Today was one of those special days that you just don’t want to end. We hired Pedro as a tour guide to get out of the city and head North to the Minho region. I’m not sure if it’s because we are rural people but we love the days that we venture out to smaller centres. You need to see the cities too because of the amazing structures and the history but in the villages and in nature is where I feel like I get to know the real Portugal.
Today, with Pedro (an amazing guide) we headed to Braga. Braga is Portugal’s oldest city and its religious heart, with a history dating back to the 3rd century and such a peaceful, beautiful, historic centre. Maybe it was even more magical because it was Sunday and the streets were empty. It felt like we had the town to ourselves. We started with galao (coffee with lots of milk) and pastries at a little cafe and then headed through the walls into the historic centre.
Mass was just ending so we were able to go into the church and have a look at all the small chapels and then the church itself. Many people were praying in front of the statues of saints and especially Fatima – so important to the Portuguese people and once I heard the story I could find Fatima in every church we went into.
We spent a couple hours strolling through the city centre and saw the old University, Hospital, Monastery, and the beautiful gardens and dozens of homes and shops.
Still in Braga we drove over to see the spectacular sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte. Sitting on the hilltop, 381 feet high, it’s an important pilgrimage site, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Looking up from the bottom it looked like we were climbing to heaven and I wasn’t sure I would ever make it. But we climbed the 577 steps. At every level there were beautiful statues and fountains and so it wasn’t as strenuous as I thought it would be and it was so worth it. The views were breathtaking as was the site itself. At each crisscross level of stairs the statues and fountains told a story – first the five senses and then the virtues. There were so many flowering trees that you could smell the perfume everywhere. There was a mass at the church but we were invited in to stand at the back.
After spending a few hours at Braga and Bon Jesus we drove North to a little town and had lunch at a family Portuguese restaurant owned and run by Mom, Dad and son. It was Father’s Day in Portugal and during the meal some families came in and sang and spoke. Although we couldn’t understand the words we felt so blessed to be part of it, I actually got teary and Mom, the owner of the restaurant came and got me and took me behind the counter so I could see and video the visitors. After the meal we got to go into the kitchen and meet Dad who was busy cooking to serve a very full restaurant.
After lunch we toured further North over the river into Spain which meant Jim and I had gone from the Southern tip of Portugal to the most Northern. We drove to the ocean and walked on the beach and we ended the day at Viana de Castelo, a city in Northern Portugal with a ship-building heritage and a large fishing fleet on the banks of the Lima River. We walked the medieval centre and the cobbled shopping streets to the river front and then just before sunset we drove up to the top of Monte de Santa Luzia to see the beautiful basilica and to see the panoramic view that has been rated by the National Geographic Magazine as the third most beautiful in the World. It was a day to remember!
