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This morning we woke to a wet and cold day. We were eager to get away early but the breakfast didn’t start till 7.30 and we were told to come back later. Our route today was supposed to be short on cafes so we were warned to buy lunch. In the end we just made a sandwich from the breakfast spread as we had already stocked up with nuts and fruit before we left Porto. I hauled out the poncho for the first time and found it pretty good to walk in once I had the hood sorted! I look very funny but it is cooler and it kept me drier because it comes below my knees. It is not ideal for rough terrain but this sort of walking is perfect.

We saw the Church and the Aquaduct this morning when we were leaving Vila do Conde. It has 999 arches. It seems a funny number!

The route lead us out of town to the seaside. There is barely any demarcation from one town to another. Povoa de Varzim was a lovely town with a pretty town square. I loved this sculpture called woman. The way lead to the beach with lots of cafes surrounded by sand bunkers. The beach is very wide and quite flat so there were lots of volley ball courts, and soccer goals all along as we walked. The architecture is modern 70’s/80’s(?) and lots of apartments and pretty plain but overlooking the beach. The beautiful breakfasts are meaning we need a few pit stops in the morning so we were on the look out for cafes which were plentiful to begin with but soon we hit boardwalks and there was nothing, and no cover either. This route is hard on our feet because it is all pavements or cobble stones!

The sea was not so turbulent here and we saw surfers catching waves. This was all fishing villages once and we saw the remnants of windmills that were used for winding fishing nets and humble cottages. The dunes are being protected by the extensive boardwalks and loads of pink and yellow pigs face that grow into a luxuriant carpet of green and colour.

We walked through market gardens that were separated from the sea by a golf course. There is no forest or wilderness except the beach. We hardly saw any pilgrims till about 1.00 then a group stopped at the same cafe but we left them and didn’t see them again. It is different staying in hotels. Very comfy with your own bath and room but we aren’t meeting many people. In all honesty we are a bit tired. We don’t need to go hunting for wifi in a bar either. I do miss the communal washing line outside. It is harder to dry stuff in our rooms because there is no heating. Once we start seeing the same people and are fitter I am sure it will be more communal.

A lady at one of the vegetable gardens stopped Bill to ask him his age and a conversation ensued in Portuguese and Spanish. She was so delighted we were going to Santiago and clasped our hands and kissed Irene and wished us well. It was so touching. We notice lots of old people wishing you Bon Camino or bon Voyage.

At one point Bill had said turn left at the polycovered tunnels and Irene misheard and called them holy tunnels. We were getting tired and really hot by now and all of us are footsore so we had a slightly hysterical laugh about that. Another 20 km day.

We were picked up at 8.30 am to be driven to our starting point just outside Porto on the coast. It was a flurry getting down to the van and we managed to fit the bike in. Once we arrived at our stating point we were like the keystone cops. Everyone felt dishevelled and needed to sort themselves out. It was9.30 before we really got going and we only walked for about 40 minutes before we stopped for coffee and loo break! The walk was really easy in terrain, flat and on boardwalk most of the way with the surging waves on the beach to our left. We were blessed with a sunny day and news that Anne’s Sophie had been transferred to Monash hospital from Sydney by air ambulance. Now she can see her three month old son at last and her family able to be more supportive now she isn’t interstate.

We stopped for a lunch of soup, toasted sandwiches and juice or beer. All along the way there have been rather nice cafes overlooking the sea. The beaches are long and sandy but the surf looks treacherous. There are many little fishing villages and also lots of apartments. It reminds me a little of the Gold Coast about 15 years ago.

The coast was notorious for pirates and luring ships to shipwreck in the 17th and 18th Centuries. we saw a few pirates along the way!

Bill was riding and he was a little like the hare and we were the tortoises. He would ride ahead and wait. We would walk up and he would wait a bit then set off again, overtaking us. He complained of a sore bottom but we didn’t have a lot of sympathy because we were slogging away for 20 kms and he only walked about 5. He still had a sore foot at the end of the day but was pretty chipper, while we were all a bit tired.

Vila Do Conde is a pretty town, with an aqueduct, a 12 th C Church and a history of shipbuilding. We stumbled on a great Italian restaurant for dinner. The town seemed quite lively and had several bars and restaurants from which to choose.

