Thoughts
When we first booked our flights for Portugal, we were intending to volunteer as hospitaleros at the Albergue in Alpriate. Unfortunately, the albergue closed permanently leaving us with flights to Portugal. We had planned to walk some after our volunteer work but this situation now allowed us more time to see the country. We could have changed our flights and gone elsewhere but our previous visits were enjoyable and we did desire to see more of the country, especially in the northern parts. We also had the desire to travel more spontaneously as we did on some of our earlier trips in Europe.
Joan’s idea of beginning our walk in Fátima was a good one as we really enjoyed the Carmelita walk to Coimbra albeit we could have skipped the last part into that city (A taxi or bus from the archaeological site would have sufficed). And then the walk on the Camino Interior was quite good even though it was, at times, very tough, especially in the Douro Valley. Our planning for this stretch of the journey was made a day or two at a time depending on weather and available resources. We ended up only staying in two albergues (with one being like an air bnb) which was fine because since we really weren’t on pilgrimage, we didn’t want to take beds from those seeking Santiago. But we found the trails we walked sparse of peregrinos.
When we started walking, we had no destination in mind. There was no goal other than to enjoy the day-to-day life of walking along a Camino route. When the weather began to turn wet and colder we made the decision to head elsewhere (there was no reason to subject ourselves to miserable conditions). We had spent two weeks walking, covering almost 300 kilometers and that was good for us. The choices to go to Évora and Sintra (credit to Joan) were good ones. We saw some very interesting sites, had some great walks, enjoyed some tasty food and stayed at some nice Alojamentos. And no matter where we went, we always came across Camino arrows!
As we found on our previous visits to Portugal, the people are very laid back. There’s no hurry to do anything. Breakfast before 8:00 was rare. So many people were friendly and helpful. The vibe was what endeared us to the country in the first place. We are not sure we will ever go back but Portugal will always hold some great memories for us.
Language
We have talked and written about this many times previously but after visiting a couple of towns/cities with many tourists in recent days, it comes to our attention how many visitors take no time to learn just a little of the language of the country where they are visiting. It’s not that one must be fluent but to learn basic greetings and manners statements is a show of respect and goes a long way in creating goodwill. Several times in the last few days we heard people in their interactions expecting the locals to speak English. And in the bigger cities much English is spoken. But many times on this trip and more so in the last few days, we used our broken Portuguese with poor pronunciations and we were shown appreciation for trying. C’mon travelers! Do a little studying.
Portugal: Day 21 – Sintra (Train to Lisboa)
Today was our last day in Portugal. After enjoying our last full-blown European breakfast we headed out for one more day of adventure. We wanted to avoid all the touristy things in Sintra and see something cool. So we decided to go on a good walk and head to the 16th century Convento dos Capuchos. To get started we decided to take some public transportation part of the way to avoid road walking on a busy road. The buses that were supposed to run at 9:00 and 9:30 didn’t show (and people were ticked). But after a long wait we finally got the bus and got delivered to a point where we could walk safely. It was a beautiful wooded walk which took us to the Convent.
The place has been somewhat restored after falling into disrepair. It’s really cool.
After exploring the buildings with narrow passageways, short doors and cool relics, we stopped for a rest before leaving the grounds. We found a trail to follow from there called the Fairy Forest Trail. We found it on the Walk Sintra website. It was supposed to take us by several points of interest. However, we only found one (the Tholos do Monge) and it wasn’t very interesting. When we started to loop back we took a detour yet found one of the other points of interest. This confirmed that this path and the Walk Sintra site is messed up. Anyway, we wanted to head back to Sintra and there was no direct route. We walked some gravel roads, wooded paths and did some quiet road walking.
It was good for a while but we took one road that wasn’t great so after awhile and some up and a lot of down we got back to Sintra. We quickly found a place to eat lunch/dinner called Saudade. After two home run choices for restaurants we were skeptical of hitting a third but we got a great quiche and salad meal with a couple nice desserts. Score! We then grabbed our backpacks from the hotel and got the train back to Lisboa. We were going to take a subway back to the airport where our hotel is but the ticket person told us we couldn’t recharge our train passes and that we would have to buy new ones. So we walked to the hotel.
