On our way to Nazare from Fatima, we rumbled past not one, but TWO UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But we were on a mission, hoping for giant waves and good weather in Nazare, so we had decided we would double back to visit them afterwards.
First on our list was the Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória, or as we like to call it, That Big Thing On The Hill. As a UNESCO site, it's official name is the Monastery of Batalha, which is the town where it is located.
You can’t help but appreciate the incredible attention to detail in this architecture.
The monastery is home to “The Unknown Soldiers”, a patriotic place of pilgrimage in honor of those who lost their lives in war and exploration.
There are tons of interesting things about these UNESCO sites and there are folks who have dedicated their careers to learning all about them. I try to pick one or two things to focus on. In this case all I know is that it is spikey and scroll-y and fussy and old and I liked it. Also, it is the burial place of Henry the Navigator, or Infante D. Henrique as the Portuguese call him.
There are tons of interesting things about these UNESCO sites and there are folks who have dedicated their careers to learning all about them. I try to pick one or two things to focus on. In this case all I know is that it is spikey and scroll-y and fussy and old and I liked it. Also, it is the burial place of Henry the Navigator, or Infante D. Henrique as the Portuguese call him.
Henry the Navigator’s resting place at the Monastery of Bathala.
Even though it was a couple of British authors who dubbed him Henry the Navigator, with a name like that you'd think he was an explorer who discovered important things. Although he is an important character in Portugal's Age of Discovery, Henry was a Prince, the son of King John I, and as such had access to money. It was at his direction and patronage that others went out and did the actual exploring, for which Henry gets a ton of credit, rightly so. Through his discoveries new trade routes were opened with west Africa. So, all-in-all, Henry was a pretty good guy and they love him here in Portugal, which is obvious because of all the statues in his honor. They are everywhere!
Even though it was a couple of British authors who dubbed him Henry the Navigator, with a name like that you'd think he was an explorer who discovered important things. Although he is an important character in Portugal's Age of Discovery, Henry was a Prince, the son of King John I, and as such had access to money. It was at his direction and patronage that others went out and did the actual exploring, for which Henry gets a ton of credit, rightly so. Through his discoveries new trade routes were opened with west Africa. So, all-in-all, Henry was a pretty good guy and they love him here in Portugal, which is obvious because of all the statues in his honor. They are everywhere!
Next we made our way about 25 kilometers south to Alcobaça where we parked up in the free aire. It was Sunday and most things were closed. We didn't have much food on board, or at least food that appealed to us, so we set off to find a cafe that was open. We had some yummy pizza just across from the Monastery of Alcobaça, the very reason we had come here. Portugal UNESCO World Heritage Site #4.
This was some fun wall art at the pizza restaurant where we ate.
I confess by this time I was a bit monastery'd out, plus, our "Entry Fee" budget had long been busted. Thankfully, UNESCO sites are very reasonable, so since it was raining and gloomy out, we went in to explore. The one neat thing I wanted to see here was the kitchen. I learned from Wikipedia that the monks had a kitchen with a stream running through it, which brought fish from the nearby river right into the kitchen. All the cooks had to do was simply pluck their dinner from the stream and that was that. This would be the kind of fishing I think I would excel at.
The Monastery of Alcobaça.
We concluded our visit to Alcobaça with a visit to a pottery store where I got to feed my need to buy decorative dishes. I know, I haven't got an ounce of room for them, but they are small and I couldn't help myself. And they are so cute!
A rooster to keep the Chicken company?
It took us ages to decide where to go next. I really wanted to go to Lisbon, but was not looking forward to driving in a big, busy city. But there was so much we wanted to see, I finally decided I just had to buck up and do it. The drive turned out to be nothing to worry about and Lisbon turned out to be one of our favorite places, starting with that statue at the front gate of our campground, the one pictured in our lead shot. I can't see one of these at a KOA, can you?
It took us ages to decide where to go next. I really wanted to go to Lisbon, but was not looking forward to driving in a big, busy city. But there was so much we wanted to see, I finally decided I just had to buck up and do it. The drive turned out to be nothing to worry about and Lisbon turned out to be one of our favorite places, starting with that statue at the front gate of our campground, the one pictured in our lead shot. I can't see one of these at a KOA, can you?
Our basecamp while in Lisbon.
The campground had a lot of cats wandering around but this cross-eyed kitty was particularly cute.
With the sun shining brightly we took the opportunity to hop on our bikes and take off for Belém. Not only is there a ton of things to see there, including a couple of UNESCO sites, but also there is the Pastéis de Belém, a bakery specializing in what has to be the national pastry of Portugal, the pastel de nata. We aimed to try a few and see how they fared against the other 10,000 we had already eaten.
With the sun shining brightly we took the opportunity to hop on our bikes and take off for Belém. Not only is there a ton of things to see there, including a couple of UNESCO sites, but also there is the Pastéis de Belém, a bakery specializing in what has to be the national pastry of Portugal, the pastel de nata. We aimed to try a few and see how they fared against the other 10,000 we had already eaten.
