Jane & Rog Plod to Portugal

[Figaro]

a quick drive 380km south

quite a drive

Obidos is a nearby village worth a visit in that area, if you're looking for somewhere to look around ?

 

[Jane And Rog]

quite a drive

Obidos is a nearby village worth a visit in that area, if you're looking for somewhere to look around ?

Escaping the rain for the sunny south. Obidos has been discussed over dinner thanks.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Have you been to Fatima. There is an aire there you can stop on. It was free the last time we went. It's a place of pilgrimage. A local girl saw an apparition of mary. She was disbelieved but then a priest saw the same vision and hey presto a place of pilgrimage was built.
It's a really fascinating place. The church is modern but it's the place behind thd church that is mind-blowing.
It's worth a visit.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Have you been to Fatima. There is an aire there you can stop on. It was free the last time we went. It's a place of pilgrimage. A local girl saw an apparition of mary. She was disbelieved but then a priest saw the same vision and hey presto a place of pilgrimage was built.
It's a really fascinating place. The church is modern but it's the place behind thd church that is mind-blowing.
It's worth a visit.

No, but it is in Mundus, my app. I think the pilgrimage is very soon now. Not sure if we’re now south of it after our race to beat the rain. Thanks for the memory jog.

 

[cliffanger]

No, but it is in Mundus, my app. I think the pilgrimage is very soon now. Not sure if we’re now south of it after our race to beat the rain. Thanks for the memory jog.

Fatima - second only to Lourdes for religious tat, and sheer wonderment and respect at just how many people believe.

Added to that Santiago de Compostella - not for tat, but for the Cathedral, the town, the pilgrim bars and cafes, and the amazing atmosphere.

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[125BEER]

Once again an interesting blog....

Just wondered though if you took any baked beans with you


Cheers

 

[The Coops]

Ask Flynn, not bothered as long as there is food and a muddy puddle or two!

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Glad you are enjoying Portugal. We found most of the towns fitted your description of slightly scruffy, but still charming. Except Evora, we just thought that was slightly scruffy!

Shame we missed Chaves, the weather was just to bad, it look nice. We loved Obidos by the way.

 

[pjay]

Anyone tried those take away spatchcock chickens from Pingo Doce. Yummy!

Pete

 

[March Hare]

I'm really enjoying following your travels on the map and logging your stopovers on my S4S Portugal list for future reference - hopefully we'll be back in that area in 2025.

I just wondered if you'd visited Nazare before, it's on the Atlantic coast about 30km north of Foz Do Arelho, which is I think where you are at the moment?

If not, then it's definitely worth a visit - it is surfing paradise for pro surfers who have to be towed onto the incredible waves. World record waves are usually recorded at Nazare, but even on a regular day the waves are still massive due to the offshore canyon that funnels the waves upwards!

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[Jane And Rog]

I'm really enjoying following your travels on the map and logging your stopovers on my S4S Portugal list for future reference - hopefully we'll be back in that area in 2025.

I just wondered if you'd visited Nazare before, it's on the Atlantic coast about 30km north of Foz Do Arelho, which is I think where you are at the moment?

If not, then it's definitely worth a visit - it is surfing paradise for pro surfers who have to be towed onto the incredible waves. World record waves are usually recorded at Nazare, but even on a regular day the waves are still massive due to the offshore canyon that funnels the waves upwards!

No we didn’t - going south quickly to avoid the rain storm. The Aussie lady we’ve been chatting to came from there and was very impressed by the waves. Next time, in better weather.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Of course, we woke to rain. The dog walk around the headland was abandoned, and so was a visit to the walled town of Óbidos - until we approached it on the motorway and noticed the rain had stopped.

We parked in the aire nearby which is great value at €0 for all day parking (€6 if you stay the night). I’d recommend visiting early or late in the day though as the small town was swamped with mega bus loads of tourists, mostly Japanese and American.

