“Travels to a Different Time” : 16July2005 Nazaré/Obidos/Albacoca, Portugal:

I was the first to wake up at 08:00 so while the rest of the crew was sleeping I caught up on my diary while sitting outside on the veranda overlooking the town and the ocean. Good to hear the rooster crowing as it has been sometime since I had heard that sound. In the town below you hear dogs barking. Portugal has many stray dogs. Thank goodness no aggressive ones have lunged at us. I saw a part Dalmatian walk by us yesterday. Breakfast was fine but not up to pousada standards we have encountered. The breakfast room is very plain. The hotel has a cookie cutter feel and at 190 Euros overpriced. Drove to Obidos a walled town with a castle. There was some type of “fair” occurring with local merchants in medieval garb selling ye olde souvenirs. Main street full of tacky souvenir stores. The real charm of Obidos are the narrow cobbled side streets, white washed homes with red tiled roofs. No tawdriness.

Having the appropriate footwear Andrew and I walked along the top of the castle walls. One wrong move and over you topple! The walls encircle the city and since it is on top of the hill you have a spectacular view of the town below. Fields with crops are seen in the distance. Tried some of the town’s famous Ginja cherry liqueur. Sweet but delicious. Bought a bottle of it and a bottle of Obidos red wine. Just a snack of water and juice as we ate such a big breakfast. Andrew amused himself by taking a few photos of a billy goat that was tethered nearby. Stopped at a couple of local churches. Interesting here in Portugal many of the churches have blue tiled walls.

Off in the car to Albacoca which we were trapped in some construction detour but managed to visit the Mosterio de Santa Maria. Returned to Nazaré and Alex and I went into town to pick up an entire grilled chicken, fries and a side of ribs. I went to the corner store to buy some Sumol and a bottle of cold white wine. The chicken was superb. The meal cost 20 Euros. Alex and I went out for an after dinner walk and encountered a church service that had just ended in a nearby church.