So off we went on our bikes, simply assuming there would be a bike path. There was not. In fact, if you map on Google from our campsite to Belém, there is not even the option to choose a bike route. That would have been our first clue had we bothered to look. Suffice it to say, Lisbon is not bike friendly. Also, getting to Belem took us straight downhill and I thought we might have to call a taxi van to get us and our bikes home. But before we actually had to figure that out, there was loads to see. The one issue we had was, how do we get to it?
There was a multi-track rail system between us and the monuments we wanted to see, and to go around meant biking miles out of our way. Hmmmm. For pedestrians there are stairs and I mean very steep stairs, and we happened to notice a guy with a bike coming up them. On closer inspection, there was a thin tire rail on the side. Bike riders are meant to put their bike tires inside the rail and walk them down with gravity assist. Holy Cow I was sure I would lose control and that my bike would kill someone at the bottom. Those bikes are HEAVY! So much so that I was unable to get mine up the rail, Steven had to do both of them. What a chore!
The bike rail down some pretty steep steps. I don’t think they had heavy e-bikes in mind.
Nonetheless, we had managed to get ourselves over to the Tower of Belém and the Monument to the Discoveries which celebrates the 15th and 16th century explorers. This is one of my favorite sites in Portugal. Each person represented on that monument tells a story. And interestingly, the monument itself was created as a temporary exhibit for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition. Afterward it was destroyed, but a few years later a permanent monument was built. Much like Paris's Eiffel Tower and Seattle's Space Needle, both built as temporary structures for World Fairs, the monument in Belém has become an iconic installation. And who is that man in front? Yep, Henry the Navigator!
Nonetheless, we had managed to get ourselves over to the Tower of Belém and the Monument to the Discoveries which celebrates the 15th and 16th century explorers. This is one of my favorite sites in Portugal. Each person represented on that monument tells a story. And interestingly, the monument itself was created as a temporary exhibit for the 1940 Portuguese World Exhibition. Afterward it was destroyed, but a few years later a permanent monument was built. Much like Paris's Eiffel Tower and Seattle's Space Needle, both built as temporary structures for World Fairs, the monument in Belém has become an iconic installation. And who is that man in front? Yep, Henry the Navigator!
The Monument to the Discoveries.
The Tower of Belém. Although there were dedicated bike lanes, most people Ignored them, making it hard to navigate around them.
Linda passes the many tour buses. There doesn’t seem to be an off-season in Portugal!
After visiting the waterfront area, we made our way back through the tunnel, wrestling those heavy bikes up the rail to make our way to the nearby bakery. I stayed with the bikes while Steven stood in line to get our pastries. This little eggy custardy goodness is on every street corner, in nearly every food store, and in IKEA restaurants, too. We have eaten our weight in these little three-bite wonders but the ones in Belém were purported to be the best. And they were. We bought a dozen of them and when they were gone two days later I swore I'd never eat another. Alas....
After visiting the waterfront area, we made our way back through the tunnel, wrestling those heavy bikes up the rail to make our way to the nearby bakery. I stayed with the bikes while Steven stood in line to get our pastries. This little eggy custardy goodness is on every street corner, in nearly every food store, and in IKEA restaurants, too. We have eaten our weight in these little three-bite wonders but the ones in Belém were purported to be the best. And they were. We bought a dozen of them and when they were gone two days later I swore I'd never eat another. Alas....
We had high expectations for these custard treats at Pastéis de Belém and, yes, they were delicious!
Our trip back to the campground turned out to be easier than we thought and we made it back in good time. I guess we have learned a few things about our bikes since Bilbao and the uphill sections were easier for us to manage. Once again, we are loving our E-bikes!
Our trip back to the campground turned out to be easier than we thought and we made it back in good time. I guess we have learned a few things about our bikes since Bilbao and the uphill sections were easier for us to manage. Once again, we are loving our E-bikes!
View of Lisbon on our ride home.
To get the lay of the land in Lisbon we took a one hour Hop On, Hop Off tour of the old city. From there we stayed on the bus until we circled back around to the spot we wanted to see , and that's where we got off the bus to walk. We had a great day for it. I admit that I was slow to come around to Portugal, but I realize the weather played a huge role in my mood. Now that we were heading south, the sun was shining and my mood was lifting! We walked all around and took in hilltop vistas in Alfama, sat and watched the tourists go by on Tram 28 and window shopped for beautiful pastries. We managed to pass them by without eating any, because we had our sights set on Lisbon's Time Out Market, a place with 26 restaurants and eight bars under one roof. The concept is you can try a little of everything and that's exactly what we did. Wow, the food was fantastic!
