Braga, Portugal

Bom Jesus do Monte

We started our day by visiting the Bom Jesus do Monte. The bus took us to the base of the hill, where we took a funicular to the top. This funicular is unique in the world. They pour water into the top car to make it heavier than the bottom car, taking into account the number of passengers in each, and let gravity do the rest. The hill is designed as a Way of the Cross with 16 stations, each having its own chapel.  Since traveling to Jerusalem was so difficult, this was Portugal’s Way of the Cross attracting many pilgrims. It was meant to impress the pilgrim and tell the story of Jesus. It was built to counter the Protestant message of Northern Europe.  The final fountains represent faith (veiled woman doesn’t need to believe) hope (Noah’s Ark) and charity (a heart). The top fountain is a pelican feeding 3 babies. This UNESCO site was really interesting and unique.

Station for the Crucifixion

We then toured Braga, known as Portugal’s Rome because of its 57 churches. Its cathedral is the oldest in Portugal, it has been the home of Portugal’s archbishop since the 9^th century. It historically had attracted many pilgrims, until Santiago de Costella stole their relics. (The relics were returned in 1955.) We started at Republic Square from where you can see Bam Jesus in the distance. 

St. Barbara's Garden

St. Barbara’s Garden which is next to the bishop’s residence was quite colorful. The residence was built in 1450 and has windows from various centuries. Below the Residence is the city hall with a fountain with the sphere of knowledge (the state) surmounted by a pelican (the church). Nearby is the cathedral. It is quite plain inside with the organ being its most interesting feature. In the afternoon I explored further coming upon several musical groups celebrating May Day. 

Wine and lunch on the drive to Braga

 

Aerial view of Palacio da Brejoeira

We drove to the Palacio da Brejoeira originally built in 1806. It has gone through three different owners before being sold to a company who runs it as a wine estate. Their 18 hectares produce 8000 bottles of wine a year primarily green wine and brandy from Alvarinho grapes. We sampled some green wine.

The Palacio's wines

Nearby was the town of Monção where we had lunch. Rain was pouring down. The bus dropped us off, but we could find places to drink, but nothing to eat. Rafiela found a restaurant about a block away and acted as a translator for the menu of the day. Most of us had a salad, pork ribs, salad, fries, beer ,desert, and coffee for 8.50 Euros. The price also included dessert and coffee, but we didn’t have enough time after the search for lunch. Then we headed for Braga. The Villa Gale Collection hotel is unique; it was a former hospital with a large chapel. The rooms are modern. Breakfast is in a former cloister. Best of all it is located 2 blocks from the main square.

Our Braga hotel

Breakfast is in a former cloister. Best of all it is located 2 blocks from the main square.

Breakfast in a cloister

Santiago de Compostela

 

The Cathedral from a nearby park

Our local guide, Haya, continued her stories today in Santiago de Compostela. Our hotel is only 2 blocks from the old town of Santiago. At the Chapel Maria Salome, we have statues of a Pregnant Mary and one where Jesus is breastfeeding feeding. Haya then told us of the statue of Daniel in the Porto Gloria of the Romanesque church. It was one of the first medieval statues that had a smile rather than a serious, holy look. Opposite Daniel was a statue of a woman with well-formed beasts. The story went around was that Daniel was smiling at this well-endowed woman. The church decided to do the first breast reduction. But can still see the breasts in the local “boobie” cheese.

St James and his disciples dressed as pilgrims

We walked the last kilometer of the Way to reach the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral built over St. James the apostle’s burial site. St James, the apostle, came to this region of Spain spreading the word of Jesus and baptizing the locals. He was called back to Palestine, where he was beheaded. The legend has it that two of his disciples returned his head and body back to Spain. Nine hundred years later a hermit was led to his grave by a star and discovered three bodies including one that had been beheaded. The bishop declared it be the remains of St James. The king declared in 1075 that a Cathedral should be built there.  King Alfonsa II became the first pilgrim to walk the Way. The Baroque façade protects the Roman façade. At the top of the façade under the arch is St. James on either side are his disciples all dressed as pilgrims. The Square of the Workshop not only has the cathedral, it also has a hostel, formerly a hospital for the pilgrims, city hall, and the administration building for the University. In the middle ages. In the middle ages, pilgrims had to undress, burn their clothes, and bathe in the central fountain in the cloister before entering the cathedral.

