Travel Photos - Fatima,Portugal.

 Fatima, 88 miles north of Lisbon, place of Pilgrimage.

In 1917 three shepherd children saw an apparition of Our Lady (Mary).

The 'visits' happened between 13th May and October that year and the last one, 13th October, 

was witnessed by 60,000 people. 

Next year, 2017, the Pope will visit in honour of

the 100th year anniversary.

Pilgrims walk up to the modern cathedral building, some on their knees in penance, others taking shaped candles to light for healings of body parts or grief. 

The nearby shops are overcrowded with statues, pictures, plaques and other religious keepsakes.

Travel Photos - Lisbon, Portugal

 A coach viewpoint stop, looking down to the sea.

 Arco da Rua Augusta

 Lisbon Cathedral

 

 A replica (smaller version) statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de janeiro, taken from the 25th April bridge

 Best mode of transport to see the City.  Don't take the yellow No 28 as this is very crowded and you might not get a seat.  The red tram only takes seated passengers and you can hop on and off anytime.

 

Lots of street statues, beggars, hawkers, musicians, dancers.  Loved this lass.

 Sardines, a must have local dish.  Also don't miss the egg custard pastries with a coffee, yum.

 

Travel Writing - The Church and the Beggar

One of the coach trips included a guided tour of Lisbon Cathedral where its architecture was explained to the group by the very knowledgeable and proud guide.  As we entered the doorway of the Cathedral a beggar lady sat baring her scarred face and amputated leg in an iron prosthetic.  It was hard to walk by - I wanted to sit next to her and hear her story, where was she from, what had happened to her, where did she live, why was she begging?  But I guessed she was not an English speaker and I followed dutifully our coach party into the Sanctuary of this magnificent building.

Our guide pointed out the ceiling, its carvings, the pillars, the people commemorated etc etc etc and although I listened I couldn't get the beggar at the door out of my mind.

  Queueing in the midday sun to get into the museum next to the Cathedral.

 

I am Christian but I could not get my head around the expense of such a building, not only in its years of being built, but in the years since, in maintenance and upkeep.  The rich and the poor, the grand, seen by all, and the small, unnoticed individual were side by side.  The phrase 'obscene opulence' rather than praise for the Christians who furbished this place swirls around my brain.  Do they think God wants this, to be revered in gold and for men to spend their time chipping and carving away when the Gospel teachings are ignored?  It raised so many unanswered questions for me.

There were many other beggars and hawkers in Lisbon city centre.  The next day I saw her sat by a shop, she had changed location.  I wished I had not walked by yet again, but instead gone into a patisserie and bought her some food at least.  However, I have experienced the error of giving money to a mother and child begging sometime ago in another country and it was an unpleasant experience of being followed and harassed for more money.  If anyone has pointers as to how to cope with these situations please comment below.

 

 

 



Travel Writing - Pousada Serra da Estrela, Covilha, Portugal

This, our second hotel with Titan Tours, is a converted Sanatorium once used for the treatment and recovery of patients working on the Railways who contracted Tuberculosis.

  The high altitude, 1200 m above sea level, set in a quiet location provided fresh air and a tranquil atmosphere of care.  Originally built in the 1920's over an 8 year period it then served all needy patients in 50 beds available to the National Association of Tuberculosis.  The building later passed ownership to the National Institute for TB Care.  It closed down in 1969 but re-opened in 1974 for 700 returnees from the former Portuguese colonies.

 

In 2011 restoration of the building began by the Pestana Group of Hotels and it opened in 2014 offering 92 rooms which were beautifully furnished, plain simple gardens, an indoor and outdoor pool and spa facilities.

My stay here was one of respite from the on/off coach travelling and sanctuary from the torrential rains, low clouds and fog of May, watering the earth for its long hot summer ahead.  The hotel was clean and fresh, comfortable, very spacious and 'grand'.  It felt a real privilege to be there.

 

The corridors were long and I felt the serene hospital atmosphere through the pictures on the walls of my room.  I imagined the coughs and breathing difficulties of former residents and rather than it being a place of convalescence it felt like a restorative place physically, mentally and spiritually. (Read Blog on Healing Waters and The Gym).  Here I had time to think more clearly, absorb the 'now' and not worry about time schedules other than planned meal times.

 

Some of our travelling companions complained that the food was not up to standard but this was not my experience.  The Mediterranean diet is so much healthier than the British based diet.  The colour and variety both at breakfast and evening meal gave choices for all tastes.  By now I was beginning to weary of the negativity of several of the group and had to avoid being seated with them at meal times.  I would rate this hotel 5 stars out of 5.  A wonderful place in the mountains, a place I would return to, perhaps in better weather days to sit outdoors and bask in the pure air.

 

 

 



 

Travel Writing - Pousada da Castelo de Palmela, Lisbon, Portugal

 

The courtyard/Cloisters by day and by night

The converted Convent, formerly of the Order of Santiago, is adjacent to a Castle built by the Moors in the 12th Century.










The convent refectory is now a dining room and features a preaching place overlooking the diners below.

It stands on a hilltop setting with breathtaking panoramic views and is 40 kms from Lisbon.