Our first day accomplished, we mostly followed or found the yellow arrows and with the sea on our left it was hard to go wrong. It took us about 6 hours. We are not at our peak but it was comfortable.

This morning we woke to heavy rain. We intended to visit the Livaria Lello Book shop so we got up early and decided we would eat breakfast out after the visit. When we set off my boots were slipping on the wet pavement tiles and I grabbed Bill’s arm for stability. I felt like a child because he is so tall. I was nervous about falling. When we arrived at the bookshop there was already a long queue, even though it was wet. We resigned ourselves to waiting this time and played a geography quiz while we waited. We had got there about 8.45 and the shop didn’t open till 9.30 am so we were shocked at the queue that continued to grow while we waited. Eventually a young woman in a Harry Potter cape walked down the queue telling us that there was no entry without a ticket and we needed to buy one. This was news to us ( we were so naive!) . Anne and Irene went off while Bill and I held our space and the space of the young man in front of us. Eventually we had to let ticket holders go in front of us and the girls finally returned with tickets. They had had to queue at the ticket office. By now the queues was two blocks long behind us! What an amazing marketing ploy they have. Apparently J.K? Rowling had lived in Porto for some time and had based the library in Harry Potter on this book shop. That explains why there were so many people .The shop has a Harry Potter room and this amazing double staircase. The book shop is lovely but it was full of people. They were like ants on a lolly pop! I could hardly believe they actually sell books too but we all bought something and we were the 50 th Australians and it was barely 10.30am. it is hard to convey the beauty of the bookshop. It had a great atmosphere even though there were hundreds of people.

When we emerged the rain was just as heavy and we looked for a breakfast place. Irene and Bill had decided they would head home to get sorted for our departure the next morning. Anne and I wanted to go to the Cathedral and the Church of Sao Francisco.

It was still pouring so we took the metro but could not avoid the wet altogether. We were impressed with both churches and enjoyed exploring Porto further. so many of the churches are well lit with natural light which always surprises.By the time we returned it was late afternoon, we were wet and cold. Soon after our Portugal Green Walks representative arrived to brief us on the walk from Porto to Santiago de Compostella.

We all felt very excited and some felt emotional. We went out for dinner and a local dish, a Francesinha. It is a heart challenger! Bread, steak, ham, cheese layered then smothered in cheese and drizzled with sauce. It was huge and I couldn’t eat it all.

Home in the rain and packing. Our bags are pretty full so it is hard to get everything in. I am carrying some things for Anne because her bag is really stuffed. I am cursing myself for bringing too much but I only had 14 kegs when I left home and now I have 16 kg. I miss the discipline of the backpack.

Queues and queues today. Bill has finally decided he cannot walk the Camino and will have to ride a bike instead. It is not unusual to do that but we are faced with the dilemma of getting a bike. Hiring one is very expensive apparently so we went searching for a reasonably priced new or second hand one. We checked out a sport store like Rebel at home but Bill thought the bikes were a bit pricey so we found a Cash Converters and he managed to get a bike and helmet for €92.50. He then bought a bike repair kit, pump and lock. All set. We did see a wheel chair that we said we could push him in. We would be sure to lose a few extra kilos then! He wasn’t amused. We returned to the flat and managed to get Bill and the bike in the lift only to have it go up to the fourth floor instead of the first. We ran up the stairs to try to call the lift back and eventually he stopped at our floor and we extricated him from the lift.

That task accomplished we set off for the famous book shop Livaria Lello which is considered one of the most beautiful in the world and which served as a model for the Harry Potter books. Apparently, J.K.Rowling lived in Porto for some time and used to go and sit in this book shop having coffee and reading. When we arrived we were shocked to see the queue snaking halfway down the street! We decided to go tomorrow REALLY early instead. Now we had the tower in our sights.

The Torre and Igreja dos Clerigos was built in the 18th Century and is still one of the tallest buildings in Portugal. It is only 75 metres tall but on a hill and affords fantastic views all over Porto. You can even see to the ocean. There are 240 steps and our queue didn’t seem too bad until we actually got inside and up to the tower. To get there you pass around and through the Church which had a live organist playing Bach. It was pretty spectacular to hear the music surging around the church. Then we had to wait in an ante-room while they let a certain number of visitors up and down at a time. It wasn’t until we started climbing did we realise how narrow the stairs were and how crowded it was. By the time we reached the top it was body press! The narrow winding staircase was a squeeze if you were going up or coming down. The views were great. You could see to the ocean but there were so many people it was hard to take photos.

