Lisbon to Porto

On Thursday we had a tour of several cities on our trip from Lisbon to Porto. There were tense moments Wednesday because our original driver had to cancel. But the tour company found someone at the last minute.

The first stop was Obidos, one of the best preserved walled cities in Portugal. Few people live in the city and its main industry is tourism. On the way to the town, Daniel, our guide asked if we had had ginjinha, a cherry liqueur that is popular in many areas of Portugal but it was developed in Lisbon where in many local bars, people (formerly only men) meet for a shot before dinner. We had planned to go but never got it together. Finally, we had some but it was terrible.  We told Daniel and his summary says it best, "Let me get this straight. You came to Portugal, went to an Italian restaurant and asked for ginjinha and expected it to be good?" In our defense,  the Italian restaurant was the only place that wasn't packed that night. Plus the waiter said the ginjinha was genuine.

Daniel took us on a brief tour of the town and then took us to a ginjinha shop that has vintage cherry press. We were served the liqueur in small chocolate cups. You drink the liqueur and then eat the cup. It's delicious. The sour cherries used to make it are grown in this area.

The Pillory

The next stop was Nazaré which is a small fishing town. The biggest waves in Portugal occur hete although the ocean is perfectly calm now. In fact, in 2022 a surfer, Mason Barnes from North Carolina, broke the world record by surfing a wave about 126 feet high. Previously, a Portuguese surfer rode a wave 100 feet high. The reason this area has the biggest waves is there's a deep canyon and the difference in height between it and the continental shelf splits the waves in two. 

Besides seeing where that occurred, we only had time to eat lunch on a patio overlooking the ocean. The seafood dishes were superb. 

Restaurant in Nazaré 

We had only short time in Fatima because we needed to check in at the condo building before the office closed. The original Chapel has been expanded since it was built shortly after the Marian apparitions witnessed by three cousins in 1917.

Millions of pilgrims visit the site every year. There is also a new church which seats 8000 people which is modern and minimalistic. 

The expanded original church

The new church

View of old church. The complex is huge. 

The condos in Porto are very cheap but in a great location. They're not as nice as the Lisbon apartments but they're OK. No washing machines. Not even a dishwasher.  But not much else was available when we booked. The old town is small and the condo personnel said Porto is packed. It's difficult to get a dinner reservation.  The building is on a steep incline. It seems every building is on a steep incline. It's not easy to stroll in this city.