On the way to Porto

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On Thursday we left Lisboa bound for Porto. We stopped in Fatima on the way which is a very special religious place that a lot of pilgrims come to visit. The Pope has also visited a number of times. Even when we went on just a normal day, there was a large mass and people walking on their knees down to the chapel which was quite a long way! The Basilica didn’t seem to be anything special in terms of it’s architecture or beauty however it did have a different feel and there were many people praying there. It was quite an emotional place even a little bit for us. Although it did spark a healthy debate between us regarding evolution/religion!

We didn’t have another stop planned for this leg however we decided to pull off to one of the beaches (Praia de Mira on the Costa Prata) as we were nearing Porto. We’re glad we did as we got to witness the local fisherman pulling in their nets which were laden with fish (mostly anchovies we think)! It was good to see that there didn’t seem to be a lot of wastage as the locals picked up what the fisherman didn’t. Definitely more sustainable than the huge trawlers. We were planning a longer stay in the small beach village however we were chased out by a huge storm!

We arrived in Porto in the evening and caught the metro into town for a quick bit of sightseeing and some more piri piri!

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