DAY 6 - ALVADOS DAY 2:

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TODAY, OUR FIRST OBJECTIVE WAS TO VISIT THE PEGADAS DOS DINOSSAURIOS (DINOSAUR FOOTPRINTS) PARK. WE HEADED BACK UP THE ROAD WE'D COME IN FROM LISBON, THEN TURNED TOWARDS FATIMA AT MIRA DE AIRE. JUST BEFORE REACHING FATIMA, WE MADE THE TURN EAST TOWARDS THE PARK AND HAD LITTLE TROUBLE FINDING IT. AS BEFORE, BUSINESS WAS PRETTY SLOW AND WE WERE ABOUT THE ONLY TOURISTS THERE. THIS PARK HAS THE MOST EXTENSIVE GROUP OF PETRIFIED DINOSAUR PRINTS IN THE WORLD (FROM WHAT I READ), WITH SEVERAL SPECIES AND NUMEROUS "TRAILS" OF PRINTS. WE PAID OUR ENTRY FEE OF 3 EUROS EACH, AND AFTER A SHORT TREK UP HILL, AND AROUND THE EDGE OF THE "FLATS", WE DESCENDED DOWN TO THE FLATS. APPARENTLY, BACK IN THE DAYS OF DINOSAURS, THIS WAS A SORT OF TIDE POOL THAT THE DINOSAURS LIKED TO TRAVERSE. THEY LEFT NUMEROUS PRINTS AND AT LEAST FOUR DISTINCT TRAILS WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE "LEFT FOOT, RIGHT FOOT" AS CLEAR AS DAY. WE FOLLOW THE ROPED OFF PATH, TRYING TO IDENTIFY AS MANY PRINTS AS WE COULD. WE THEN RETURNED TO THE TICKET OFFICE/GIFT SHOP WHERE I BOUGHT A THIMBLE AS A SOUVENIR. I'VE PREVIOUSLY BEEN COLLECTING SILVER CHARMS FROM ALL THE PLACES WE'VE BEEN, BUT IT HAS BEEN GETTING HARDER AND HARDER TO FIND THEM, SO I'VE DECIDED TO SWITCH TO THIMBLES, WHICH THEY SEEM TO HAVE EVERYWHERE.

WE LEFT THE PARK, INTENDING TO VISIT OUREM AND ITS CASTLE, BUT MISSED OUR TURN AND ENDED UP ON THE ROAD TOWARDS TOMAR. SINCE TOMAR WAS ONE OF THE PLACES I'D RESEARCHED AND THOUGHT WOULD BE COOL TO VISIT, WE KEPT GOING. WE DISCOVERED LATER THAT WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN THERE A LOT MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY ON ONE OF THE MAIN HIGHWAYS. UNFORTUNATELY, WE TOOK ANOTHER SMALL ROAD WITH THE CONSTANT UPS, DOWNS, AND TURNS, THAT I'M STARTING TO GET USED TO. AFTER WHAT SEEMED LIKE FOREVER, WE ENTERED THE TOWN OF TOMAR. WE PASSED THE TOURIST OFFICE AND SAW THE CASTLE/CONVENT UP ON THE HILL, BUT DIDN'T FIND A PARKING SPOT FOR A FEW BLOCKS. AGAIN, HINDSIGHT IS 20/20, AS WE FOUND OUT THAT WE COULD HAVE DRIVEN ALMOST ALL THE WAY UP TO THE CASTLE AND PARKED RIGHT THERE. INSTEAD, WE WENT TO THE TOURIST AND WHEN WE TOLD THEM WE WERE WALKING, THEY POINTED US IN THE DIRECTION OF THE QUICKEST WAY WITHOUT A CAR. WE CLIMBED UP THE STEEP TRAIL AND SOON ARRIVED AT THE MARVELOUS LOCATION OF TOMAR CASTLE AND THE CONVENTO DO CRISTO (CONVENT OF CHRIST). WHAT A SIGHT!

YOU CAN SEE QUITE A BIT FROM OUTSIDE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO INSIDE, OF COURSE YOU HAVE TO PAY THE ENTRY FEE. OF 6 EUROS EACH. WE WERE TOLD WE COULD BUY A COMBINATION TICKET FOR 15 EUROS THAT WOULD GIVE US ENTRY TO BOTH THE BATALHA AND ALCOBACA MONASTERIES. WE HAD THOUGHT OF VISITING BOTH OF THEM ANYWAYS, SO WE BOUGHT THE COMBO TICKET, INSTEAD OF PAYING 6 EUROS EACH FOR EACH PLACE. THE CASTLE ITSELF WASN'T ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE, BUT THE CONVENT WAS GIGANTIC AND AMAZING. I THINK WE SPENT A COUPLE OF HOURS WANDERING AROUND THROUGH ALL THE HALLS, COURTYARDS AND EXPOSITIONS, ON AT LEAST TWO FLOORS AND THERE MAY HAVE BEEN THREE. THIS PLACE WAS ENORMOUS. SEE THE PHOTOS TO GET A BETTER IDEA OF HOW BEAUTIFUL AND ORNATE IT WAS, SINCE IT WOULD TAKE MORE WORDS TO DESCRIBE THAT I WOULD EXPECT YOU FOLKS TO READ. LEAVE IT TO SAY, IF YOU ARE EVER ANY WHERE NEAR THIS PLACE, VISIT IT!

