Our time in this perfectly lovely part of Portugal is waning. I’m a bit sad. This south-central area seems to exude vibrancy. The air is fine, the sky is clear, the temperatures are cool and refreshing and the food is delicious and healthy. We still have work to do to arrange the next destination details, airfare, and apartments. But about noon today, we took a break and walked. That’s our motive in life these days . . . just walk.
We struck out up and down through the cobblestone streets in Ericeira and headed toward the coastline to the road to Ribamar. We had no idea how long the walk might be but we did not care. Nice, wide sidewalks were available the entire way. After an hour and a half of hard-walking up and down great hills, power-chatting all the way (gosh what can we still have to chat about after all these years?), we arrived at the village of Ribamar. Its personality is a little different from that we’ve come to know in Ericeira. It appears to be a quiet residential area as we saw only a few restaurants and very little commercialism. The houses appear to be a mix of very old and newer ones but most have distant views of the ocean.
We stopped at a little in-town café for a Coke and snacks of meat croquettes and empadas de galinha. These ordinary fresh-made snacks are available almost anywhere in Portugal. The meat croquette is a lightly breaded and fried finely-ground meat roll – shaped like a Vienna sausage but crunchy outside and soft inside. The chicken pastry pie (empada) is soft, moist, finely shredded chicken encased in puff pastry. As we sat there that day, listening to the Elvis music they were playing and resting our bones from the long hilly walk, a cute scruffy dog held tight on a leash wiggled and whined under his table. He could see another dog lying complacently under his owner’s table in the shade just steps away on the deck. Scruffy wanted to play so bad!
A religious celebration, Feast of São João Baptista, had been held over the weekend; the entrance to a small church, Capela de São João Baptista – Ribamar, as well as doors and fences of many houses were still decorated with small flower bundles.
I almost dreaded the walk back to Ericeira. We had such hills to overcome but I manage hills and long sets of stairs too by counting my steps. On the longest and steepest hill, I counted 684 steps. Counting takes my mind off the tightness in my calves, hips, and butt, and before I know it, we’ve reached the top!
Back in town, we finally tried a fartura, a Portuguese doughnut. It has a peculiar name, for sure . . . especially to those with a juvenile mind. Heh-heh! Usually sold at stands at festivals and fairs, this is a piece of heaven. It’s a cross between a doughnut and a churro but better than either. The dough is cooked stove-top before it is pressed through a decorating tube into a long rope and then fried. The rope is coiled and kept warm. Just before it is served, a length is cut off from the coil and rolled in a light cinnamon and sugar mixture. Lord!
On Tuesday we made a final journey to Sintra. The bus stop is just minutes from our apartment. Sintra is the mountain town we visited earlier. On its green hills stand several castles and palaces. I read that royalty chose this location for its palaces due because of its proximity to Lisbon, the climate, good agricultural value, and good hunting grounds. Plus, they had to appreciate the fact that it is simply beautiful.
In the heart of the historical part of town is the Sintra National Palace. Its two conical towers make the palace and the town’s skyline unique. This palace is the best-preserved and only remaining medieval royal residence in Portugal. Portuguese royalty lived in this place from at least the early 15th century to the late 19th century.
From the Palace, it was just a 30-minute walk to the Regaleria Palace (Quinta da Regaleria). This 20th-century palace has a grandiose exterior but a relatively small interior. Unlike other palaces we have visited here, the domed ceilings were of carved wood giving making the rooms appear dark and a little gloomy. Its grounds though are exquisite with a beautiful chapel, a tower, walks and bridges, grottos,, and the unique Initiation Well. The palace is said to have been built to incorporate myth and mysticism; the Poco Inciatico is definitely one of the most enigmatic elements of the estate. This well that goes deep into the ground never held water. It looks like an inverted tower with a spiral staircase that travels nine levels to the bottom. A templar cross on the floor of the well is thought to be connected to Masonic initiation rites.
Visiting those two palaces was our only plan for that outing but the day was only half gone. Navigation indicated the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros) which we thought we might not have time to visit was just a 59-minute walk away. We struck out.
Now this walk was no walk; it was a hike! Not a long one but it was a very steep one. I lost count of the steps!
The old castle whose foundation and walls date back to the 8th to 12th century stands high above Sintra. I find the dates flabbergasting! This castle once defended the entire region. In the 1800’s King Ferdinand II partially restored the castle, making it a compliment to the lands of his grand Pena Palace.
Sintra is done. I wonder if we will ever see such a magical place ever again.
We celebrated that night with a luscious seafood dinner at one of the very nicest restaurants in Ericeira, Mar a Vista. Although the restaurant had no notable décor, the crabs, lobsters, and langostinos were live for guests to see and choose from. Guests dined by reservation only. The wait staff consisted of two older gentlemen, like those you might see at Anthony’s in St Louis. . . not offensive in the least, efficient but curt. They served us a steaming pot of lobster, crab, mussels, and langostinos over vegetables in broth. We ate every bite. By the time we left, we had the stuffy wait staff laughing and helping us with our Portuguese.
One last visit to Lisbon to visit the Tile Museum is on our agenda yet. Otherwise between now and Tuesday when we leave, we are free to vacation . . . with little to do but take walks, enjoy fine food and sit on the beach.
Before I close on this portion of the trip I will talk about the pastries, the coffee, and oh, the wine! But that’s for another day.
I’d have to stay. I love the colors and about Portugal. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, the colors ARE fantastic! The sights are sometimes just too much to digest. Can it be real? But I think of other places we have visited and those we have yet to visit, there is so much beauty in this world!