Portugal

27th June to 7th July – Nazare, Portugal.

Graham has already told you about the site and our move from one pitch to another. Amazing isn’t it? As soon as we’d moved on they turned the disco music down. Well it seems whenever we move on we travel in glorious sunshine, get Freda settled and sit with a glass of wine congratulating ourselves on a safe journey and arrival – the next day it either rains or it’s overcast. Not what I’d imagined this far south.

Arrived Saturday and spent the next day looking at other sites and then eventually moved Freda to a quieter location on this one which has around 620 placements and there are distinct areas; upper, middle and lower class! The site is a fairly steep hillside with terraces and placements higher up the slopes for tents and then a centre well which has what we describe as “tent city”, large units permanently placed and some privately owned (like mobile homes except plastic – get the picture?). We’ve named a particularly salubrious area the Woodcote Estate and we are situated between Woodcote and Langley Vale (this will mean nothing to readers except our mates Noelyn and Eric).
Portugal is lovely – very green but not quite as dramatic as Northern Spain.

Nazare is a charming seaside town; not too big. The Rough Guide hasn’t a lot to say except that it is a lively holiday destination. There is a fabulous bay with acres of white sand stretching to a jagged headland. On top of the headland is the old “Sitio” (reached by a funicular railway) with a fine church (dating back to the 15th century), square, chapel and buildings decorated with the famous Azulejos tiles (brought to Portugal by the Moors in the 14th century). The tiles are not just for decoration but provide insulation whilst offering excellent protection against dampness, heat and noise, and make the walls last longer. Rollers coming in from the Atlantic make the beach, in places, dangerous and to hear the surf is to understand just how treacherous this coast can be. I’m struck by just how many old ladies wear the national dress – rather strange headgear best described by looking at the photograph and black gathered skirts with a fancy black apron over the top tied at the back with an elaborate bow. There is a lot of poverty here and the women look old beyond their years. It seems there’s no middle-aged stage between the youthful and pretty adolescent and the elderly.
We had hoped to visit Porto (Oporto) but realised we are just too far south – it would take us three hours from here. Porto has to be another time. We are now concentrating on the lovely bays and towns within an 80-mile radius.

Thursday we visited Aveiro, famous for its canals and described by residents as the Venice of Portugal (I can tell you it isn’t a patch on the real thing). However, it is very attractive and we spent a pleasant hour on a traditional boat being taken around the canals – all three of them! Aveiro is famous for harvesting salt and kelp. The kelp is an essential crop, enriching the poor soil.

We then went on to Costa Nova, famous for its striped fisherman’s cottages. Very, very pretty. However, the tiny resort reminded me of that resort in Jaws (we all remember that one don’t we – Rod Steiger and Co – what was that resort called?). Anyway, it was an interesting day. Unfortunately Jane (the satnav) gets very confused. There are so many new roundabouts, roads and motorways being built, and although our satnav is the 2008/2009 version we have found ourselves in some interesting places!

We visited the historic town of Peniche – the largest port for fisherman bringing in their catches – it had an interesting old fort dating back to the 15th century but that was about it. It is the people that make this journey so interesting. Although generally we’ve not found the Portuguese to be overly friendly the youngsters are very keen to try out their English and be helpful. The cost of living is very cheap!

Well somehow this week we’ve lost a day – how does that happen? Were we drugged or what? We thought Friday was Thursday. It was only through talking to our Basque neighbours who were off to the market, which we knew was on a Friday, that we realised we’d (dare I say) cocked up big time; we’d reserved a table at a Fado bar for Thursday night. We were so looking forward to the evening (Fado is Portugal’s songs of fate) similar to Flamenco (although I’m sure the Portuguese would vehemently deny this); the instrument on which they play is a cross between a zither introduced to Portugal in the 16th century and the English 12-string guitar. The instrument produces a slightly metallic and vibrating sound. Anyway, utterly disappointed, missed it completely! It may be we can find something on Saturday. Everything is a learning curve – must keep track of the days – time is not so important anymore.

Market day in Nazare - the noisiest market I’ve ever been to, with stallholders shouting to catch shoppers’ attention. Oddly, babies plonked amongst the goods on show. I asked someone, “How much for the baby?” He looked at me as though I meant it and we hurried on! Another stallholder was holding a baby about 10 months old and being very affectionate; all very nice but then he would bellow in the loudest voice, his mouth only inches away from the child’s ear. She’ll be as deaf as a post when she grows up!

What I have noticed out here is just how tactile parents are with their very well behaved children. Always touching and caressing them, so nice to see. Our Basque neighbours, Joxe Mari and Agunyzaue) charming, have two delightful little girls and they are here for three weeks. Daddy (Joxe Mari) plays his guitar and sings to the girls (Anne and Catherina – the spelling might be wrong) who listen with rapt attention, joining in from time to time... really nice people!
Next, our task was to find the post office. Well, I was distracted by the tourist train; you’ve all seen them in tourist spots; a little engine with around five carriages that give you a tour around the area. Without so much as a “shall we go on the little train Graham” I dragged him into a carriage. However, it was really worthwhile, as it took us to an urbanisation high on the cliffs which we hadn’t known existed; really pretty and worthwhile. However, although the sun shone brightly in a perfect blue sky the wind was straight from the North Pole. So cold when we got off had difficulty getting our limbs to move (particularly at our age). Coffee was essential to get the blood flowing. We found the post office closed; it’s only open one half day a week on a Monday! Another visit to the Tourismo confirmed that Nazare is closed for tourism until 18th July when everything happens! Fiestas, Fado, you name it, we could have seen it. But there you are – don’t visit this region if you want a little excitement, well, not until the 18th.

