Portugal is located on the western edge of Europe, occupying a rectangular area 220 by 560 miles. It has a very diverse landscape from the plains of Alentejo in the south to the mountains and natural park further north.

The island of Madeira with 55 by 22 kilometers is about 480 km from the Portuguese coast, with lush vegetation and cliffs just across the island.

In the Azores the 1300km of the coast have 9 islands with mild climate.

The population is 10 million habitants, 10% of which are in Lisbon, and 300 thousand live in Porto. Since compulsory education includes two foreign languages the majority of the population under 40 years understands and speaks English, many speak French, some German. Spanish is understood by everyone though prefer to speak Portuguese