Stones, monks and a tragic love story! - Portugal Road Trip part 7

UNESCO monasteries, Roman ruins and a few bits in between.

Uxa Paraiso Campsite

Catching up with myself again, this round up doesn’t necessarily follow the journey in order, so anyone who has taken any interest in where we are and what we are doing, will note that it seems to have been an odd way to go about this route. Truth is I am bunching bits together to try and make it interesting and to make sure I don’t leave the good bits out…there have been a few bits that we are skipping over!

We had stayed in a peaceful site, Uxa Paraiso, almost a retreat like place, in the hills near Penela, we should have known what to expect when the French owner, Julien, said there’s a hill when the road runs out but don’t be shy in driving up it quickly!! I really did believe this was the end of Daisy and actually spent the first night wondering how we were going to get back down. We decided to spend two days here to completely shut off and relax, it was just what we needed, despite the winds and a bit of rain, it was heavenly, exactly my kind of camp. The vans and tents were hidden in spots around the trees, it was a walk through the woods to the toilet block which, despite its remoteness, were wonderfully clean and warm. It had a little bar and other than that we could hear bird song only. This position placed us very close to an amazing Roman site at Conimbriga.

Conimbriga

Conimbriga Roman Ruins

 This was an incredible place to visit, we spent much longer here than we anticipated; it was so well preserved. We explored every nook and cranny and of course had an ice cream which added to our time spent. The ruins are the largest excavated site in Portugal and show an almost complete Roman settlement. As with all historical sites in Portugal it was cheap to get in at just 4.50 euros. It’s origins are Celtic but it flourished in the 2nd century BCE. The first thing you notice are brilliantly preserved mosaic floors, which incredibly are not covered or protected in anyway. 

 

We thought this was pretty much it, as this was spectacular enough, then behind a wall that was built to keep out the Barbarians, the whole of the rest of the site comes into view, complete with aqueduct, a forum, an amphitheatre, and superbly preserved private villas, most of which still have mosaic flooring in tact. 

 

A working garden with fountains, which we just had to pay the 50 cents to see, finished off the visit perfectly. One of the best things we have seen on our trip so far. Our visit finished with a quick run around the museum, as we were running out of time. This holds lots of the finds from the excavation and has all signs in English too!

The famous trio of monasteries - Convento de Cristo, Alcobaça and Batalha

Wondering if we had already had our fill of churches and cathedrals, we debated as to whether we did just one or two of the monuments. The ticket covers all 3 for 15 euros so we thought missing one wouldn’t be an issue. They were all different and not very far apart from each other, about an hour, so we opted to see all three over two days. Each had it’s own loveliness and particular features that we are glad we didn’t miss…all three are Unesco World Heritage buildings and it would have been tough to decide which to leave out!

Convento de Cristo - Tomar

The town this is in is supposed to be one of the prettiest in Portugal, it didn’t hold much attention for us though and we went straight up the hill to the Convento de Cristo. Not given a guide we wondered around soaking up the atmosphere. It was the headquarters of the Knights Templar, who held much power and helped to fund much of the Age of Discoveries. There is some evidence in the decoration of the Knight’s Templar crosses.

 The main chapel is said to have been designed in a circular manner so that the knights could attend mass on horseback. We went in search of the ‘famous’ Manueline window which is said to have incredible decoration and one of the most striking features of the monastery…however…when I found it, although Pi had already spotted it before I went down lots of stairs, it was covered over with a plastic sheet, that has the design of the thing it is hiding, as is quite common in Europe when something is being restored. Needless to say Pi was laughing when I returned, having saved himself yet another set of stairs. This building was probably the least well preserved of the three and but the chapel itself was quite stunning.

Batalha 

The Unfinished Chapel

It continued to rain across the two days of visiting but that seemed to us a good reason to explore buildings. The next two were after leaving a very soggy vineyard stay but the weather didn’t deter us, we just found our coats that had been hidden until then. Batalha was a lovely little town, which seemed more set up for hordes of visitors, of which there were a few even at this time of the year, some of which had to be told to be quiet in the church; groups with ear pieces all chatting as a guide explains the features they should be silently looking at, were still obvious in their numbers.

Henry the Navigator

This particular monastery was built after a promise by Dom João after he was successful in a battle against Juan I of Castille. After praying,  he promised he would build a magnificent religious offering. It is known for its wonderful Founder’s Chapel which contains the tombs of Dom João, his wife Phillipa of Lancaster and his son Prince Henry the Navigator, who is considered to be the reason Portugal became a great power,

Cloisters in Batalha

Alcobaça

Monk’s graffiti can be found all over the walls, some of which is only half complete

I think this was my favourite one, the space and sheer size of it blew me away. The buildings and many different cloisters around this monastery were more impressive than the church itself, which was also quite stunning. This monastery is the 12th century Monteiros de Santa Maria and it takes over the town laid out before it. 

Maybe the beauty of the place comes from the fact that it was one of the richest and most powerful In Portugal's history. It housed very specifically 999 monks! The dormitories and the kitchen were huge and these monks were known for being somewhat over indulgent, which might explain the size of these rooms. The river was re-directed through the kitchen so that fish would be picked from it!

There’s even a door that led from the dormitory into the kitchen and if a monk had grown too large to fit through, they were forced to fast.

The monks’ dormitories

The King’s room depicting azulejos friezes showing the building of the monastery.

So now to the tragic love story…

Detail showing the life of Dom Pedro

The story goes that Dom Pedro fell in love with his wife’s lady-in-waiting but was not allowed to marry her even after his wife’s death. To make matters worse his father had her murdered because of a fear of her family’s influence. When Dom Pedro came to the throne he got revenge by ripping out the hearts of the murderers and eating them. He then exhumed her body and had her crowned!

Inês' tomb

Inês’ tomb has the figures of her murderers around the bottom holding her up and both of the tombs have been placed facing each other end to end, so at the time of reckoning they will stand and face each other.

Dom Pedro's tomb

Next up on journey are the waves of Nazaré and a sneaky bookshop or two! Also a very surreal Buddha Eden in the middle of nowhere. This country keeps surprising us and we are falling in love with it!