We have spent the first night in Portugal, in the carpark of
the friendly coffee bar near the beach. Our sleep was interrupted by bits and
pieces falling onto the roof of our van from the tree we were parked under throughout
the night. We hoped that we did not make a mistake and no large bits were going
to fall.
The following morning we met Mari & Mike, a friendly and
interesting couple who moved to the area from Newcastle a few years ago. We
spent some time chatting and ended up with an open invitation to their place
should we pass that way again and a
suggestion to visit a particular cork shop in Braga run by their friend.
We moved onto Esposende, a little seaside town later on the
day and having found little entertainment, we did the washing (again). I am not
sure if this was the only launderette in town, but it seemed to be really busy,
so much so, that we ended up queueing for the machines, lol.
The idea was to go the market in Esposende the following
day, but it turned out that there was no market at all, so we cut our losses
and went to Braga.
Braga is a large town in-land, and a well-known pilgrim destination,
home to the
Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary. The stairway up to the church is
quite unique and manages the 113m climb in
573 steps (if I counted correctly).
It is a beautiful and peaceful place, with fantastic
views of the town below.
While we were there, it was suggested to us by a local guy
(we get stopped/chatted to quite a bit by people who want to stroke/take pictures
of Harley) that we also visit the
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro – this is
only a little further up the road. So we carried on, thru a very pretty park,
then a track and arrived to this second sanctuary, higher up the mountain. This
was a bit of an odd place. A massive church with a huge carpark and a very large
square adorned with large religious statues. There was hardly anybody there. Strangest
of all, in the church there was a sign inviting you to visit the crypt
downstairs. We went, expecting to see the resting places of religious leaders
of the past, but found a huge modern conference centre instead (at least that’s
what it looked like if you removed the couple of crosses and the Jesus statue),
with many large doors opening onto the square to the side of the church.
The following morning was market day in Braga. We bought
some local cured ham (yummy indeed) before visiting the old town and the recommended cork shop.
Next stop was
Citania de Briteiros on our way to Guimaraes. This
is an archaeological site of a settlement that thrived on the top of a hill
from the Bronze to the Middle-ages. Only a third of the area actually is
available to visitors, as the rest is not excavated (question of money I am led
to believe). According to the lady at the visitors centre, the acropolis has come
to an end due to the spring that used to provide the water disappearing.
We spent a good hour walking around the ruins and
trying to imagine what life was like there so many years ago.
We arrived to Guimareas quite late in the day and just
settled down for the night. Parked up next to us were a Dutch couple in a
gigantic truck. They have been on the road for a couple of years and had many
suggestions for places to visit, some of which are now on our list too.
We visited
Guimareas castle and the
palace the following
day. The castle is mostly a ruin now, but the medieval palace has been restored
and furnished. It is beautiful. The palace also housed a temporary exhibition
of the Instruments of torture. What can I say? Ouch!? (Did you know that there
was a Portuguese inquisition not only a Spanish one?
All in the name of religion.)
We then decided to drive up to Penha. We followed google and
ended up with the bumper getting a good bashing on the (very) steep and narrow
streets up. (Good job we have an old van.) The view made it well worth it; I
never saw boulders of that size before. Crash Bandicoot here we go….
Apparently the market
in Barcelos is the largest in Portugal. Well, we went and saw, and I think the
weekly market in my home town in Hungary is actually bigger. But we did enjoy
it and spent the morning browsing and getting a few things.
We spent the night next to a lake outside of Chaves. OMG, it
was cold!
Yesterday we drove onto Salamanca. (A place recommend as “not
to be missed”, so we made the detour...) Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine…yay!
Until the evening, when it turned cold. We ventured out to see the old town at night.
Oh, yes!
Today, we spent the day in Salamanca, wondering around the beautiful
old town.
In the morning we stopped for a coffee and we were blending
in with the locals so well, that the waiter has tripped over Harley, who was
soaking up the sunshine, lying flat on the floor. Not sure who was more surprised,
Harley who got a boot on his backside, the waiter who found a large dog coming
from nowhere growling and jumping out of the way or the people at the next
table where the 3 the coffees and a glass of juice landed. Good news is that
nobody got hurt.
The place was heaving, it is obviously a tourist destination
and we can see why!
We visited the
Cathedral, and I think it is definitely the largest, most elaborately decorated
one we have seen yet.
I even forgive
them the entrance fee…
We are now heading west on
route N222, which is apparently
the nicest in Portugal. It is taking us thru the upland towards Porto.
We have stopped for the night at Villa Nova de Foz Coa, in the
museum carpark alone with the bats.
Feb 2020 - Part 3 Map
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| Esposende |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte - a few steps to go |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte - errr...this is wierd |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte - view of Braga |
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| Bom Jesus do Monte |
