveries waxwork display portrays the historic voyages made by Portuguese navigators and now is open in the marina area of Lagos.
The display space depicts 16 scenes using 22 life-sized wax figures on the themes of the battle of Aljubarrota, the marriage of D. João I to Philippa of Lancaster, the conquests of North Africa, the hold of a ship, the cape of Good Hope and poet Luís Vaz de Camões, among others.
Nestor Guerrero is the man behind the project who saw that there was nowhere in the Algarve that told the of the Portuguese navigators, not even in Lagos which is a city strongly linked to the Discoveries. "
"After noting the huge cultural gap, I decided to move forward with this project through partnerships with various companies," said Guerrero, adding that "the total investment was around €50,000."
"Here is a demonstration that a little money can go a long way. We have managed to create a very interesting project that we think will attract many people to Lagos," said the local businessman.
The museum is not just for tourists, hopes Guerreiro, but also for school children so that in a fun and interactive way they can learn part of their history."
The 22 wax figures were purchased in the UK and then adapted and remodelled, "In the future, more figures will arrive to recreate further historical episodes so the display can expand and provide more cultural information to the thousands of tourists who choose Lagos and the Algarve for a holiday," said Guerreiro.
