On the Saturday before Palm Sunday we decided to have a day out in Caminha, a small market town on the estuary of the River Minho which looks across to Spain. The cold March weather seemed to be keeping the townsfolk at home. Even the cafes round the fountain in the main square were devoid of customers. It was as though the place was sleeping before the festival which would take place on the following day.
To see more of Caminha and its parish church click here.
Built like a fortress, this is the kind of Portuguese church I like best. Solid, simple and unpretentious, the outside is of plain faced stone, which sets off to perfection the west door and round window above. With its fish, stone mermen and fishy-tailed sea monsters, no one could doubt that this is the church of a sea-faring people.
The same contrast of simplicity and ornament is evident inside too. Though the side chapels have busy baroque altars, the plain nave terminates in a small apse where a simple table serves as the high altar beneath a stone ribbed roof. Three ungilded statues and a crucifix are the only decorations on the wall.
Above the slim columns are traditional tiles of a pleasingly uncomplicated design. This restraint is the perfect foil for the church's surprising roof made of wood in an ornate, Moorish-style.
As you can see, the church is dressed for Palm Sunday, with palm branches curving over the aisle. Here too we were alone except for one lady who was making sure that all was prepared for mass.
We didn't see Palm Sunday in Caminha, when undoubtedly the church was full and the town bustling. We were in Ponte de Lima for the traditional procession instead but that is for another post.
Do you have a favourite church in Portugal? Are you, unlike me, a fan of the baroque? Do write in and tell us. If you are Portuguese, please feel free to write in your own language. You don't have to write in English. (O que é importante não é a língua mas a contribuição.)
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Many years ago we used to visit Portugal with our sons. As well as visiting the beach, playing tennis and eating ice cream down on the waterfront, a favourite occupation was eating in traditional restaurants. (Let me advise you always to choose the restaurants where the Portuguese themselves eat. In my view, the food is tastier and they are much better value for your money. In short, the posher the food the less good it is!) At this time of the year, starting around St John's night, grilled sardines seasoned with sea salt and accompanied by a crisp green salad is a popular choice of main dish.
In fact, as you can see above, the Portuguese have gone totally crazy about sardines. Those above are stuffed fabric ones but there are ceramic ones too - there's a series of about 50 different designs.
To see more about sardines and a special sardine shop in Porto, click here.
Come with me to a village at the end of a long, winding road, which climbs ever higher up the mountainside from Ponte de Lima. The first time I went to Vilar do Monte was some 10 to 15 years ago when it looked run down and half empty. Indeed, it probably was since in 2011, the last date I can find for a census, the population numbered only 106 people. Up to 1970, there had been over double that figure but hardship and lack of opportunity had driven the young and adventurous to the cities or overseas.
Today, new red roofs and the occasional posh house with a swimming pool have transformed the appearance of the village. Maybe returnees from abroad have invested, as they so often do, or perhaps some weary city banker or entrepreneur from Porto has bought a hideaway here.
For us, it's where we shall park the car and start a splendid walk. Later we'll return for a glass of good vinho verde or a coffee in the shopcumcafé opposite the church.
To read more of the walk to the roof of the world from the end of the world, click here.
Going out into town: it's such a simple thing but these days it feels like a treat doesn't it? OK! So you have to wear a face mask when you enter shops but when you visit Trisabores, the ice cream shop, after you've ordered you can go outside to eat and take your mask off. There are fewer tables than there used to be and those there are have been more widely spaced but hey! The sun is shining and at last all seems right with the world. What then could be better than to celebrate the partial lifting of lockdown with a scrumptious ice cream?
Now, as a diabetic, I am not supposed to have sugary things but the end of lockdown is special. It demands a celebration, doesn't it? The only problem is what to choose. There are so many kinds of ice cream: rich dark chocolate, mango, cheesecake, hazelnut, banana ....
We were told that there was a truly celestial new flavour made from lemon and ginger but it wasn't available when we went. We are assured that it will be back but only next week. Boohoo! Or maybe not. Perhaps it just means we'll have to make another visit. We'll be misbehaving twice!
These were our choice this time. Lemon and coffee for me: lemon and passion fruit for Steve. Next week we'll probably both have lemon and ginger. But who knows? Maybe there'll be another innovative flavour.
We don't often stay in posh hotels: guest houses and Airbnb are our standard choice. After all, as we are usually out and about all day, we only use our accommodation to sleep in, so why spend money on a place we'll hardly see? Besides, I like the opportunity to chat to locals and find out about the area I've come to and their opinions of what is going on. That is not so easy in a big hotel. Every now and then, though, we give ourselves a treat, especially in January, which is when the Pousadas and luxury hotels do deals.
The Pestana Pousada Palácio de Freixo, a luxury hotel on the banks of the River Douro in Porto, is a case in point. In January they sometimes offer rooms at half price. That is still well over €100 a night when you could probably get a perfectly acceptable room for €40 elsewhere but hey! What the heck? Let's have a night out!
To see more of the Pousada Palácio de Freixo, luxury hotel and national monument, click here.
In the previous blog I said that, though there's little to do up here on our mountainside, life is not without its simple joys. One is creating a garden from the jungle of weeds that used to exist on the terrace below our house. (I may show you that some other time.) Another is the freedom to walk up a quiet rural road or to branch off into the woodland. Today I'm going to take you on one of my rambles.
To read about my route and see what I found, click here
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