Note: This is a repost because the original post landed accidentally back in draft. Still a fun read.

Monika

Everyone insisted we had to see Sintra and the magnificent Pena National Palace along with the Moorish Castle nearby.

King Ferdinand II

In the 19th century Sintra became the first center of European Romantic architecture. King Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery into a castle where this new sensitivity was displayed in the use of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements and in the creation of a park blending local and exotic species of trees. Other fine dwellings, built along the same lines in the surrounding hills created a unique combination of parks and gardens which influenced the development of landscape architecture throughout Europe. It is for this reason UNESCO has designated the whole area as a world heritage site called The Cultural Landscape of Sintra.

Castle of the Moors

The beautiful Pena National Palace displayed an interesting blend of Gothic, Egyptian, Moorish and Renaissance elements.

On an adjacent hilltop, the Castle of the Moors made for an interesting contrast to the Palace.  It was constructed during the 8th to 9th century, during the period of Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula.

Sintra do Pedro Plaza

We found a great parking spot at the Sintra do Pedro Plaza, or so we thought. This was a parking lot. We shouldn’t have been surprised that groups of young partiers had decided to gather in front of our truck. We also didn’t notice the bar and disco around the corner. By early morning hours, there had been fist fights, screaming and yelling and finally three police cars arrived to quiet things down.

The view from one of the watch towers at the National Pena Palace was spectacular.

As if that was not enough to disrupt our sleep, by morning we had discovered that there was an antique motorcycle exhibit and rally taking place in the adjacent parking area. I guess we are slow learners. We are starting to think about better places to park in towns.

Since our truck was hemmed in by other parked cars and surrounded constantly by people taking pictures, we hiked up the steep cobble stone road to visit the amazing Pena National Palace and the medieval Moorish Castle. Both were well worth the hike and it gave us a chance to wander through the beautiful botanical gardens, which had specimens from all over the world. The park reminded us a little of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

First occupied by the Romans but abandoned in the 5^th century, in 713 the Moors established a fortification on this mountain. In 1148, Obidos was retaken by the first King of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques, and it was one of the last battles in the final stage of the conquest of the Extremadura region.

King Alfonso II gifted Óbidos to Queen Urraca

In 1210, King Afonso II gave the title of this village to Queen Urraca. Since then, Óbidos has often been patronized by the Queens of Portugal, giving rise to its informal title as Vila das Rainhas, (Town of the Queens). The Church of Santa Maria was the setting for the wedding of King Afonso V to his cousin, Princess Isabella of Coimbra, on 15 August 1441, when they were both still children aged 9 and 10, respectively.

Wandering through the narrow cobblestone streets in the evening, we wondered if anyone really lived here.

Being an extremely popular tourist attraction with busloads of tours arriving from Lisbon, we had little hope of finding a parking place. To the contrary, the city had actually designated a large RV area a short walk from town. Parking was free during the day but cost 6 Euros for the night.

Obidos was a very popular tourist attraction

While the picturesque town had its points of interest with its beautiful fortress walls, there were so many tourists and souvenir shops it kind of distracted from the historic atmosphere. We strolled around in the early evening hours and explored the alleys off the main drag, but the whole town felt like it was a museum with no one actually living there. Maybe we are just getting a little tired of old castles…..

During our short stay at Praia da Vagueira we had the opportunity to watch the fishermen who still use traditional methods to set their nets.

Fishing the traditional way in Portugal

The unique flat-bottom wooden boats have been modified to use a 40 hp out-board motor instead of ores.

Each morning around 6:30 we could hear the rusted-out diesel tractors come to life and we would grab our cameras and head to the beach. The fishermen use traditional wooden flat bottom boats. Originally these boats were probably launched by hand through the waves with the help of oxen. Careful timing was important. They needed to launch between sets of waves that could easily capsize the boat. With the fishing nets in place, today’s tractors with power takeoff winches slowly pull the net back to shore. Again historically, oxen may have helped with this job.

The hard-working fishermen and women know their choreographed routine. Everyone has a job.

It was interesting to watch this historic way of fishing. The fishermen were hard-working men, boys and women, and they all knew exactly what they needed to do. As the net was drawn to shore, everyone anticipated what kind and how many fish would be in the net. Typically they went out three times in the morning before the surf got too rough. Sardines seemed to be the primary catch of this day. They were hauled from the net onto the beach and carried to a sorting table from where they were auctioned off to commercial buyers. It is a fascinating tradition being kept alive. A fishing museum is under construction nearby.