Rog and I tried to get into the swing of being touristy with a cherry liquor in dark chocolate cup each for breakfast. There are cherries, so it must be one of your five a day, right? Rog followed this breakfast of champions with a sweet roll thing filled with vitamin C (custard). I bet you dream of having our healthy lifestyle…

Vitamin A

Central heating for grown-ups

Óbidos is a lovely town but would be stellar if you added sunshine and subtracted people. We enjoyed our mooch around though, and I was allowed to investigate a suitable number of lady shops in search of a Christmas decoration to add to the travel collection. No luck though.

The back streets were a lovely escape from the hordes.

As the weather continued in a generally grim style, we thought we could manage one of the many palaces at Sintra, just north of Lisbon - if it was cloudy, then it would be safe to leave Flynn in the van for an hour or so.

But first the driving turned into a nightmare, with the motorway jammed and our avoidance techniques taking us down ever smaller roads. And then, if we thought Óbidos was tourist hell, this was Dante’s Tourist Inferno. One glance at these queues for one of the lesser palaces changed our minds - even if we could park, we didn’t fancy this sort of thing at all. (Most people with motorhomes park some way away and get public transport or a Uber - neither would work with the dog, though.)

I picked a random place from Mundus to get out of Dodge - Cabo de Roca, the most westerly place on the European mainland. It was a bit Land’s Endy, to be honest, though at least we stretched all 8 of our legs, and the sea and cliff views were amazing.

By now we were both a little fed up - it had taken forever hours to go just 70km or so, and the driving was stressfully busy, narrow and steep a lot of the time. The sat nav had made some stupid decisions which always helps.

But the sun was finally out, and the forecast was good for the evening, so we decided to stop driving and head to Camping Obidur, just a little south of us, and cook outside.

First a dog walk - but rather than the great out-the-back-of-the-site beach access of the place in France, we had to go out of the main entrance, down the road a fair way, and then pick up a boardwalk nature trail through a reserve. Flynn had to be on lead here, which Rog doesn’t like, and then he became convinced that there wasn’t even a beach at the end of this trudge.

Bet there’s not even a beach, grumble, whinge, moan

Thank goodness there was a beach, and a cracker at that! Flynn loved his run along the beach beside the Atlantic breakers. Apparently 11m waves are forecast tonight!

More sand!

More sea!

More waves!

More editing!

We even managed a drink in a beach bar with this amazing view, although Flynn decided the best thing ever would be to decide to hide his stick and then excavate it, spraying sand over everything in his vicinity, including my drink. Such a restful animal.

Back at the site, to cap it all, I went for a shower and found I’d left my shampoo and conditioner in the previous place.

Definitely feeling the strain, we decided it was too late to seek out food shopping in town, and anyway there’d been the odd drop of rain on our way back, so bbq wasn’t ideal. Gin and tonic, however, was.

We sat outside and played Mindbug - it’s a great card game for the van and this game had a lots of fun moments. A lovely Aussie woman stopped by and said hello and we chatted for a while. She needs to do a little more plodding - in three weeks she’s hired a van in Cambridge, seen some of the UK, then Ireland, then taken the ferry to France and driven through Spain to Portugal. We suggested chilling in southern Spain for the better weather (as we’re hoping to do), but no, she’s heading back through France to Italy and then back to Cambridge in her final three weeks. Makes our lack of plodding seem a little better.

Then it was sardine, tomato and chilli pasta in the van, and cuddles from Flynn. He can be sweet when he wants to be.

 

[Lenny HB]

Have you been to Fatima. There is an aire there you can stop on. It was free the last time we went. It's a place of pilgrimage. A local girl saw an apparition of mary. She was disbelieved but then a priest saw the same vision and hey presto a place of pilgrimage was built.
It's a really fascinating place. The church is modern but it's the place behind thd church that is mind-blowing.
It's worth a visit.