After lunch (delicious local hams and cheeses) we drove to Obidos. Jane (the sat-nav) had a nervous breakdown and without the back-up of a map we were stuffed! Having travelled ten miles in the wrong direction we reprogrammed before giving up. Bingo – Jane had come to her senses and we finally reached our destination. I quote from our Baedeker guide – “the whole of the particularly picturesque town of Obidos has been declared a national monument thanks to its pretty, well-tended appearance”. The old town centre is surrounded by a 43ft high wall, crowned with battlements and fortified with towers. It is possible to walk the circumference of the wall BUT the path was uneven and only 3 ft wide with no handrail. We watched as tourists grappled with each other as they met going in opposite directions; scary and not for the faint-hearted. I was pleased to see even Graham was put off. Obidos was the prettiest place we’ve visited so far and stands on top of a large escarpment visible for miles around. As usual I am drawn to the food and wine on offer. We sampled some of the local Ginjinha, a delicious kirsch liqueur packed with whole cherries, served in a tiny edible chocolate cup; yes, diet is officially over. Having missed our Fado evening decided to buy a CD by the renowned Fado artist Amalia Rodrigues (and recommended by Baedeker) to finally hear Fado.

Lisbon is around a two hour drive from here and we were going to visit today (Sunday) but we will be travelling to Seville on Tuesday, spending four days touring the city, so we decided to give Lisbon a miss and visit one or two places nearer to home (did I say home; must be getting too used to this travelling life-style). We learned that Fado can be heard in abundance in Lisbon but doesn’t get going until 11.00 p.m. when we are usually in bed!

As an aside, we are having terrible problems receiving and sending emails via our web provider Virgin. It’s a dreadful service and has been a great disappointment, as we were relying on email to keep in touch. Last night Graham successfully set up a hotmail “Live” account only to find this morning that we have been blocked due to Graham trying to send 55 notifications to you all and Hotmail assuming it was spam!! Oh the trials of the internet! ONE DAY ON (not sure which one mind you) and our block on Hotmail has been removed. Thank you God! (Or is that Bill Gates – hard to tell the difference...) Until we get back home, would you all mind changing your contact details to sugram@live.co.uk – thanks.

What a good decision not to have gone to Lisbon. Our neighbour recommended Batahala just a 30-minute drive inland. What a brilliant destination! The guide says “Batalha is in a fertile basin of the Lena, is a simple rural town known throughout the world for its Dominican abbey. One of the largest and most significant monastery complexes in Portugal, the abbey has been under UNESCO protection as a World Cultural Heritage Site since 1983”. The size of the abbey is totally unexpected – it is huge, intricately carved and was founded in 1388. The abbey was built to commemorate Joao I’s vow on the onset of battle that if victory was his, even though his troops were outnumbered by the Spanish, he would build the Mosteiro De Santa Maria Da Vitoria. The outcome of the battle ensured Portugal’s independence from Spain. There is also a gigantic statute of Joao riding into battle on his horse. It seems very odd that this amazing complex and gigantic square should be in such a pretty but modest village. Our guide book recommended readers to eat in the Pousada du Mestre – wow, it was very special after plastic tables and paper table cloths; beautiful linen tablecloths, glassware and professional waiters – nice to be posh occasionally; had the most amazing set menu - “Hen’s” broth (delicious) followed by monk fish and langoustine kebabs (so much of it) with nouveau cuisine vegetables (creamed potato, green beans and tiny sweet green peppers) dessert of crème caramel (with attitude) for Graham, and I had poached pear in a local liqueur, wine and coffee for the total cost of 32€. I’ve been truly surprised at just how cheap even the classiest meals can be in this region.

Whilst we were paying the bill a coach load of very strange people arrived. We thought initially they were Amish or some rather strange religious set, but they turned out to be classical folk dancers for the festival that evening. Their costumes were from different periods of Portugal’s history and were stunning. The quality of the clothes was astounding. I was helped to understand more by a Canadian woman who’d lived in Portugal until the age of 11. She told me the dancers were not state funded but they had performed around the world. They made their money from the home-made food and crafts they sold at the festivals and that most of their costumes were hand made - see photographs. A large crowd sat in the square (mostly under the few trees) eating freshly made bread from pizza ovens, sausage, hams, cheeses and drinking the local wines and liqueurs. It was a super day and we dragged ourselves away before the square was cleared for the locals to continue dancing and drinking into the evening.

Today, Monday 6th July, is our last day here. We’ve decided to have a “domestic” day clearing up in readiness for onward travel tomorrow. Watch out Seville, here we come! (360 miles, but mostly motorway and hopefully not mountainous!)