And that’s it. Tomorrow morning we catch a silver bird back to the states. We had a great trip and we’ll write more thoughts later.
Accommodations: Hotel Star Inn – It’s a very nice place. Modern and clean. Expensive but it’s at the airport so that’s what you get.
Neosporin
Every trip we always pack a small tube of Neosporin antibiotic ointment in case of cuts or scratches. Most trips, that tube never sees the light of day. On this trip, we’ve almost used the entire tube.
Portugal: Day 20 – Azenhas do Mar to Cabo da Roca – 12 Kilometers!
Today we decided to go to the ocean and do a coastal walk. We loved walking the southwest coast of Portugal back in 2017 so we thought we should walk the coast a little before leaving. So after a lovely breakfast we headed out to catch a bus for Azenhas do Mar. We had a bit of a hiccup getting the bus but we ended up on our way and arriving around 10:30. And much like we remembered, walking along the cliffs is very beautiful. The waves crashing against the rocks are very loud but somehow it’s also peaceful.
We followed the GR 11 markers for a good bit of this walk. We did get down to one beach, Praia das Maçãs, and actually had to do a mini water crossing.
The first half of this walk was very relaxed and chill (about six or seven kilometers). But the latter part saw us do much up and down. At one point the markers went awry and we followed paths that pretty much just paralleled the ocean.
We followed one path that was a bit more overgrown than we would care for but once past it our next challenge was a daunting technical descent and ascent (any steeper and we would have needed rock climbing gear). It took a good chunk of time to get down carefully and then climb the steep rocky trail, but we would not be deterred.
We kept our feet moving and endured more climbs and descents but we eventually made it to Cabo da Roca, a lighthouse on the western-most point of Europe. Our timing was good as we were able to quickly catch the bus back to town. Upon arrival, we stopped at a small market and picked up some fruit for a great rewarding snack. After showering and washing clothes we were exhausted but we mustered the energy to get some dinner. Fortunately for us, there is a restaurant across the street, Larmanjat, that has a great menu where we scored an excellent dinner (and desserts!) while enjoying some smooth jazz tunes.
Overall, today was an enjoyable, memorable and rewarding day. Although, trying to piece together all the different things that happened today is somewhat hard. We were super happy to walk the cliffs above the ocean. We also had a great sense of satisfaction from conquering some very, very tough paths.
Accommodations: Sintra Bliss Hotel – A very nice place with a great location. Relatively quiet for it’s proximity to the train station. Excellent breakfast.
Portugal: Day 19 – Sintra
This morning we said goodbye to our home base in Évora and boarded a train for Sintra. Actually, it’s two trains but we got there late in the morning. We quickly found our accommodations and were just going to drop our backpacks off and go explore. But our room was ready so we checked in. The young man who was at the desk was a wealth of information so we picked his brain but then set off on our way. We meandered a bit but ended up heading to the Moorish Castle. It’s sort of neat but it’s done up well for the tourists (which there were a bunch today). The best thing about it is it’s location which, if you climb to one of the high lookouts, provides very nice views. But after paying next to nothing to visit some really cool spots, we felt the 8€ was a bit overpriced.
After our visit we made our way back to our place and got cleaned up and headed out for a good meal. We didn’t want the typical heavy Portuguese meal. And Joan found a place hidden not far from the Main Street called, Ráiz. It was delicious!
Afterwards, we wandered and wandered trying to find some pleasant places to walk that didn’t cost money but we found little.
Eventually, we ended up back near our hotel and we found a little Pastaleria where we scored some desserts to enjoy tonight. We spent a good part of our evening washing clothes and planning our day tomorrow.
Accommodations: Sintra Bliss Hotel – Clean, modern place. Fairly quiet. Complimentary coffee and treats. Helpful staff.
Portugal: Day 18 – Elvas
Today we made a day trip out to the fortified town of Elvas. It’s very near Spain. It’s an interesting fortified walled city that is in a unique shape. We took a long distance Uber that was obviously going to be pricey but it was the only mode we had. We arrived around 10:30 and our first stop was to walk about two kilometers up to the 17th century Forta da Graça, a very cool fort on a hilltop just north of the old city.
