Cooling royal breezes

---

Yesterday was not a good day. It started with some extreme teenage girl dramas, vocally projected across most of Portugal, and continued with a couple of dead birds. It was almost enough to make us throw in the towel for the day and curl up in bed and be done with it.

But we decided that sun and sand was a good medicine…and eventually we were right. A visit to Carvoeiro beach for some breathtaking water surrounded by stunning limestone cliffs. Icecream to soothe the aching hearts and a quick visit to Marinha beach but we decided not to brave the walk down from the cliff top, seeing that we’d have to walk all the way back up again.

Off to Benagil to meet up with our kayaking trip. A quick safety briefing and we walked down to the beach to be ‘processed’ in the machine that was getting people into kayaks and onto the water. Paddled along the coast and into some huge caves, with the boom of the waves breaking at the back.

The last stop at Benagil was chaos, with motorboats and Insta models galore, but we enjoyed hanging back and laughing at it all. We even managed to spot a few fossils on the ceiling to keep our minds engaged beyond the boobies and bums on display for the photos.

A paddle back and a change before a lovely relaxing dinner of a Portuguese version of seafood risotto/paella (the girls had hamburgers) and a long drive back, lit by the lighthouse in the last short way. Sheba the cat seemed quite put out at the late hour of our return and promptly installed herself on and under beds for the evening.

Hoping for a better day today, we had a slow start and packed our things ready to go. Sadly no delicious breakfast cake today and we were sad to say goodbye to the horses and dogs…Sheba had bid her fond farewells at around 5 when she demanded Geoff let her out.

A drive back north towards Lisbon with a quick stop for lunch before we joined the throngs heading for the hills, to swan around in the town of Portuguese royalty. It is certainly much cooler here than everywhere else we’ve been, particularly with a strong breeze.

We were very proud of ourselves for having navigated the complex streets of Sintra and heading towards our google-directed accommodation with seemingly no issue, save for some slight impatience from a driver behind on our ascent on the long winding hill. The pride turned to dismay, however, when we slightly overshot the mark and ended up a few hundred metres further than we needed to be. No matter, we’ll flip the bird to the agro tail-gater and chuck U-ey (how is that spelled?!?) and head back down the hill and then attempt a hair-raising 70 degree turn into the property…geez this road is narrow…that would be because it was one way!! That would be why google was convinced it was a 22 minute trip around the entire town, rather than the 22 seconds (of near death) it actually took!

Having narrowly escaped death via road rage and/or tuk tuk through the windscreen, we were very happy to arrive at our accommodation. A sprawling property set in the hillside amongst the forest, it was obviously once very regal and has been restored to accommodate guests.

But we had exploring to do, so, unwilling to risk life and limb again, we called an Uber. They too, had heard of “our” bird-flipping reputation and took some convincing, but finally Man of Many Many Words appeared. Lots of traffic jams all they way to Quinta da Regaleria, and we’d had the entire tourist guide to Sintra downloaded in the front seat. Sometimes sitting in the back with the girls is actually an advantage!

Hauled ourselves up the hill to the entrance and trundled around the gardens, visiting the tower, the waterfall, the initiation well and palace. It was all very intricate and opulent, and we mused that it would be an excellent place to play hide and seek or a treasure hunt. Lots of secret paths and books and crannies, all surrounded by lush forest and beautiful flora. We enjoyed exploring all there was to see.

But all that exploring takes energy, so we walked into town and headed for a wine bar for some restorative aperol and jamon. In fact, it restored us enough to be ready for dinner. And then some port and tarts. And bed.

---