Irene had diverted to a China shop and in the end we missed her completely. When we finally escaped from the tower we waited for her in a cafe until we decided she had gone off on her own. Bill was anxious but she didn’t have a useable phone so we couldn’t ring. While we waited we had a Portuguese experience of codfish and cheese balls and port! They were quite delicious. We set about making plans to keep visiting the sites when my phone rang. It was Irene. She had gone off and got a local sim so she could call us and we made plans for a rendezvous down at the river. Bill greeted her like he hadn’t seen her for days. It was very sweet. She had waited for ages and saw a few people come out quickly and had concluded she had missed us somehow. She then went to lunch herself. We had failed to make a plan if we got separated! All ended well and we took a river Taxi across to Vila Nova de Gaia.

This independent town was originally in competition with Porto for the port trade. They had a completely different political government but are now part of Porto. There are many port cellars there and we had seen an advertisement that offered 10% off a port if we presented the map. After walking up the hill amidst winding cobbled streets we found Taylor’s, an old English firm and presented our maps only to be told we had to do the port tour first which cost €15 each! We declined and settled for a 20 year old tawny. It has a great view of the city of Porto from this side. The house look like toys!

Next we took the sky rail up to the fort. This is an actual army barracks and has been since the English Duke of Wellington and Napoleon both stationed troops there at different times. The English helped drive Napoleon’s troops out of Porto. While we were exploring the church and cloisters of the Fort we were shepherded by soldiers. The church is unique because it is round and so are the cloisters. The design was based on theories related to the solar system and the two circles of church and cloister were symbolic of unity with God. The Alter is in the circle but in a side chapel there was the alter of seven steps to perfection. We had wondered about this design.

Walking the iron bridge was our last experience and by now it had started to rain. We had been lucky up to now. On the way home we passed a little restaurant near our apartment and bolted in to eat. They were so friendly and warm with a lot of home cooked food. I had an octopus flower which was so tender. All our meals were great and the service was so happy and attentive. We loved it.

We woke to a very wet morning which did not inspire us to leap out of bed. Eventually it eased and after everyone had made phone calls to family and friends we met our guide for an afternoon food tour. Diogo was a delightful young man. He took us on a walking tour around Porto to very specific local places to eat local food. He was a font of information and a lot of fun too. We started at the city walls then walked to our first stop which was a Portuguese hot dog. It is eaten as a snack with beer or wine. It was very tasty. The meat was slightly spicy with melted cheese and a crispy bun. You could add chilli oil for extra punch. Then we wandered through the streets passing the National Theatre where they hold operas and classical concerts etc.

The remnants of the old city walls.

Portugal has the most interesting pavements with different patterns in different cities.

With further walking we arrived at the famous Pork bun restaurant. It is served with a sparkling rosé. The queue was so long it snaked out the door and we thought Diogo may have abandoned us. This place goes through at least 6 pigs haunches a day. It is like pulled pork and served with sheep cheese melted over the pork in a bread roll. It was delicious.

Margarida our guide on Sunday, said these buns where the reason there are hardly any fast food chains in Porto because they can’t compete with this relatively cheap, tasty, fast local food. More walking followed and we headed towards the river and deviated to the famous Central Railway station to see the tiles that adorn the walls. They tell the story of Portugal during medieval times and the battle for Tangier where Henry the Navigator lost his life.Along the way we visited a patisserie of great charm for coffee and a Bolas de Berlim ( a round doughnut filled with egg custard). It was light and delicious.

Diogo played the guitar that was sitting on a stand. He used to play in bands at Uni and in Fado groups. It was lovely to hear.

Further on he took us into the Institute of Port which has an interesting exposition on the history and making of Port. I didn’t realise that port comes in so many varieties. From Rosy to white and Tawny in between. They have an instrument for taking the top off an old vintage port when the cork is too old to extract. The tongs are heated then placed around the top of the bottle and then plunged into cold water. The glass breaks cleanly and the port is decanted.

The production of port is regulated by a a certification board and the name is like Champagne. Only port from Porto is really called port. Australian port is fortified wine!

From here we were on our own and we wandered right down to the Ribeira and it’s winding streets, back up the hill past the Convent and Sao Bento up to the tower where we joined a queue only to be told the limit of people allowed up had been reached and we could come back at night or tomorrow. We opted to continue our walk home.