We were surprised how interesting it was, we found all the wax arms & legs they sell for burning funny but overall not as tacky as Lourds but not been to Lourds since the late 70's.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

We were surprised how interesting it was, we found all the wax arms & legs they sell for burning funny but overall not as tacky as Lourds but not been to Lourds since the late 70's.

The arms and legs are full size replica candles and the area they " light" them in is more like a furnace. When we were there it was full of arms and leg candles all drooping and falling over. Black smoke and soot. Had to cover my face walking past it was that hot. How they get to light them and place them I don't know but must incur some burned proper arms.

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

We liked the Aldi ones €3 in Portugal

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[Lenny HB]

The arms and legs are full size replica candles and the area they " light" them in is more like a furnace. When we were there it was full of arms and leg candles all drooping and falling over. Black smoke and soot. Had to cover my face walking past it was that hot. How they get to light them and place them I don't know but must incur some burned proper arms.

Yep, quite a site.

 

[March Hare]

Hi, Quite understand and very wise! It's definitely worth a visit on the future.

I'm sure you've already picked up on this, but just on the off chance, when I searched for Nazare on Google Maps just now, it came up with the warning below....

The surfers in Nazare are probably getting excited, but I suspect you might be within this zone as you're staying near the estuary.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Hi, Quite understand and very wise! It's definitely worth a visit on the future.

I'm sure you've already picked up on this, but just on the off chance, when I searched for Nazare on Google Maps just now, it came up with the warning below....

The surfers in Nazare are probably getting excited, but I suspect you might be within this zone as you're staying near the estuary.

View attachment 962380

Thanks - we’ve moved on luckily, although the forecast is 11m waves near us. But we’re now much higher up, thank goodness!

 

[Jane And Rog]

.
Deleted because I just repeated what Jane posted

 

[Jane And Rog]

I’m getting confused between the pictures of Aldi spatchcock chickens and the artificial wax arms and legs they burn at Fatima.

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[Jimbohorlicks]

Your not to far away from Coimbra. You can park up on the river beach there. Its a quaont Portuguese village with a roman Bridge.
There is a troop of roman legionairs as cut outs waiting to cross the river with a general on horse back on the other side telling them to cross. The locals had told the romans that the river was cursed and if they crossed they would lose thier memories. So they wouldn't cross.
The general rode across on his horse and called them all by name to cross. To prove he still had his memory.

 

[Jane And Rog]

Your not to far away from Coimbra. You can park up on the river beach there. Its a quaont Portuguese village with a roman Bridge.
There is a troop of roman legionairs as cut outs waiting to cross the river with a general on horse back on the other side telling them to cross. The locals had told the romans that the river was cursed and if they crossed they would lose thier memories. So they wouldn't cross.
The general rode across on his horse and called them all by name to cross. To prove he still had his memory.

Thanks, as you can probably tell, we like a place with a story.

 

[Orion]

That ‘cherry’ liqueur was probably the Portuguese traditional Ginja (other spellings are available). I’ve spent many an evening in bars after hunting in the border badlands where, after the beers were done, the Ginja bottle(s) were brought out - and suffered the following morning!

Ginjinha - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Wanders from Glos]

Boy you are covering some miles. Shame Obidos was so busy, it wasn't as bad as that when we went and the skies were blue! We loved the cherry brandy so much we went to the local supermarket and bought a bottle. I wonder what we will think of it when we open it back home.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thanks, as you can probably tell, we like a place with a story.

The University is good and the library is well worth a visit, we got our timing right and we're invited by a guide into the library just us and one other couple, it's more than just a library loads of ancient science stuff.

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[Jane And Rog]

We considered our options. The rain had cleared but was due to return in force at the coast. We had Lisbon to the south and all the reports on P4N for stopping in the city were of the form “we parked here and within ten minutes someone broke into the van, stole all the seats and taught the dog how to use a tin opener”. We passed (we’ve stayed in Lisbon before) and drove south east towards better weather (hopefully) and the Cromeleque Dos Almendres (definitely).