Pilgrims in the square (city hall behind)

We visited the museum of the church, but pictures weren’t allowed, the cloister, the balcony, then the body of the church. We were able to enter the crypt area and hug the statue of St. James above the altar.

St. James above the altar

Pontevedra, Spain

 

Church of the Pilgrim Mary

We left the ship at 8:30 AM to head into Spain with Rafiela, our new guide. This part of Spain is called Galicia, and it has its own language. The Romans settled here in the 1^st century. Galicia also included Northern Portugal until the 12^th century when Portugal separated from this part of Spain. Portuguese became a separate language over time. We visited the town of Pontevedra which lies along the Portuguese Way to Santiago de Compostela. The Way is marked with seashells periodically on the road. As we were leaving, we noticed the traffic lights weren’t working.

Seashell marking "The Way"

We continued along the sea to the tiny village of Combarro. Here we stopped for lunch, but the restaurant had to create a new menu for us because a large region from Southern France, Spain, and Portugal were having a blackout. We had sausage with cheese, a Russian salad, and a tortilla, a cheese and potato omelet. The village itself consisted of two streets. Near each house were Horreos, small granaries. We saw several stone crosses, some with Mary on the other side. At the base is a small altar where the recent deceased may be displayed.

Horreros in Combarro

We continued to Santiago de Costella.  Here we learned how traffic continued to flow without traffic signals. Our hotel had a generator running for the public rooms, but no electricity in the rooms. We had planned on going to a grocery store for a simple dinner, but they were closed. We were happy we had some cash because no one could accept a credit card and the ATMs didn’t work. Lots of people were drinking and having a simple meal at the restaurants. We settled for our granola bars and some nuts we bought at a candy store. We read until dark then went to bed. Power was restored at about 3 AM, and the crisis was over.

Porto

 

Stock Exchange Palace

Porto is Portugal’s second largest city. We did a bus tour of the central city. We toured the Stock Exchange Palace which took 68 years to build on the site of a Franciscan Monastery. The building still houses the Commerce Association of the city. The most spectacular room is the Arab Room decorated with 20 km. of gold in a Moorish style. 

The Arab Room

Then we walked to the Sâo Bento Train Station decorated with twenty thousand tiles telling the stories of the area: from kings fighting wars to the commerce of the city. 

Mural in São Bento Station

We finished our tour at the quay before our ship arrived. People filled the quay enjoying the lovely weather.

Portuguese Modern History

On October 5^th, 1910, Portugal went from a monarchy to a republic, but it had 42 different governments until 1926 when the army took over. They asked Antonio Salazar, a finance academic to become the finance minister. He took over full control of the money and the government. A new constitution was written creating a dictatorship dedicated to God, family and nation. Portugal began the colonial wars with their colonies in Africa: they restricted the press and travel, women were subservient to their husbands, but on the good side, crime decreased and the economy stabilized. Salazar died in 1968 and was followed by a second dictator for six years. The military tired of fighting wars, began a movement on April 25^th, 1974 signaled by the playing of national songs on the radio. They took over the air waves, the airport, and government buildings. The dictator resigned. Meanwhile a woman who was bringing carnations to her café, started giving carnations to the soldiers, hence the name “the carnation revolution”. The army nationalized industries and reformed the social life. But from March to November, 1975 there were several coups, unrest, and bombings. This is when Maria’s family was jailed. Eventually a Democrat constitution was written and in 1986, Portugal entered the European Union.

Countess Maria

 

Scenery along the Douro

We spent most of the day sailing back down the river on an absolutely beautiful day. We had another delay again at one of the locks of about two hours. According to the bartender, who has been on this river for 10 years, we have had more delays than any trip he has been on. We again had to take a bus an extra hour to reach the estate of Countess Maria. She was born into a noble family, but the Carnation Revolution ended all that. 

Countess Maria's Scarfs

Their estate was confiscated and the family jailed. Her goal was to regain their estate, and it took 27 years. She went into business selling colorful scarves. The estate had fallen into disrepair and was owned by the Sandeman company. She bought it back and now has some 40 guest rooms, horses, cooking classes, and of course grapes on 220 acres. She was quite the character telling us about having twin boys at age 50 and being “so happy” at age 83. 

Maria's Twins

It was a hurried visit since our ship had finally reached the dock but had to leave by 7 PM to make the next lock. After dinner, we opened a 2010 vintage port.