We passed through a whole lot of upmarket bars and shops before arriving home and realising it was nearly 8.00 pm and we should eat dinner. We had been recommended a little restaurant close by which we found easily and managed to get a seat before the place was inundated. We all had chicken curry with rice and salad. It was a curry powder type of curry but tasty and generous and for the four of us only cost €12.50 each for food, dessert, wine and water. We have managed to keep under or close to budget since we have left Lisbon. Hooray! These family restaurants have simple but tasty local food and are well priced so it is no wonder they are always full.

I loved the cat boxes lined up near a viewing spot we stumbled upon. The Portuguese love their cats. They are everywhere.

While having dinner we saw on a television that Notre Dame in Paris was burning. We all felt so shocked. The blaze seemed enormous.

We mooched around this morning which was a delicious luxury. Anne has now come down with Bill ‘s cold so it was good to have a sleep in. We all had to negotiate the fancy shower. It has three areas from which water flows out. Irene got Bill up because she couldn’t work out which knob did what. Anne also was confused. I had seen them before in Spain and been bamboozeled then, so I had some idea how to get it to work. The morning is not the best time to solve puzzles!

At about 1.30 pm we set of for the Marquise de Pambol Park to meet our tour guide Margarida, an architect who works for a group called The Worst Tours. She took us around a whole different part of Porto, not touristy at all, and explained so much about the urban development. It was so interesting. She has a theme that there is actually lots of space within Porto but because it is within old derelict wharehouses and homes, it is not being used or developed. The usual obstacles of city laws and rules plus also the penchant for Portuguese to just lock up a property and leave it contributes to the lack of development. There is also a very strong social attitude to not take advantage (as in squatting, or stealing from empty properties) of these places.

She showed us the ilhas dos Porto https://www.historytoday.com/grand-tour/islands-porto and explained their significance. They were housing built behind bourgeoise homes, small cottages with communal toilets and bath facilities to house factory workers. We passed by a few that are proudly kept and provide a strong community feeling. We wandered along an old defunct railway line that the group is advocating for conversion to a bike trail and came upon a few streets that looked as if we were in the country. All these places are close to the centre of town, overlook the river and have a train station close by. In any other city they would be prime real estate (think Red Fern, or Surry Hills Sydney).

She had a leftist view of life but was not apologetic or strident and it was so interesting to hear her perspective. Porto is not so large, about 1.3 million people so everything seems very accessible and surprisingly a quiet town on Sundays. We were amazed to see the Maria Pia bridge, designed by Gustav Eiffel now abandoned. It is a delicate and graceful construction replaced by a modern utilitarian concrete bridge because it could only carry a train line one way. Tourism is quite new here and they ( local government) are not yet fully across their opportunities. Property prices are escalating due to predatory property developers which are unregulated.

Above the old rail trail there were some washing tubs that were used by professional laundresses. They used to wear clogs and the steep road up from the tubs had special heel indentations to prevent slipping while carrying heavy loads of washing on their heads!

Along the way she explained why they tile the buildings. It was to reduce the absorption of water into the granite which was the preferred stone for building. As it is porous the winter damp is absorbed like a sponge and then the houses are cold and humid. The tiles seal the surfaces. This is a classic from the 60’s.

Towards the end of the walk we visited a studio/gallery in a converted wharehouse where there was a silent art auction and music to raise money for the victims of the hurricane in Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony. The music was interesting. It is the first time I have seen a jazz electric violin. The musician had the most delicate fingers.

We then all went to the station to return home. We all needed to add money to our train passes. Irene was being ‘helped’ by some concerned citizen who was confusing her no end. Finally we all got our tickets and as we were saying our farewells the train arrived. Anne, Irene and I rushed to get on and suddenly the doors closed and Bill who had been saying his farewells was left behind. We weren’t too worried but he called us to wait at the connecting station which we had already thought to do. Then we realised our station was the next one anyway. Bill arrived on the next train only 7 minutes later! It had been a fast walking tour of 3 hours non-stop so we were a little tired.

The women went off to get some dinner from the supermarket and we had a healthy lentil soup followed by a nice spicy roast chicken and vegetables and wine at home for a change. I managed to open the door to the building which is about my knee height but not the bottle of wine. There are no screw tops here. We are all out of practice with the waiter’s friend! It was good to have a night in.