Heading south out of Porto, we had heard that the town of Aveiro was a nice place to visit. Because of its many canals, people call it the “Venice of Portugal”. Like many towns in Portugal, parking is a problem, and in this case, we couldn’t have found a spot if we had been driving a Mini Cooper, so our view was out the window.

Looking for a place for the night, we turned west and by chance, we stumbled upon Praia da Vagueira. There it was, a huge brick parking area right next to the beach. We joined several other trailers and motorhomes. There were public beach showers and bathrooms nearby at no charge. What more could we ask for? As soon as we set up camp we started to talk with neighbors, mostly Portuguese on vacation. They shared maps with us, showed us great places to go and insisted we try their barbecued sardines and mackerel.

It was such a beautiful place, we stayed several days. One night we were treated to a local musical group playing traditional Portuguese songs. (They stopped at midnight sharp!) Each evening we would climb the wooden stairs over the sand dunes to the beach (praia) and watch the spectacular sunset.

This ideal campsite gave us some time to do normal maintenance on the truck and make a plan. We were also fortunate to be able to witness the traditional fishermen launching their unique flat-bottom boats through the waves. We’ll tell you some more about that in the next blog.

The huge brick parking lot was built for vacationing and traveling RVers. Stores, restaurants, beach showers and bathrooms were nearby.

Time for a little maintenance. After just over 2,000 miles, The Turtle V had used one qt. of oil. We took a quart from our 12-gallon reservoir of Amsoil 15-40. Oil on “draft”.

A neighbor insisted we try barbequed sardines and mackerel.

The nearby fish market had a good selection of fresh seafood. Pargo is one of our favorites.

The lady at the fish market did an expert job of filleting our pargo, ready for the grill.

Every evening we were treated to a beautiful sunset from the top of the sand dunes.

A local musical group entertained us with traditional Portuguese songs on Saturday. (They stopped at midnight.☺)

Tractors working with the traditional fishing boats were the first on the beach in the morning.

Yes, there was a beach!!

We wanted to explore a little further north of Porto. The first interesting beach we came to that evening was a small resort town called Ofir. The sun was setting over the ocean and we stopped in an empty parking lot near the “praia” (beach). Everything was fine until about 2AM when the parties began. Young people with blaring car stereos began filling the parking lot, some cruising around and around and around taking pictures of our truck. We later learned was the last weekend of summer vacations. They drank and laughed before heading to the nearby disco that we hadn’t noticed when we had arrived. By 3AM the noise was intolerable and we bolted out to find a quieter place.

In the morning, Manuel Silva, whom we had met the evening before had found us again and was waiting for us with pastries for our breakfast. He belonged to a 4×4/Land Rover Club called Landmania, (3,000 members), and he was so excited to see our truck that he posted a picture on facebook and invited all his friends to come over to meet us. He was further ecstatic about the fact that Gary had been on four Camel Trophies and even had a machete presented to him in Madagascar which said: “CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MADE IT”. After several tours of the truck with his local club buddies we moved to a parking area where we lined up all the vehicles for a group photo.

We were presented with a Landmania Trophy and a very nice Land Rover 60^th year commemorative tool knife. We had to sign the back of an original Camel Trophy plaque from the Zaire event while we presented them with a Turtle Expedition logo.  After shaking hands for the fifth time we headed south again.

Manuel and his 4×4 buddies came to visit us. The Turtle V was thoroughly inspected.

Manuel surprised us with some famous local sweets for breakfast.

Philipe, one of the 4×4 enthusiasts presented us with a Landmania trophy.

In the afternoon we did have a chance to visit the cellars of the Cockburn’s winery, one of the many producers of the famous Port Wines that this country is famous for. After an interesting tour we were allowed to taste a few. We now have a better idea of where this unique wine comes from and how it’s made, and certainly we have a better appreciation for it.

After a pleasant dinner of traditional Bacalhão, (salted cod, similar to the dried one we actually have hanging on our front porch at home), and green soup, another Portuguese specialty, we wandered through the winding jumble of side streets. There were plenty of little stores selling Port Wine and all sorts of olives and souvenirs. Olives are edible so we couldn’t resist. By chance we stopped at the old Porto train station. We were fascinated by the beautiful Azulejo tiled walls in the entry. Similar in detail to paintings by masters like Rembrandt, they showed what life was like before photography existed. Azulejo, (from the Arabic word Zellige), is a form of Portuguese painted, tin-glazed, ceramic tile work. It has become a typical aspect of Portuguese culture, having been produced without interruption for five centuries.