The view of the village of Palmela below is beautiful - tree tops, red tiled house tops, white walled buildings and the winding cobbled narrow streets greeting us visitors as warmly as the late afternoon sunshine.

 

In the hotel courtyard were wicker chairs upon white marbled slabs surrounded by the arches that made up the cloisters, once open to the elements but now with glass doors and windows with a celtic cross print on each.  I imagine dour faced black habited nuns walking softly from cell to chapel, arms folded and in silent contemplation after their morning duties.  Compline would be said, Psalms sang and Holy Orders observed.

 

Brass bowls on wooden stands perhaps once used for Holy water now contain sand for smokers to snub out their cigarettes before entering the building.  If the hotel bedrooms had once been cells they were very spacious and peaceful places.  The huge windows had dark wooden shutters to close out the weather or darkness of night when the twinkling of streetlights and homes below glowed like stars beyond the reach of nuns.  Were they a closed order I wonder?  The internet tells me the Order of Santiago was founded in 1502 and had several convents throughout Portugal and Spain.  The Order still exists under protection of the Spanish crown, but, it would seem, like many religious Orders, their numbers have vastly diminished.

 

The hotel was a sanctuary to us travellers/holiday makers - a place to rest awhile after a long journey from England.  It offered drinks and food to refresh us, had huge beds with soft white quilts and pillows to rest us and local staff to serve us as valued guests.  From here we explored Lisbon city and then onwards to Covilha, Fatima and into Spain.

 

It comes to you highly recommended by myself.  The only missing thing was tea and coffee making facilities in the rooms, as with all other hotels visited.  I will rate this place 4 stars of 5.



 

Heaven on Earth

Day 5 of an 11 day tour of Portugal and Spain.

Location : Pousada Serra da Estrela (Historic Hotel, Portugal) (a separate blog will tell you more about this hotel)

I sink into the empty pool, alone for a short while.  "Ahhhh," I sigh.  It is a 'coming home' moment.  A contentment beyond describable words.

The water is a very comfortable 30 degrees and I glide through the waters experiencing a release of tension that causes my emotions to overflow as tears.  A cry from deep within my soul, not of sadness but of shear joy.  This is my 'happy' place, in the warmth of the blue waters.  Is it a reminiscence of being in my mother's womb - safe, loved, alive without life?

I sit on the steps within the pool, press a button and bubbles arise - a Jacuzzi.  A neck and shoulder jet spray activated next washes away stresses and anxieties of travelling.  I swim, I float, I enjoy the sensation of water all over my body, holding me, supporting me, loving me.

Somehow the water changes me from entering it to emerging from it.  I am different afterwards, lighter, happier, cleaner, calmer.  Relaxed, refreshed.

And then, as if that wasn't a treat enough, I have a massage.  I was given an individually wrapped pair of paper panties (new experience but remember they were fashionable for a short while in the 1960's).  I de-robe and lay on the couch, cover myself with the sheet and put my face on the towelled opening at the head of the massage table. 

The obligatory music is playing and the masseur enters the room.  She tells me  she will start with a 'welcome' touch and uncovers my feet (another new experience).  I try not to laugh out loud whilst she lightly touches the souls of my feet and then puts some 'scrub' on a few dry parts of my heels, covers them with hot flannels and presses my soles.  Lovely.

After the back, neck and shoulder massage I am sat in a relaxation room, given a complementary cup of soothing herbal tea and left to take as long as I like to re-enter the hotel.  Lying back on the sunbed I listen to the piped tinkle music and birdsong and think of family and friends back home.  I let tears flow for them and hope it washes away their pains and troubles.  For a brief moment and in silence I talk to loved ones gone from this world.  It is though I am on a higher spiritual ground.

I open my eyes, wipe away the tears and drink the warming herbal tea.  I am back in the world and ready to move on.

DOUBLE DECKERS

Recently I travelled into Birmingham by train to attend my second Author and Bloggers meet up.  The train was crowded on the busy Saturday morning.  I estimate the train had 5 or 6 coaches and the compartments were all paying customers of the rail company.  In the carriage I was in, all the seats were taken and all luggage racks full of cases and bags.  People were standing in the doorway areas holding on where they could.  I joined this standing crowd.

To my left was a passenger in a wheelchair which blocked the entrance to the rest of that carriage, and to the right people stood alongside rows of seats and there was a large piece of luggage in the aisle making it impossible to pass by.  Kiddies and their mother stood next to me.

I wondered at the health and safety aspect of the situation should an accident or other emergency occur.  No-one had access to the toilet facilities on this particular carriage either.  Travelling by this train both outward and return was an uncomfortable and unpleasant experience.  I felt I had paid good money for this poor service, except that the train was on time and we all emerged safely at our destinations.  No doubt we will all do it again and inwardly grumble.

In comparison in Lisbon, Portugal, a similar train journey had me marvelling at the ingenious invention of DOUBLE DECKER carriages.  Double the seating area without having to provide further carriages to cope with commuting passengers seemed a super idea to me.

 

During the journey the train went over the River Tagus bridge which was also a DOUBLE DECKER.  The lower part of the bridge was for the railway and the upper deck for road transport.  How amazingly thoughtful and resourceful of the space and expanse of the bridge.  Well Done Lisbon.  I was very impressed.