Today we drove to Porto via Coimbra. Our mission was to visit the library at the University. It is renown for being one of the most beautiful in the world. Established in 1717 and called the book house it has the most lavish of baroque decorations, gold leaf embellishments and oak shelves because that wood does not attract insects! The books were chained to the shelves in some places too. The shelves themselves are all intricately decorated with Chinoiserie patterns with gold leaf from Brazil. What I found fascinating was the fact that they had bats living inside for nearly two centuries to eat the insects that might devour the books. The staff needed to cover the tables at night to protect the furniture from bat droppings! The tables were made from exotic timbers and very beautiful. We couldn’t take photos which was disappointing but I found this one on the Internet. We were in awe of the beauty.it was a place that cherished learning, wisdom and openness to new information.

Even more interesting was the academic prison where students were held for committing disciplinary offences. That puts a new slant on detention! The University was a guild and administered itself and used the prison till 1832.

The St Michael’s chapel was another elaborate though not large chapel with exquisite tiles and a huge organ in the Baroque style, with 2000 pipes. Dedicated to Our lady of the light, the patron of students, it is an impressive place.

The last part was the Palace which is now used for ceremonies. A well proportioned building with a great hall, formerly the throne room but now used for conferring doctorates or investiture if the new rector of the University and a private exam room and cloisters surrounded by tutorial rooms that are still used. We saw a class come out on Saturday.

The forecourt of the Palace and Library.

By now we are hungry and conscious that Bill was waiting in the car. He had been sleeping and anxious about leaving it as they have been robbed from a car in the past.

We stumbled upon a Japanese restaurant of all things where we could keep an eye on the car as well. The food was delicious and beautifully presented.

We were now ready for Porto. We got onto the freeway without too much trouble and Irene pushed a button and some how the GPS in the car came on in English and we were set! We arrived without any trouble despite the wet and found our accommodation which turned out to be the best we have had so far. Phew on my part because this was my booking. Irene and Bill went off to deposit the car and had a fair distance to cover but managed to find a train for the return and got off close to our apartment.

We are all thrilled. So far all the places have had their idiosyncrasies. Lisbon had , the smallest toilet room that we all sat on the loo side saddle. The next had power issues which shorted out if you had more than three things on. It also had a door that was incredibly difficult to open. I never mastered it! This place is gorgeous but has automatic lights that come on and off all the time. We are travelling well however and adapting all the time.

We had a slow start today. It was good not to rush and the weather is fine and warm. We started up the hill to the castle or rather the Convento de Cristo, a complex of chapels, cloisters and medieval castle showing the wealth and power of the Knights Templars. It had been founded in 1160 by the grand master of the Knights Templars and after they were banned by Pope Clement V in 1314 they were renamed by the King of Portugal as the Order of Christ and inherited all the Templars’ lands. It is a magnificent place and has the most fabulous Charola ( the Templars Church) which is a round chapel with ornate gilt and statues and paintings but no specific altar. There were wonderful chapels with Portuguese tiles, cloisters for washing, the bread cloister, the cloister of crows and the cemetery cloister. There are dormitories and we were fascinated to find a room that had a fire to provide heating to the monks’ cells. It must have been a furnace to work in because the place is huge and there were more than 80 monks cells. The original Templar castle had been extended and embellished in the manueline style which has ornate flourishes. We could have spent another hour exploring but the car needed to be shifted so we left to collect it and went out to see the aqueduto dos Pegões (aqueduct) which the Monks built to provide water to the castle. It was very impressive.

We returned to town to find a free car park this time and then explored the old Tomar visiting the oldest Synagogue in Portugal. It was tiny and when the Jews were banished the King , who actually had great respect for the Jewish people but for political reasons had to evict them from the county, chose to turn it into a prison in which no Jew should ever be incarcerated, then it became a wharehouse and eventually fell into disrepair. Most synagogues at the time were converted to churches or pulled down which is why this one is unique. There are only two Jewish families and not enough men for them to actively use it now but if they get the minimum of 10 it would function again as a Synagogue.