To get there we had to endure the Lisbon rush hour traffic.

Brmm brmm, toot toot.​

It was so bad we had to stop for a fortifying shopping g trip at Decathlon (rubbish as usual) Leroy Merlin (my new favourite place, why are UK DIY shops so crap?) and a Portuguese incarnation of Auchun (huge, but very difficult to park for).

Auchun sucking pig. ​

Lunch was a disappointing industrial thing from a bakery near Auchun. One thing you don’t seem able to get in Spain and Portugal is good bread products.

The Cromeleques are a group of standing stones - the oldest on the Iberian peninsula a little nouveau compared to Stonehenge but subject to the same shrugging, uncommitted archeology. Maybe a temple, looks like it points to the sun, probably made of stone etc.

Stones earlier today.​

Tourists also earlier today​

We had decided to walk the last two km to the stones and the weather mostly held off. Flynn enjoyed the run though. Some of the going wasn’t great for Jane’s pound shop ankle.

The open road​

Pozor!​

Done with pre history, we drove 10km to; a university town with a very popular free aire (///such.uptake.spill) and a reputation for good food… and Roman baths… and bones. The Aire was predictably rammed but a friendly Brit in a Denby knock off shuffled up so we could park next to him.

“Yeah, we thought about buying the orange one…”​

The baths are booked up weeks in advance so we went for out next best bet: our second ossuary this year.

​

Just a normal church​

Tourists earlier last milennium.
​

The bone chapel in the Igrejade of St Frances is, we’re told, the oldest bone chapel in Portugal. It’s not as mad as the Ossulec Ossary but it’s still not a normal place. For a start it also houses a collection of nativity decorations. Over 300 of them. My favourite was this was being made out of “coloured aluminium foil” which as we all know means “Quality Street wrappers”.

A sparkling mix of delicious colours as it says on the tin.​

The friar of the monastery wrote this sonnet that seemed fitting you our current attempt to slow down:

Where are you going in such a hurry, traveller?
Stop... do not proceed any further;
You have no greater concern,
Then this one: that on which you focus your sight.

Recall how many have passed from this world,
Reflect on your similar end,
There is good reason to reflect If only all did the same.

Ponder, you so influenced by fate,
Among the many concerns of the world,
So little do you reflect on death;

If by chance you glance at this place,
Stop ... For the sake of your journey,
The more you pause, the more you will progress.

With so much pondering, reflecting and recalling to do, we needed some fortification. Went for a drink in the main square and then to eat at the rather unassuming O Parque dos Leitōes. It’s very near the van but not very near the centre.

Meanwhile on an industrial estate near town…​

Leitōes are suckling pigs which this place specialises in. We shared a portion between us but still didn’t finish - though to be fair we did manage to order (and not finish that either) desert though. Sadly the photos of the main event didn’t come out which is why I included the photos of the (inferior) Auchun pigs way back at lunchtime. The pigs came with delicious but very hot dipping sauce and rather incongruously crisps. Maybe that’s traditional though. Who knows, certainly not the internet.

A bit of posh crackling!​

 

[Jane And Rog]

cliffanger Mousy I’ve no idea why Rog didn’t blog about this mummy! Not much seems to be known except it is a lady mummy (appropriately, I suppose).

 

[Wanders from Glos]

You obviously enjoyed Evora more than us. It's not we didn't like it, I think it followed on from Marvao which was so good.

 

[Jane And Rog]

You obviously enjoyed Evora more than us. It's not we didn't like it, I think it followed on from Marvao which was so good.

Sadly we’re missed a few places we’d hoped to see, rushing south to avoid the rain. Next time!

 

[cliffanger]

View attachment 962924

cliffanger Mousy I’ve no idea why Rog didn’t blog about this mummy! Not much seems to be known except it is a lady mummy (appropriately, I suppose).

I wonder why she got a comfy bed? By her position she was obviously married for a long time (don’t get within touching distance, head down, pretend to be asleep …..)

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