It was a rainy day in Tomar, on and off all day but it did
not put us off from going to see the castle. It was built in 12th
century and served as the seat of the Templar’s for 200 years before it was
handed over to the church and became a convent.
The castle itself was closed
for the day as 1st March was the day when the construction of the
castle began in 1160; this day is now celebrated as the “Day of Tomar”.
The grounds are extensive and superb. We
spent ages walking around the external walls of the castle and the garden that
is divided into different areas, including an orangery. We then wondered back down
to town, only to come across a lovely park that started with a formal
garden, continued with a kids’ playground, a stream and many pick-nick areas as
well as various paths into the woods. We followed one of the paths and it took
us back up to the bottom of the castle then continued along the great wall of
Tomar coming to a full circle after 5(?)km – it took us nearly 2 hours.
We stayed in Tomar for the night, as I wanted to go inside
the castle the following morning. There have been many additions to the
building over time, but the most unusual and beautiful part is the Round Church in the
Convent of Christ.
In the 16
th century the
Acueducto de los Pejões
was built to supply water for the convent. We went to see this from close up in
the afternoon. It is 6 km long and some of it you can still walk on if you have
head for heights.
We spent a very pleasant night by the river in Amandes. Dog
friendly coffee with a view and sunshine. Lovely.
We drove up to
Abrantes fort the following morning. It
is just a ruin, but a ruin with far reaching,
360 degree views.
We then continued to
Almoural castle which is surrounded by
the Tagus river and you need to take a boat to get you there. We left Harley in
the van as no dogs were allowed. (I think he was quite happy with time off from
walking.) A proper castle. I was very brave and walked up/down a high and
narrow staircase with no safety rail of any sort.
We were looking for somewhere to spend the night and came
across the
Mira de Aire caves. They were discovered in 1947, and were opened to
the public in the 70s.
Only 600m can be
visited from the 11km that has been discovered so far. 683 steps down and a lift
up. Because the land is porous limestone there are no rivers above gound, they all run through the caves, the one we saw is called Rio Negro.
These caves are one of the 7
wonders of Portugal for a good reason! Apart from the spectacular stalactites
and stalagmites, it actually has a bar. Yep, a bar. I guess you need to make
special arrangements to use it; we were not offered a drink (a shame, I know.)
We stopped in Fatima, which is a main pilgrimage site, and
an impressive one at that. The church itself was nothing exceptional I think,
but it is flanked by some superb walkways on either side with the largest square
in front of it. On the square the
Cahelinha das Aparicoes marks the spot where
the Virgin Mary has appeared to 3 local children in 1917.
We continued to
Batalha where we were going to visit the
monastery the following day. After a quiet night we were ready for another
round of religious architecture, but were put off by the entrance fee. It was
not really that much, but we tend to think that visiting a church should be
free.
Anyway, it meant more time at
Óbidos castle. Or to be more
precise, castle walls. (The castle itself operates as a hotel).
The castle walls go all the way around the
little town, and you can walk on the top of it. There are no safety measures,
other than a sign that say, it is dangerous and if you fall off, that is your
own fault. So of course, we went up. I have chickened out half-way around, but
Hamish and Harley made it all the way. The town itself was lovely, full of
little restaurants and souvenir shops, selling many generic Portuguese things,
but also including a local invention of chocolate cups filled with cherry
liquor as well as some local artisan’s ware. And a Cannabis shop. (That was a
bit if a surprise.)
We stayed at Praia du Bom Sucesso for the
night. After a morning walk on the beach we dedicated some time to washing and shopping, before moving onto to
Praia de Areia Branco, which is
where we are now. We spent yesterday evening and all day today on the beach.
Long lazy walk followed by coffee & ice-cream then soaking up the sun amongst
the sand dunes. Not sure what people thought when they strolled by, barefoot but
with their winter coats on, of the 2 English people with their swimmers on…
...and Hamish felt it was important to let you know that I have sunburn on my backside!
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| Tomar catle - inside the Round Church |