To get the lay of the land in Lisbon we took a one hour Hop On, Hop Off tour of the old city. From there we stayed on the bus until we circled back around to the spot we wanted to see , and that's where we got off the bus to walk. We had a great day for it. I admit that I was slow to come around to Portugal, but I realize the weather played a huge role in my mood. Now that we were heading south, the sun was shining and my mood was lifting! We walked all around and took in hilltop vistas in Alfama, sat and watched the tourists go by on Tram 28 and window shopped for beautiful pastries. We managed to pass them by without eating any, because we had our sights set on Lisbon's Time Out Market, a place with 26 restaurants and eight bars under one roof. The concept is you can try a little of everything and that's exactly what we did. Wow, the food was fantastic!
On the Hop On Hop Off bus.
There are trams literally everywhere you look in Lisbon and they are somehow able to navigate through dense traffic.
Lisbon is a fun city to explore with outdoor cafes seemingly on every street and a touch of Christmas while we were there.
We bought a picture from this artist who was painting with coffee. You can see our picture of a Lisbon tram on the right.
How cute is this Nativity set??
We can’t get away from them! Yay!
This market was amazing. We never saw such a variety of great food under one roof.
Just a sampling of some of the amazing choices at the TimeOut Market.
Cherry liqueur in chocolate cups!! Gulp, chomp, chomp!
By this time we had a favorite taxi driver, Alexander, who was part driver, part tour guide. On our last day he drove us to Sintra, a town about 30 minutes from Lisbon. On the way there he told us all about the royalty that used to come to this area to hunt and many built fabulous castles. Thus, Sintra is a major tourist destination in Portugal. We, of course, are spoiled by places like the Knights Templar Convento de Christo in Tomar where we practically had the place to ourselves, so arriving 35 minutes before opening to find a line snaking down the hill was a little disappointing. Yes, I get that we are also tourists, there's no denying that. Still....
By this time we had a favorite taxi driver, Alexander, who was part driver, part tour guide. On our last day he drove us to Sintra, a town about 30 minutes from Lisbon. On the way there he told us all about the royalty that used to come to this area to hunt and many built fabulous castles. Thus, Sintra is a major tourist destination in Portugal. We, of course, are spoiled by places like the Knights Templar Convento de Christo in Tomar where we practically had the place to ourselves, so arriving 35 minutes before opening to find a line snaking down the hill was a little disappointing. Yes, I get that we are also tourists, there's no denying that. Still....
Also, Sintra is known for its beautiful views of the ocean, none of which we were able to see because the entire area was socked in with fog. We did tour the Pena National Palace which looked like it was made out of Play-Doh. It was so crowded that Steven and I got separated and when he went inside for the tour, he found it so claustrophobic that he was looking for a way to escape. All-in-all, Sintra was the least enjoyable part of our stay in Lisbon. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site (#7, in case you've lost count), so I'm glad we went there even if it wasn't great for us. We know others who thoroughly enjoyed their time there.
The line in the fog at the Pena National Palace.
The fog gave the place an interesting atmosphere but we were disappointed that there were no views.
This face says it all.
A scale model of the palace
In and around Sintra.
We picked up a new mattress at IKEA while we were in Lisbon!
We left Lisbon with only two more destinations on our journey before we would stop and catch our breath. Both were overnights with just a couple of hours visiting. The first was the historic center of Evora (#8!!) and the Chapel of Bones and the second was Sagres, literally the end of the continent. Henry the Navigator established a nautical school and many of his ships were launched from here. In many places the continent just stops and the ocean begins not with lovely sandy beaches but with 100+ ft. cliffs. Amazingly, despite the dangers, people actual fish from these cliffs. The cliffs are so huge it's easy to overlook them, but then you see a flash of color and zoom in to find several people fishing!
This was definitely one of the creepiest places we’ve visited so far.
Beautiful views of the cliffs, fort and lighthouse at Sagres.
The Lighthouse of Cabo de São Vicente in Sagres.
We spent the morning watching the fisherman, then made our way to Turiscampo resort where we had a reservation to do absolutely nothing for the next four weeks. I cannot tell you how much we were looking forward to this downtime!
We spent the morning watching the fisherman, then made our way to Turiscampo resort where we had a reservation to do absolutely nothing for the next four weeks. I cannot tell you how much we were looking forward to this downtime!
NEXT UP: Slow days in the Algarve
What a great two part blog and wonderful pictures. I had written a long comment for part one and then it disappeared on me . ( well long for me ) Hope you enjoy your down time and the holidays . Vern in Boise
ReplyDeleteHello, Vern! It's always nice to hear from you, long or short! Thank you for your kind words. We are having a blast in Portugal but our down time has flown by. On Monday we head to the ranch! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
DeleteBeautiful photos! There seems to be a fair amount of English signage...is that the case everywhere in Portugal? Where did they harvest all of those bones from?
ReplyDeleteI actually saw a map recently published in the Economist showing all the countries around the world where English is a common language (though not primary) and Portugal was one of them! We have been pleasantly surprised at how much English is spoken here, and in the Algarve, it's practically British! Big ex-pat community here, as you might imagine. We could certainly live here! :) Oh, and those bones belonged to the villagers long passed.
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