Pictures of Portugal

Photos: from top: our friend Cesar and his delicious port, roast suckling pig, woman selling roast chestnuts in Coimbra, octopus drying on the beach in Nazare, tiles on a house in Sitio, two elderly women in traditional dress in Nazare, our friends Diogo and Teresa in Nazare, little Gabriela and older Elise - more friends from Nazare, Portuguese plates, Manueline architecture in Batalha, Nazare from our hotel balcony, fountain in front of Monastary Jeronimous in Belem, more Manueline architecture from the monastary, Chapel of Bones in Coimbra, the pregnant Virgin a church in Coimbra, Roman temple ruins in Coimbra, a fisherman on the cliffs at Sagres, and the beach at Salema.

Portugal part two

When last I wrote, we were driving to Nazare the next day. As it turns out, that is my most favorite place in Portugal! Nazare is a small (10,000 people) beach town that traditionally made it's living by fishing and now has added tourism to the mix. It is picture postcard pretty, with it's white buildings, red tile roofs, golden sand, looong beach, big surf and Oregon coast-like rocks. It is nestled in between two green hills. On top of the hill to the north sits the town of Sitio with it's town praca (plaza) and church, shops surrounding the praca and a hike to the lighthouse perched above the rocks. There is a funicular that connects the two towns most of the year, but during our stay it was undergoing maintenance so a shuttle bus drove the circular route up and back. We stopped to have coffee after our hike to the lighthouse and talked with an elderly woman who was doing needlepoint. With the help of my trusty dictionary, we shared handwork stories. She also knits and quilts! The restaurants serve mostly seafood but I had a delicious steak there. Also present in town are Portugal's elderly ladies in black; they have puffy skirts that in the past had a dozen petticoats that could be pulled around their arms, legs and torso to keep them warm as they waited on the beach for their husbands to come home from the sea.

We stayed 3 nights. On the firstday, Jon walked out to the beach and met Manual who was surfcasting. They discussed fishing experiences. The next day when we were in Sitio they met again where Manual was casting off the top of the 300 foot cliff next to the lighthouse. They had a great time talking and Manual even showed Jon pictures of his wife and children. On one of the days we drove to three nearby towns to see churches of historic importance. Batalha is the spot where the Portuguese army defeated the Spanish and drove them out of the land. A cathedral marks that event. A second cathedral in Alcobaca commemorates two lovers (one of whom was a prince who later became king) who were denied marriage. There is a rather grisly story that I won't go into here, but we HAD to see their tombs! Lastly, we visited Fatima where a famous miracle involving Mary appearing to three children occurred. She made three predictions (warnings) to the children in her first appearance in the early 1900s. Two came true quickly but the third only when an attempt was made to assassinate Pope John Paul. When he heard of the prediction, he visited Fatima and there is a statue memorializing his time there. There is also a shrine where the vision occurred, a basilica, and a newer, huge church. Pilgrims come from all over the world to visit this place, and we did too.

When we left Nazare, we went to Coimbra, home of the second oldest university in Europe. It was founded in the 1200s and still conducts classes and graduates students. There is a wonderful old library there with thousands of volumes of very old books. They are available to scholars by reservation. There is a great pastelaria on the pedestrian street in the Old Town area and you will see a picture of the pastries we just had to taste - Rick Steves made us do it! We also had a delicious dinner of roast suckling pig in the nearby town of Mealhada, renowned worldwide for this dish. Happily, our friend Tom Armitage emailed us in the nick of time to suggest we do this!

After Coimbra, we decided to forego Porto and to spend time in the Douro valley instead. This is where Portugal's famous, delicious port wine is produced. We stayed in a quinta, or vineyard, farmhouse near Peso de Regua where the owners rent 4 rooms as a B & B. We were the only ones there and so had a wonderful time being toured through the production system and getting to know them. Cesar and MariaElisa were extremely gracious hosts who became our friends. For our full day there, they mapped out a driving trip that took us up into the hills through the vineyards and to spectacular viewpoints. Of course we tried some of their port (several varieties!) and ended up going out to dinner together to celebrate the new friendship. Included is their picture and also one of the valley.

We have now left Portugal and have settled into a hotel room in Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. We are looking forward to seeing the great cathedral that we have heard so much about and to learning more about the thousands of pilgrims who come here every year. But we regret leaving Portugal. It is a nation of gentle people, great food and many beautiful places. We would love to come back.

Photos: from the top: Jon's friend Manual, our friends Cesar and MariaElisa, high above the Douro river, pastries in Coimbra, the church in Fatima, and Nazare from the overlook in Sitio.

Portugal

I haven't been able to post for a while, so now I have some catching up to do!

Sevilla was wonderful! We had some rain but mild temperatures so we were able to continue to do the things we wanted to do without a problem. We stayed in the Old Town and had a great hotel called the Amadeus - music and instruments throughout the hotel and lovely furnishings. We took a walking tour with a guide one morning which gave us a good understanding of the historical part of the city. We also went to a flamenco dinner show which was outstanding! We got seats right in front of the stage and in the middle! One false move on their part and one of the dancers might have been in our laps! We found a Starbucks (actually 3 of them) and met some nice Canadian tourists over coffee. The cathedral in Sevilla is beautiful and we spent some time touring it one afternoon. The stay in Sevilla lasted 3 nights and then we were off to Portugal.

