Enemies and posh kings

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Kicked off the day with a delightful breakfast in the courtyard before heading to the Castelos dos Mouros (Moorish Castle). Despite Geoff’s aspirational assertion that we should walk the 1.5km uphill, rejection was unanimous and an Uber summonsed. Thankfully, since the Moors apparently had a fondness for building on a hill. A tall hill. On a ridge.

So we climbed and we explored. There are two fortifications on high points of the ridge, connected by walls and surrounded by a lush forest. We enjoyed wandering the walls and peering over the edges, imagining the enemies trying to attack and having hot oil poured on them. Both were quite the climb, but a cooling breeze and views of the surrounding countryside and Pena Palace made it less painful. Maybe my legs will feel differently tomorrow.

Some replenishing coffees and muffins in the cafe before heading through the forest to Pena Palace. We’d previously bought our timed tickets for entry and we were a little early so we enjoyed a rest and an entertaining game of ‘judge the inappropriate footwear’. Lucky there were many candidates to pass the time.

Our timeslot was finally upon us and we were granted entry to the palace. Lots of colour, some amazing views of the surrounds and some incredibly intricate tiles and our visit was done. This is where the kings and queens of the 19th century spent their summers and it was fascinating to have an insight into their lives. Wandered back through the greenery of the surrounding gardens through the lake area where there were some freakishly large fish and some kind of bird life. A taxi back for a refreshing swim before we headed off for dinner.

Our hotel had assured us that the secret passage through the woods was a shortcut, but after around 20 minutes walk, we felt we were further away from town than where we’d started, but had at least experienced an excellent setting for numerous fairy tales and/or stories of haunted woods.

A delicious dinner of tapas, followed by some devastation that the pastel shop was closed. So we have ventured to try the speciality of Sintra instead, together with some port. Verdict: not quite as good but a worthy contender. Let’s see what northern Portugal has to offer tomorrow!

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