Little shops selling Port Wine and souvenirs were fun to browse. We couldn’t resist the barrels of olives.

A tour of Cockburn’s Winery gave the education we needed about the famous Port the country is known for.

Of course we had to do some tasting. There are many varieties of Ports.

A cute little restaurant called Das Tripas served traditional Portuguese dishes like Bacalhão (salted cod) and green soup.

Historically, the main train station was a center of commerce and transportation.

The detail in the Azulejo tiled walls of the old train station was amazing. They have been produced in Portugal without interruption for five centuries.

Zoom in to see the amazing detail of this close-up.

Arriving in Porto, we followed the narrow backstreets that our trusted Garmin GPS seems to prefer and found our way to a dusty dirt bag of a campground in an eucalyptus grove. Its sole redeeming point was its proximity to a bus stop that would take us into the center of the city. Apparently training for the Monaco Grand Prix, the excitement of the day was the morning bus ride into town at speeds that would frighten even a New York taxi driver, with only inches of clearance on both sides of buildings and parked cars.

Indeed, our Lonely Planet guidebook described Porto as a “lively walkable city”, no place for our truck. The most economical way to get to main attractions was a Hop-on-Hop-Off tour bus. Used primarily for transportation, it was less expensive than individual tram or bus tickets. It also included a complementary trip on the Douro River on a replica of the historic flat-bottom riverboats called Rabelos once used to transport up to 100 barrels of port wine downstream from the vineyards we had driven through. As was the case in London, the river trip gave us an interesting view of the city that would have been impossible to see on foot. The old-world riverfront district is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Maria Pia Bridge built in 1877 was designed by Gustave Eiffel before he built the famous Paris tower, and named after King Luis I’s wife. It held the world record for the largest span for seven years.

Walking was still the best way to take in the details of this old port city. There seemed to be a church or official building on every corner. The narrow cobblestone streets were lined with cute little cafés.

The dusty campground offered safe parking for our truck but little more. No real RV sites with water and electric, internet didn’t work half the time. It did have a Porta Potti dump station.

The old-world riverfront district of Porto is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A cruise on the Duro River in one of the old flat-bottom riverboats called Rabelos gave us an interesting view of city.

Life goes on along the old-world riverfront district, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Maria Pia Bridge built in 1877 was designed by Gustave Eiffel before he built the famous Paris tower.

The Cámara Municipal do Porto was among the many beautiful old buildings in the city’s center.

Getting tired of walking? Find a beanbag in the Plaza and relax.

Passing a big bus on a narrow bridge can be exciting.

The narrow cobblestone streets of Porto were full of cute cafés.

Many of the buildings in Porto are decorated with Portugal’s famous Azulejo tiles.

Finally, we were in Portugal and ready to experience a new culture. Our Spanish was allowing us to get by. Since one of the famous things in Portugal is Port wine, which comes from the Douro Valley and takes its name from the Douro River, it was recommended that we follow the scenic secondary road through the wine region. This turned out to be an adventure in itself since the road passes through many villages. The houses were built back when ox carts were the main transportation so when the road was modernized, widening it was impossible. Roads that look like they would be two lanes suddenly got very narrow because the line in the center basically just split the difference. This made for some real white knuckle driving around blind corners. In addition, there were fires burning in the mountains, some of which we literally drove through and the dense smoke required headlights. To our disappointment, this was not like touring Napa Valley where dozens of vineyards beckon you to come in and have a taste of their vintage.

We continued to the river town of Peso da Régua where we found safe RV parking in the main plaza. It even had free electrical hook-ups. We stayed for the two open markets in the morning. Picked up some nice pork ribs at a meat market and headed west, hoping to drive out of the smoke. We still wanted to find out more about Port.

The scenic secondary road through the wine region wound through miles of vineyards and the occasional olive grove.

Fires burning in the mountains created some dense smoke. In places the flames were along side the road.

Baskets, pots, and all sorts of hardware filled one open market. The other was all about food.

The selection in these open markets is amazing.

Virtually everything including beans, rice, bread, olives, eggs, and cheese—everything is sold by the kilo or gram.

We wished we had a wall to hang these braided onions.

Olives from the barrel. Monika drains the juice while I snap a photo.

This friendly butcher named Francisco was a character. He even gave us a special chorizo sausage. We gave him a K&N Filters hat.

Ahh Portugal!! I think we are in the land of sausage, olives and great bread.

Where there are markets in Portugal, there are gypsies. This is the typical dress for an older female.