Pouring the 2010 vintage port

Salamanca, Spain

 

Today is Liberty Day in Portugal in celebration of the Carnation Revolution in 1974, when carnations were placed in the gun barrels of the soldiers as the dictator Salazar was deposed.

Plaza Mayor

Once again, we couldn’t get through a lock so the 2-hour drive to Salamanca, Spain is 3 hours. Salamanca is known as the golden city because the city center is built from sandstone. The city has 150K population and 30K students at the oldest university in Spain. We started our walking tour at the city hall in the Plaza Mayor. Around the square there are 88 arches with medallions of the kings and famous people of the area of Castille Leone. As we walked, we saw several bell towers with nesting storks. 

Storks on the Bell Tower

We walked past the Casa de las Conchas with seashells on the walls. The walls of many buildings had red graffiti to celebrate the victory of earning a PhD. The city has two cathedrals from the 12^th and 16^th centuries. We started on the façade of the 16^th century New Cathedral.  The entire central vault fell during the 1555 earthquake. 

The New Cathedral

In the Old Cathedral is the life story of Mary told right to left and bottom to top. As we left the Cathedrals we looked up to see a carving of an astronaut and a dragon eating ice cream. These carvings were done during the cathedral’s recent restoration. Our return trip was only 2 hours since our ship had made it through the final lock.

Astronaut in the restoration

Museum of Foz Coa

 

We were supposed to enter a lock at about 8:30 this morning but had to turn back.  March and April have been very rainy and so the dams are releasing water since they are full and the locks can’t work while the draining is going on.

Douro Valley

We learned about Antonia Ferreira, born in 1811. She became a widow at age 33 and took over the wine business of her husband. In 1860 the Douro Valley was affected by Phylloxera, a pest that destroys the roots of the grapes. The virus spread throughout Europe, cutting wine production by 80%. People deserted the valley because of the lack of jobs. Antonia went searching for a cure, which she found in England. The solution was to graft European vines on American roots. She invested her fortune in bringing this practice to the Douro valley saving the industry.

Actual Etching

We had a 2-hour drive to the Museum of Foz Coa. Here are original and replicas of the etching carved over the last 18000 years. There are over a thousand etchings, carved using Flintstone tools, found in 70 different locations.  They were found in 1991 during the construction of a dam. The high school students here petitioned to stop the construction of the dams, and it became a national political issue in 1996.

Etching highlighted

We went on to Castle of Castelo Rodrigo, built in the 12^th century, less than a mile from the Spanish border.

Castelo Rodrigo gate

Quinta de Seixov Winery

 

Quinta de Seixov

Today we’re visiting the Quinta de Seixov winery, part of the Sandeman brands. The symbol of the Sandeman brand is “The Don” dressed in a Spanish hat and a cape. Their most famous wine is the Mateus Rosé of which they sell 25,000,000 bottles a year to 125 countries; it’s called the Coca-Cola of wine. From the winery, we can see the old terraces where everything is done by hand as well as newer dirt terraces where machinery can be used. The new terraces have irrigation lines, used for the first time last year as the climate becomes drier. Besides grapes the winery has numerous fruit trees especially orange and lemon to flavor the Port wine. The stamping of the grapes is for the finer wines is done by foot for five hours. But a machine stomper is used for most wines in a large stone vat. The wine is placed in various sizes of barrels from about 200 liters to 5000 liters. The flavor varies both on the size of the barrel and the length of time it is fermented. Larger vats produce a fruitier taste. The Port is 18 to 20 percent alcohol. We sampled three different ports: white, red, and a 20-year-old tawny. The tawny was by far the best in my opinion.

Sandeman Brand

We docked in Pinhão for the night. We took a short walk to the train station to see the picture tiles of the Douro valley and the making of wine. 

Pinhão Train Station

That night we had entertainment from a local trio.

Guimarães

 

Cruising up the Douro River

We began cruising the Douro River this morning. Wine has been produced here since 200 AD and port since 1600. England lost their supply of French wine in the 17^th century, when war broke out. Portugal became a key supplier of wine, but the wine would spoil on the ocean voyage. Adding a grape spirit to the wine would stop the fermentation process leaving residual sugar. It was then aged in barrels creating port wine. In 1756, they began the regulation of wine and port to ensure its quality. There are grape regions along the Douro. The area around Porto gets the most rain and is called Baixo Corgo. The Cima Corgo region is upriver, has over 400 steeps hills, and has warmer summers and colder winters. The largest region is the Douro Superior region with temperatures of 20 to 95 degrees. Here they harvest the grapes at night because of the heat. This has the greatest variety of wines produced from three different grapes.