We then visited the matchbox collection museum. It is the biggest in the world and incredibly diverse with matchboxes from all over the world-even Australia. There were ones with the alphabet, animals, historic events, flags, national icons, and some decidedly politically incorrect saucy ones. It was quite fascinating. Opposite the matchbox museum was a studio of artists painting tiles and ceramics. They were all women and some had been painting for 33 years. They were very skilful and we recognised some tiles painted like those in the chapels in the Convento de Cristo, along with portraits and angels etc. Anne saw the sweetest and yet elegant, modern nativity scene but thought they would break if we tried to send them home. The painter I was talking with said the postage was too dear too because they were only €6.

Next was an exhibition of works by Pedro Valdez Cordoso in the Centre of Art and Image, Art Gallery of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar. It was very odd work, quite provocative and themed around issues of sexuality and homosexuality and faces being masks. It was run by two students who were very eager to give us an English explanation. We might have been their only visitors!

Our next stop was the Municipal art gallery which was small but well set up. It had three floors of renowned Portuguese artists from the 50′ through to the 70′. There were two very large modern sculptures that I found very eye catching. By now we were walked out and returned to the apartment to meet Bill. He has come down with a cold and was feeling miserable so he had decided to rest.

It was quite late when we went to dinner at an Italian trattoria. Not having high expectations of the food we were very pleasantly surprised. Everything was delicious and the wine was good. To round off a great evening we happened on some juggler/mime comedians in the town square who were absolutely enchanting, amusing and witty. We laughed and clapped and felt so lucky to have stumbled on them.

We had been fascinated by the ladies downstairs in a shop who were making paper flowers and had been seeing the signs for the festival of trays. On further investigation we found out that this festival involves young people, dressed in white and red, wearing trays of bread and flowers on their heads that are topped with a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The streets are also decorated with flowers too and their are games and music in the park all in honour of the Holy Spirit. The whole community gets involved and there is a procession and fireworks as a finale. People come from all around and other countries to see and the city swells to over 100,000. It would be pumping then!

We have enjoyed the slower pace and despite Bill’s cold we are all feeling more rested.

Last night we had dinner with Fernando who is a doctor of Rheumatology in Lisbon. He is a friend of my brother-in-law Gary. He took us to a Fado Restaurant, the Adega Machado, just a few streets from our apartment. We were to meet him at 8.45 and the show would start at 9, but he didn’t arrive till closer to 10. He had texted to say he was held up at work. Fernando brought his charming daughters, Carlotta and Mathilde. We were starving and had only had a little bread and an aperitif. It is not uncommon for Portuguese, like the Spanish, to eat late. Before they arrived the show started and the music was entrancing. We couldn’t understand the words but the emotions were plain. They were full of longing and sadness. The guitars, a Portuguese which is shaped a little like a mandolin but not with a round back, a classical guitar and an acoustic, were so lyrical and soulful. The Fado singers move around the different restaurants and bars throughout the evening, so we had a rolling parade of different artists. They were all amazing with magic voices. Fernando and the girls even sang along sometimes. We just hummed!

The restaurant was more upmarket and the service, food and ambience were delightful. Fado is distinctly Portuguese and originated in the fishing communities and the poor of Lisbon, eventually becoming accepted across all classes. It is not like Flamenco music though equally as passionate but more yearning. The women traditionally wear black. We were glad the restaurant was close by. As we walked home we passed through throngs of young people, men in particular, all in drinking in the street. Music was thumping from small bars. The street outside was littered with discarded plastic cups and a few broken bottles. This explains hearing the garbage trucks early each morning because there is no litter any where later in the day. We stayed up till 1.00 am-very late for us!

We were leaving early next morning for the hire care office. Irene and Bill set their alarm for 6.30am but slept through it. We were well organised though and headed out to get our Uber. The young man had a Mercedes Benz but he took one look at our suitcases and said he didn’t think he could take them. After a little discussion, Bill ,the expert packer from years of camping, helped him get them all in the boot. It didn’t take long and we were soon at Europcar. We ended up with a Kia hatchback into which with great difficulty we managed to squeeze all the bags. Bill the champion packer again solved the problem. The young man who brought out the car pushed one seatback down and slid one case into that area. That wasn’t going to work because Anne and I would be squashed into two seats at the back. All this packing the boot and unpacking had caused a traffic jam of Europcars and so they didn’t set the TomTom and we had to move out quickly. I became chief navigator for Bill with my phone. We did really well and managed to get onto the freeway with only a couple of missed turns. We were heading to Fátima then onwards to Tomar.