We were very glad to get away from big cities for a while and the little seaside town of Salema was perfect. Unfortunately, the rain continued off and on. On the day we arrived it poured but the next day was beautiful - blue skies and all! We drove up into the hills to a little town called Monchique - gorgeous! Then we drove straight west and ended up at the Atlantic coast. It is rugged and beautiful. We drove south to the town of Sagres on the southwest tip of Portugal and then back to Salema - a day of fantastic sights. We moved to Sagres after 3 days in Salema. Henry the Navigator (remember your world history?) had his famous navigation school for Portuguese explorers here in the 14th. century. It was surprising to learn that he was not a seaman but instead a monk who was a scholar as well as a member of Portugal's royal family. We toured what is left of his facility and also the amazing bluffs nearby. The rain came back the next day and we curled up with our books and watched it come down.

Evora was our next stop and we stayed just outside the ancient walls of the old town - it was so close that we could walk into the main square in 15 minutes. We spent a full day there exploring the streets, plazas, churches and shops. It has an open and appealing feel to it, probably due to the fact that it is the largest city in the area and so has people from farms and tourists there regularly.

We are now in Sintra, just outside Lisbon. It has a great commuter train system into Lisbon and we chose to stay here rather than get lost in the big city. We have enjoyed the neighborhood of Belem - famous for it's pastries, monastery, and gigantic Monument to the Discoveries. Look for a photo of it when I post the next group of photos. We took trolley tours and today spent the afternoon at the Gulbenkian museum - one of the best I have ever been in! Tomorrow we are off to the north, to the seaside town of Nazare. So I'll continue this soon.

Photos: fishing boats pulled up for the moment in Salema, Jon talking to the fishermen, the lighthouse at St. Vincent cabo in Sagres, and a few of the flamenco dancers in Sevilla. And finally the picture of the Monument to the Discoveries - keep in mind that the figures you see are larger than life size and only a few are in this photo!

Southern Spain

Before totally leaving Granada, I would like to make it clear that we were living in a unique section of Granada and there are parts of the city that are as modern as Madrid. There are the big department stores, splashy restaurants and fancy hotels. We chose to stay in an area that we couldn't find elsewhere and because we did, we met our friend and landlord Rafa and several wonderful fellow travelers, including the family from St. Croix with whom we shared Christmas day fellowship.

When we left Granada, we traveled to the southern coast and opted for one of the smaller tourist towns, Nerja. It was a welcome relief - sunny and warm. Unfortunately, the great hotel we had booked was on a plaza that was being torn up and having pipes replaced and the jack hammers started working at 8:00 am. We made the best of it by leaving the hotel and going to the beach! The body of water there is the Mediterranean Sea and I had to wade in it for the first time! I have to say that it was NOT warm, but it was fun. We walked a beach trail as far as we could go and then used the street to walk to the largest beach. In summer it is packed with people but not in December. We had lunch at an outdoor beachfront cafe and then went back to the hotel. I need to tell you that we have adjusted to Spanish eating habits and now generally have breakfast at 10, lunch at 3 and dinner at 8. By the time we got back from the beach, the work on the plaza was almost finished for the day and we could have the evening in peace. The other major event in Nerja was that my regular email stopped working! We were very distressed, to say the least. I will spare you the drama we lived through (emotionally we NEED that connection with home); I will just tell you that we have it restored now and the problem had to do with strength of the internet service there.

After Nerja we traveled west along the coast to Tarifa. We stayed at a hotel highly recommended by our friends the Lagerloefs. It's called the Hurricane Hotel and is a haven for windsurfers, kitesurfers etc. because of it's constant surf and high winds. Again, the temperature was mild but the storm systems came through, one after another. Fortunately the hotel and its out buildings and vegetation are used to bad weather and everything survived nicely. We didn't even consider using the pool however! While we were there, it was New Year's Eve and the hotel did a great job providing us with a fabulous dinner and a fun celebration. They went all out in decorations and gave us all hats, noisemakers etc for the big moment. We made it until midnight, sharing the table with our new friends from Berlin and Galway, but then we retired for the night.

The next day we were off to Ronda, one of the White Hills towns. First we stopped in Gibraltar. What a sight! That is one huge rock! It was pretty stormy and we were glad to be in the little tourist bus that took us from the border to the far end of the community. We wanted to take the cable car to the top but it was closed because of high winds. I was glad that they had already made the decision before we were underway!

We loved Ronda! It is the home of modern bullfighting and has an amazing bridge. We stayed in one of the best hotels so far - all the soda, fruit juice, beer and wine we could drink was included! The location was really good and we had a spacious room (the Hemingway room) with its own balcony! It is a beautiful town and we loved strolling through it. The day was sunny and warm and we spent a long afternoon in the old town area. We saw the cathedral, bridge, and the bull ring. Because there are no bull fights currently, we could go into the actual ring and see the pens etc. plus the chapel for the matadors and the museum.

This morning we left Ronda and drove to Arcos de la Frontera. On the way, we stopped at a little town called Gazalema, back in the hills 16 km. off the highway. It was so picturesque! Beautiful white buildings, narrow streets, flowers in bloom in pots on balconies and a square complete with benches and cafes. We had coffees at one of them, walked around a bit and then rejoined the roads. We made it to Acros at about 2 this afternoon and have settled into yet another comfortable room in yet another quaint small town. I do like the small communities; it is so much easier to find your way around and to feel comfortable!

We are here for 2 nights and then off to Sevilla for 3 nights - and then Portugal!

Photos: me wading in the Mediterranean, New Year's Eve at the Hurricane Hotel, the Puenta Nueva in Ronda, stormy weather in Arcos de la Frontera