Guimarães Castle

In the afternoon, we bused to the town of Guimarães. Here was fought the battle that resulted in the nation of Portugal when King Afonso fought against his mother Theresa of Leon in 1128. He went on to defeat the Moors in Lisbon and another battle against Leon, creating the Kingdom of Portugal. The borders between Spain and Portugal are the oldest in Europe. Here we saw castle, originally built of wood in the 10^th century, then rebuilt in stone 14^th century. Portugal’s dictator, Salazar reconstructed it in the 20^th century.

Tapestry in Ducal Palace

We toured the Ducal Palace built by the Braganza Family in 1421. The family was the royal family from 1640 until 1910. In the waiting room were two large tapestries. The tapestries are modern copies of the original which were discovered in Spain cut into strips. 

Catherine of Braganza

In another room was the portrait of Catherine of Braganza who became the wife of the English King. She brought with her to England, the practice of afternoon tea, fork utensils, and marmalade. Queens, New York is named after her. We walked to the Center of town, where we saw the arch where the King of Portugal was officially acclaimed. Our bus descended to the river on an extremely curvy road, but our riverboat wasn’t there. The river current is strong from the three months of rain. Our riverboat had trouble approaching the lock below us. We admired the huge river perch that a fisherman showed us while we were waiting.

Local Fisherman's Catch

Lisbon to Porto

 

Nigerian Headstones

We headed north to Porto. Our primary stop was the Alianca Underground Museum. The cellars which used to be used to age wine are now used to house an eclectic collection of 1000 year old headstones from Niger, stone statues from Zimbabwe, minerals, fossils and petrified wood from Brazil, Portuguese ceramics, and modern frescoes. The cellars still have barrels to age wine and brandy, as well as bottles of sparkling wine. The tour ended with our sampling of sparkling wine.

Tree made from Petrified Wood

We had lunch in the town of Aveiro, known for its canals which were historically used to feed the salt flats.

Gondolas in Aveiro

 After lunch we headed for the Douro Spirit, our riverboat, for the next seven days.

Porto from our riverboat

Easter in Lisbon

 

Monument of the Discoveries

We began our tour at the Monument of the Discoveries. Portugal was famed for its navigation school. Henry the navigator is at the head of the memorial. The Portuguese sailors discovered how to get to the orient by going around the African continent. The map labels the year each territory was reached by the Portuguese. This gave them direct access to the spices of India and the Orient. Nearby is the Belem Tower which defended the port of Lisbon. Then onto the Monastery of St. Jerome where we had their local pastries, Pastéis de Bélum.

Main Entrance to St. George's Castle

In the afternoon, I decided to climb to the St. George’s Castle in the Alfama district of the city. I visited the Church of St. Anthony of Lisbon. The church was built above his birthplace. The climb begins from here through the streets and staircases to St. George’s Castle where a fortification has existed since the 8^th century B.C. I walked the Castle walls with beautiful views of the city. On the way down, I took a wrong turn, but it was hard to get lost, just head down hill and west. That night, we had dinner near where I had walked, kale soup, followed by duck with rice and vegetables. After dinner, we had a Fado concert. A classical guitar and a Portuguese guitar with three different Fado singers.

Arriving in Lisbon

 

Carmo Archeological Museum

We flew front Denver to Montreal, then on to Lisbon. We arrived at the Altis Grand Hotel about 12:30. Lisbon is situated on the Tgus River where it meets the ocean. The ancient town was founded by the Romans on 7 hills which could be used for defense. I walked to the Carmo Archeological Museum, housed in a former Convent destroyed by the 1555 earthquake that destroyed most of the city. There were artifacts from prehistoric, Roman, and Moor periods as well as some mummies from South America brought back by Portuguese explorers. 

Mummy from South America

Nearby are the Santa Justa Lift and Saint Peter’s Viewpoint with views of the city and the Castle of St. George on the opposite hill.  That night the tour group got together for white port and then went to a nearby restaurant for a meal.

St. George Castle and Santa Justa Lift