I was curious about visiting Fátima because it is the holiest shrine in Portugal and when we arrived it was not at all what I expected. The development around the scene of the miracles rivals St Peter’s square in Rome! At one end of the oval area is the Basilica flanked by elegant collonards, a third of the way across is the original, restored building where the Virgin Mary appeared to the children, and at the opposite end is a massive modern church of the Holy Spirit, under the forecourt of which were numerous chapels and exhibition rooms. Bill came with us and was suitably impressed by the modern architecture. Even the candle lighting was massive- it was like a barbque! With flames curling up around the candles. No puny electric jobs here! Anne and I lit candles for her daughter Sophie who is extremely ill in hospital and my boys. Irene remained in the car thinking it would be some small little church. There were people on their knees moving the whole length of the oval towards the shrine. I thought it was a mat they were crawling along but it was hard marble. I had not expected such modern buildings or such an extensive complex.

It is a huge business as nearly every hotel is called by a Saint’s name or a religious term and there are numerous shops full of icons and rosaries and other religious paraphernalia. It makes Santiago Compostella look small. About 4 million people visit every year.

By now we were starving and retrieved our rolls bought at a servo along the way. This was our first really cheap meal for weeks and they were delicious. I took over the front seat and continued directing Bill to Tomar a medieval city established by the Knights Templar in 1147. We drove through the back roads and little villages to get there which was a nice change. We had a bit of a false entry into town when the GPS directed us to our destination up a side street into the pedestrian mall! We were all horrified , pedestrians and us. Irene got out to go and find where to collect the key to our AirBnB and a kind woman told Bill to drive up to the square about fifty metres away. I then went after Irene to tell her where we were parked. Apparently it is not uncommon for tourists to end up there! We found the apartment but there was no parking so Bill and I went in search of a suitable place which we found by the river. We could park until the next morning for €2.60. Bill and I got to see more of the town in our search and found it quite pleasing. After stocking up with brekky needs we wandered around until we stumbled on a wine bar where we had the most spectacular tapas which consisted of bread, olives, and two wooden boards loaded with meats and cheese. It was divine, filling and cost us €10 a head. It was so filling we didn’t need dinner. Irene didn’t want to leave the left over bread so I was prevailed upon to use the spacious pockets of my travel vest!

We saw our first Camino sign because this place would be on the route to Santiago if we had been walking from Lisbon. We returned home replete, tired and happy.

We got away on time today and caught a bus out to the newer precinct of East Lisbon passing the Bull Ring which has all sorts of events as well as bull fights. They don’t kill the bull here. The next place was where the World Expo 1998 occurred and where there are businesses and new apartments now. It was so different with very bold modern architecture and an incredible station that looks like trees on the roof.

After that we stopped at the Museu do Azulejo, the Tile Museum. What a spectacle. The tiles are amazing and their use as a wall covering quite exceptional. The artistic use of tiles in Portugal is quite unique.

We continued on to Belém where we visited the monastery of Jeronimos a quite fanciful building like a wedding cake. Inside was the tomb of Vasco Da Gama. After paying homage we hustled to the famous pastry shop where we queued for Portuguese tarts. This is supposed to be the place of their origin and they cook and sell over 10,000 a day!We decided to have take away after being in the queue and then told we could have gone to a table and been waited upon. They were warm and delicious and live up to their fame.

The weather was playing with us today as it fluctuated from sunny to rainy. Bill and I sat in the open top bus freezing and then drying out! I was glad I was wearing my puffy jacket! We moved on to the sculpture of Henry the Navigator, the monument to the discoveries, which was built to commemorate 500 years since his death. We have passed it a couple of times but today we ascended to the top for a panoramic view up the Tegus River and across Lisbon. The sculpted figures are beautiful and the whole thing conveys the sense of being at sea. Even the paving has the wavy tiles to simulate the sea.

Our next adventure was a train back to the city and then the underground to as close as possible. All went smoothly. When we emerged from the underground we were like moles in the sunlight not knowing where we were until we recognised a pastry shop we had seen on the first day. We were very close to home.

Outside our apartment was a football team from Brazil, we think, drinking and singing and kicking a soccer ball. The noise was deafening but at least tuneful. It seemed to go on for at least an hour or so but finally quiet by 7.00 pm. Relief.