Still following windy secondary roads over the mountains and passing through small villages, we finally came to the Portuguese border. The old Customs House was abandoned so we stopped for a picture and continued on to Bragança. Again it seems strange to cross these international borders without even slowing down. Gary keeps waiting and hoping someone will ask him to show his special Swiss ID card that took eight months to get.

PORTUGAL! Yes, we are moving ever closer to the start of the Trans-Eurasian Odyssey.

Thanks to the EU, the old Customs House at the border was abandoned.

Following the advise of our new Portuguese friends, we arrived at a large RV parking area with dump station and water, just a short walk from the impressive medieval (oh, there is that word again) Bragança Castle. The old medieval walled town, also known as the Citadel, has been virtually untouched for many centuries. The town was the seat of the Royal House of Bragança who ruled Portugal from 1640 to 1910 when the monarchy was dissolved. People still live within the narrow lanes, unspoilt despite the handicraft shops and cafés that have taken over some of the buildings.

Within the blue schist walls is the castle of King Sancho I, built in 1187 with an assortment of watchtowers, dungeons and the impressive 33-meter high watch tower (42.6 ft). Two thousand five hundred and twelve steps later, (Just a guess. We lost count.), we were standing on the upper fortification of the castle overlooking the city. The interior of the castle holds an interesting military museum covering the history of the Gungunhana War, WW I and the Colonial War. Gungunhana was the last dynastic emperor of the Empire of Gaza, a territory now part of Mozambique, once a Portuguese colony.

Next to the castle, the Santa Maria Church with its elaborately carved granite portal and 18th century barrel-vaulted painted ceiling is characteristic of several Bragança churches.

Back in camp, as previously arranged, our new friends arrived bringing special cakes and pastries, and of course Port wine to welcome us to their country. Camping next to us was a young couple from Asturias, Spain. We invited them to join us. They were on their first real camping trip and it warmed our hearts seeing people doing what we had done 40 years earlier with the Land Rover.

The Braganca Castle was built by King Sancho I in 1187.

Ascending a winding wooden stairway, the view from the 33-meter high watchtower was worth the climb.

The old medieval walled town has been virtually untouched for many centuries.

We will see the Portuguese flag atop many castles in the days to come.

This interesting still was part of the military museum inside the castle.

It was hard to imagine men fighting hand-to-hand with such heavy armor.

The elaborately carved granite portal and 18th century barrel-vaulted painted ceiling is characteristic of several Bragança churches.

Our new friends arrived bringing special cakes and pastries, and of course Port wine to welcome us to their country.

This young couple from Asturias, Spain were on their first camping trip, and doing very well.

After surviving Pájaro Pass, we continued southwest to the Medieval town of Puebla de Santabria near the northeastern Portuguese border. Well known as one of the oldest settlements in the province of Zamora, its roots have been documented around 509 where it appears in a record from the Council of Lugo.

In case you haven’t noticed, almost every town in France and Spain and probably in Portugal are Medieval. In case you wondered, in European history, the Middle Ages, or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the early modern period. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: Antiquity, Medieval period, and Modern period. The Medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, the High, and the late Middle Ages.

Since we don’t have any Medieval towns in California we are anxious to see what definitive word they come up with in 2,000 years to describe San Francisco or New York. Late Modern Period sounds a little vague.

Spotting a large cement pad next to the Tera River below the town of Puebla de Santabria, we saw our perfect campsite. The castle loomed high above us. Hiking into town we explored the narrow cobblestone streets and the amazing ramparts of the castle that seemed to flow over the huge boulders.

It was here that we met two couples from the nearby Portuguese town of Bragança who promised to meet us at ‘’their” castle the next evening. We had been wondering why other RVers all over France and Spain were putting everything away at night and closing their windows and blinds, no matter how hot it was. Turns out that there are supposedly strict regulations about “parking” vs. “camping” in these countries (maybe all over the EU). Chairs outside for coffee? That’s OK. Table and awning out is “camping” and not allowed. Hum???

In the morning the castle of Puebla de Santabria, built around the 15th century, was reflected in the Tera River next to our camp.

The massive stone towers of the castle built by the Count of Benavente were impressive.

The Romanesque-Gothic church of Nuestra Señora de Azogue (13th century) was beautiful.

The bell tower had two sets of bells that rang in sequence on the hour.

Slate roofs and balconies draped in ivy and flowers made the narrow cobblestone streets a pleasure to stroll through.

Please note. We are not “camped”. We are just “parked”.