Portugal

 Upon leaving Northern Spain we headed south to Portugal.  As you can see, we started in the Braga Region and continued south through the Alentejo Region ending up in the Algarve.

The city of Braga was our first destination at the Sanctuary Bom Jesus do Monte which is a pilgrimage site.  It consists of two Basilicas.  The Upper one . . . . 

And the lower one.  

Though the complex dates back to the 14th Century, the current lower Sanctuary was started in the 18th Century.  It is reached by climbing 577 stairs (the pilgrims were encouraged to do this on their knees!) and is designed in a zigzag pattern with chapels on various levels depicting, with life-size statues, the 12 stations of the cross    Unfortunately, the day we arrived was a religious holiday, The Assumption of Mary, and as such the place was an absolute zoo!  But we prevailed and took in the sights - or should I say, stairs (this was just half way).

The following morning we took off for Belmonte.  It was a beautiful drive - miles and miles of terraced hillsides.

But, as we approached our destination we noticed a lot of smoke and, sure enough, there were a number of wild fires burning.

We reached the Pousada Convento do Belmonte, a Monastery dating from the 13th Century, which is high on a hill overlooking a lovely valley.  It really was a gorgeous property and gorgeous setting (except for the smoke and ash).

Our side of the valley was fine but the other side was on fire in numerous locations.  It was a bit strange to be watching CNN Portugal reporting on the fires that we could see in real time from our rooms.

The next morning the fires seemed to be under control and it was on to Alvito.  This Pousada is a renovated 15th Century Castle and while much more basic that the other properties we have stayed at, it was just fine for one night. 

Both Posadas are located in the Alentejo Region of Portugal which means a lot of cork trees, vineyards, piñon pine trees, olive trees and storks!  The landscape is beautiful golden fields dotted with these majestic trees.  And, in this area, storks are considered good luck so you see huge nests perched atop tall poles.

Then it was on to three days in Lisbon.  We had planned one day to tour the city, one day to tour Sintra and one day to tour Cascais.  When we arrived we couldn't believe the hoards of people and heard that the castles in Sintra were overrun with tourists with 2 hour lines to get in so we crossed that off the list.  We did take the train to Cascais but again, people everywhere so instead of spending the day we had lunch and returned to Lisbon.  We couldn't believe this charming small town that we loved had changed so much.  Instead of taking pictures of all the people, we took a picture of the boats in the harbor.

So, two and a half days to take in Lisbon.  Our apartment was in the Graça neighborhood which is on the highest hill in Lisbon (there are a number of them) with a spectacular view of the city and a great location from which to do some exploring.

Though not as well maintained as some of our other favorite cities, its outstanding features are the tiled buildings,

mosaic sidewalks,

and, new to us on this trip, graffiti.  It seems that the government has sanctioned graffiti as a means of "decorating" old unused buildings.  Very strange.

Our last couple of days in Portugal were spent in Praia da Rocha, Portimão in the Algarve Region.  Here, as it is a major beach town, we expected a lot of tourists.  And, we weren't disappointed!

Here's the beach at 8 in the morning . . .

And, here it is a couple of hours later . . . .

Even with all the bodies, we had a wonderful kick-back day lazing on the beach and enjoying the beautiful coastline.

 

Fully rested, we are ready to head back to Spain tomorrow for our last couple of weeks.  See you soon.