SINCE BY THE TIME WE LEFT THE CONVENT IT WAS WELL INTO LUNCH TIME, WE DECIDED TO EAT OUR LUNCH AT A PLACE CALLED RESTAURANTE CERVEJARIA DO FERNANDO DOWN IN THE TOWN. I HAD A PLATE CALLED THE SECRETS OF THE BLACK PIG, A DELICOUS PORK PLATE WITH LOTS OF FRENCH FRIES. MANOLI TRIED THE BLOOD SAUSAGE WITH BROCCOLI. BOTH PLATES WERE DELICIOUS AND NOT ALL THAT EXPENSIVE. AFTER LUNCH, WE DECIDED TO FIND THE OTHER MAIN ATTRACTION IN TOMAR, THE MUSEU DOS FOSFORROS OR THE MUSEUM OF MATCHES. THE ENTRY WAS FREE, SO I FIGURED IT WOULDN'T BE THAT BIG A DEAL. WHEN TURNED THE CORNER FROM THE ENTRYWAY, I WAS ASTOUNDED TO SEE ROOM AFTER ROOM OF DISPLAYS. TURNS OUT THERE ARE 43,000 MATCH BOXES AND 12,000 MATCHBOOKS! THERE WERE DISPLAYS FROM JUST ABOUT EVERY COUNTRY YOU CAN IMAGINE. FROM COLLECTIONS DEPICTING PLAYING CARDS, TO AUTOMOBILES, TO FAMOUS CELEBRITIES. QUITE WORTHWHILE!

WERE GOING TO CHECK OUT OUREM ON THE WAY BACK ON THE NICER HIGHWAY, BUT MISSED OUR TURN AGAIN, SO HEADED TO FATIMA. ALTHOUGH THE BIG DAY OF THE MONTH WAS YESTERDAY, FATIMA WAS STILL PRETTY CROWDED, EVEN IN THE AFTERNOON. WE HAD COFFEE AND PASTRIES AT A PASTELARIA, THEN FOUND THE SANTUARIO, OR SANCTUARY. IT HAD A GIGANTIC PLAZA AREA, BIGGER THAN VATICAN SQUARE, I THINK. I'VE HEARD UPWARDS OF 10,000 PEOPLE CONGREGATE HERE ON THE 13TH OF EACH MONTH FROM MAY THROUGH SEPTEMBER. BRIEFLY, THE STORY GOES THAT 3 YOUNG CHILDREN FROM THE AREA HAD A VISITATION FROM THE VIRGIN MARY ON THE 13TH OF MAY. THEY WERE TOLD TO, AND RETURNED EACH MONTH AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME MIRACLE, THE LAST MONTH RECEIVING PREDICTIONS OF TERRIBLE EVENTS TO COME, SUCH AS WORLD WAR I. I'M LEAVING OUT A LOT OF DETAILS, BUT SUFFICE IT TO SAY THIS PLACE IS A MAJOR SIGHT TO SEE FOR ALL DEVOTE CATHOLICS AND THE TOWN OF FATIMA IS JAMMED EVERY MONTH FROM MAY TO SEPTEMBER AROUND THE 13TH. WHEN WE WERE THERE THE NEXT DAY, IT WAS STILL PRETTY CROWDED WITH PEOPLE ON THEIR KNEES "CRAWLING" TO THE SIGHT AND OTHER PEOPLE WITH WAX FIGURES TO BURN AS OFFERINGS. LOOK UP THE MIRACLE OF FATIMA FOR MORE INFORMATION.

WE STOPPED AT A SUPERMARKET JUST ON THE EDGE OF PORTO DE MOS ON OUR WAY BACK TO HOSTEL SO WE COULD HAVE DINNER IN THE HOSTEL, CONSISTING OF MELON, HAM AND CHEESE. TOMORROW WE PLAN ON VISITING THE MONASTERIES OF BATALHA AND ALCOBACA. SORRY FOR THE DELAY, BUT I'M HAVING TROUBLE CATCHING UP.

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Photos

DINOSAUR BUILDING
RATHER INTERESTING BUILDING USED FOR EDUCATION AND EVENTS IN THE PARK

Comments

[JuJu]

I'm catching up too
Obviously, I am behind in following your travels by blog. Had a bit of a relapse with my Fibromyalgia. Have you been to Dinosaur National Monument in Utah? They have a glass building covering the cliff where they are currently still excavating dinosaur bones. There is a box canyon and a little cabin where the owner allegedly helped outlaws like Billy the Kid hide out. The people in the little nearby town of Vernal are awesome. I left my wallet on top of a payphone outside of the restaurant where we ate breakfast (pre cell phone days) and they actually had mailed it back to our home by the time I called later that afternoon! No castles or convents there, though. But it is in the flatlands. Love your pictures.