It turned out to be the highlight of our visit. We wandered through passageways, tunnels and so many different paths. It was easy to get lost there. We could have spent much more time exploring.
We eventually headed out and instead of walking the roads back to town, we tried to take a Maps.me path. Started out great but we ended up on someone’s property and having to jump a wire fence to get back on track. Eek. After that we quickly made our way into the old city of Elvas. We wanted to find a good meal but that was a bit difficult as every place we went was “compleat”. We had read that could be the case but we didn’t think it would be this bad (especially since many other places are closed). We ended up getting some sustenance at a small cafe. After lunch we passed through the city center’s Praça de Republica and ran into this.
We then visited the Church of the Assumption where services were happening. We enjoyed hearing the music from the nuns. It was very different than what we’ve heard in the past. We then walked about the city taking in sights from the bulwark walls. We could have checked out the aquaduct that is a big deal here, but we saw it on the drive in and it looked heavily restored. Eventually we headed towards the Forta da Santa Luzia on the south side of town. It wasn’t as big or as elaborate as the other Fort but it was cool in it’s own right.
After exploring there we headed back towards town where we picked up some salad kits for dinner at a Lidl and then caught the bus back to Évora. Overall, we had a very good day.
Accommodations: Heaven Inn Suites & Terrace – Nothing has changed. Still a good place to stay.
Portugal: Day 17 – Évora II
Today we planned to “See Évora”. And we pretty much covered it. I’m not sure I can remember exactly how it all went down as we were all over the place. We started with a tour of the Capela das Ossos or rather, Chapel of Bones. It’s a 16th century chapel that is made from the bones of approximately 5000 skeletons.
They had a nice collection of artifacts to peruse as well. Later we paid a visit to the Évora Cathedral. We paid for the full visit which allowed us to the tower, cloisters, museum and, naturally, the cathedral. It was a very interesting tour.
We continued from there and were all over the place. We did pass by the Templo Romano.
In the afternoon, we passed by some of the aquaduct inside the city walls. Then, we tried to visit the Forte de Santo António da Piedade but apparently it has been purchased by a private person and is no longer open to the public.
We went back and followed the city wall and eventually we entered back in and went by the Igreja de Santa Clara that has been a number of things from a church to a convent and now is being run by a non-profit organization trying to assist the less fortunate. We interacted with a sweet lady there. Eventually we sort of ended our sightseeing and made a journey a couple of kilometers out to the Pingo Doce where we picked up some food items to self cater our dinner and fortify our “pantry”.
Now as for the important food and coffee we enjoyed, here’s how it went. During the morning, we were on a mission to find the Quiejada de Évora which is a tart made with cheese that’s sweet. We found it at this tiny place, Confeitaria Pao de Canela (really neat cafe). The pastry is as advertised. Very delicious and frankly, better than Portugal’s infamous Pateis da Nata. With a couple of espressos it was a great mid morning treat. For lunch, we decided to partake of the popular Bifana pork sandwich. We got a couple at a recommended joint to enjoy on our veranda. They were pretty good but we found they paled in comparison to the chicken kebab sandwiches we had up north a couple weeks ago (and they don’t begin to compare to Italy’s Porchetta sandwiches). Then in the afternoon when we were looking for a coffee stop, we stumbled upon this.
We had a good day. Did we see everything? Maybe not but we got a good taste of the history of this city. It was very interesting and we really enjoyed it. One day is usually all we need to cover a walled city.
Accommodations: Heaven Inn Suites & Terrace – Same as before. A great place to stay in Évora.
Cheese
We love to eat (who doesn’t?) and we love trying food that is from the different regions. We have sampled some great cheeses over the years and have enjoyed a couple of good ones here in Portugal. But in this part of Alentejo, everyone seems to think their cheese is the best. We have tried several and frankly, they are so similar that there is basically no difference. It’s quite funny.
Ed & Joan Walk in Portugal 