Maritime Museum of Ílhavo (Ílhavo), Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

Even on a rainy day, the last option is always to stay on the couch. Sometimes it tastes good but with so much to see and to do out there, why waste our time in front of the television? So, in spite of bad weather, we urgently needed a family program.
– Let’s see the “Codfish Aquarium”! – the decision was made.
It was something that had been on our to do list for some time but the opportunity hadn’t come yet.
We travel to Ílhavo, in Aveiro district, under heavy rain and we found the Maritime Museum right in the center of the city, in Dr. Rocha Madahíl Avenue. It’s difficult not to notice the modern architecture building that serves as a museum facility, but it hasn’t always been like this. The Maritime Museum of Ílhavo was born in 1937, invigorated by a group of friends, with ethnographic and regional scope. After several renovations and extensions it was in 2013 that it became complete with the famous codfish aquarium.

These “faithful friends” are located in a serene environment where tranquility reigns.

We started the visit by Faina Maior / Cap. Francisco Marques room (photograph below) where the memory of the maritime work and the identity of a people connected to the sea is preserved in a rich collection of environments, tools and utensils that take us back to the days of cod fishing in the seas of Newfoundland and Greenland .

We went to Ria Room and found some typical boats of Ria de Aveiro, namely Moliceiro and Mercantel, which was also known as Saleiro Boat when the transport consist of salt produced in the marinas.
We went up to the Shell and Seaweed Room to be dazzled by the variety of specimens, shapes and colors.
In the Room of the Seas are exposed miniature boats that tell us a little of the Portuguese maritime navigation history. Impressive details in each of them.
We finally reached the most desired space by the visitors of the Museum: Codfish Square. In a different aquarium, where stones of geometric shapes with well defined edges decorate the habitat, these “faithful friends” are located in a serene environment where tranquility reigns. We sat for a few moments. Maria was fascinated.
The visit is over and it’s time to return home. The rain continued to fall outside.