I do Like to Be Beside the Seaside(Reginald Dixon MBE) - A Day in Viana do Castelo


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Europe » Portugal » Northern » Viana do Castelo
April 7th 2016
Published: April 10th 2016
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It was blowing fairly strongly when we arrived in Viana yesterday afternoon but this morning has dawned calm and with a bright sun rising behind us which means it looks good for a trip across the water to explore this morning and then a walk along the boardwalk and beach in the afternoon.

We have found fruit that is in season very inexpensive during our travels and so our daily breakfast has been consisting of 3 pieces of fruit each cut up with muesli and yogurt. Sometimes the bowls have been filled almost to overflowing but we have always managed to get through it and it sets us up right for the day. Toast and coffee and occasionally scrambled or poached eggs finish breakfast off nicely and we don’t usually need a substantial lunch.

The port at Viana do Castelo has facilities to service the Portuguese navy ships although there don’t appear to be any in port at the moment. We think it would only be small vessels that would be able to enter the harbour as there are sandbanks which are clearly visible off the breakwater at low tide.

Much like the Mount at home, Viana also has a steep hill that dominates the scenery and that is the Mount of Santa Luzia which has a rather impressive church at the top. To get to it you can either walk up the steep road or like we intend to do, catch the funicular, the second on the BBA V3 we will have ridden.

It was just a short drive over a rather odd bridge that crosses the Lima River that empties out to sea near our apartment building. The oddness is because although the approach is straight the road takes a wicked dog leg turn just as you get onto the part that crosses the river. It is the same at both ends and if you don’t have your wits about you it would be easy to be on the wrong side of the road very quickly. It certainly worked at slowing the traffic down. We discovered that the bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel, of the world famous Eiffel Tower, so it had been around a long time, well before automobiles so perhaps the dog leg approach was something to do with controlling stock that would have been the main uses in its early days.

The Portuguese people we have interacted with in the day we have been here so far seem to us to be very quiet and only too willing to help. They appear a ‘softer ‘type of people to the Spaniards, not that they weren’t helpful either.

This help was borne out when we parked Peggy in what seemed to be a well located free location only to be warned that we shouldn’t park there although we didn’t quite understand the reason. There were no signs indicating a limit of parking etc but we took the local’s advice and drove a short distance to where he had indicated was best.

‘Scam’ did go through our minds very briefly but the car was safe for the 3 hours it was there and it was free.

From our apartment we have a good view of a church that stands out in open ground near to where we parked our car.

The church has a much different look to those of France and Spain being white washed on the exterior rather than the ‘dirty ‘grey stone look.

The interior too was very different with no side chapels but a very striking altar and above in the dome a ‘statue’(?) of Christ attached to the roof and looking down on the congregation. All in all quite impressive.

We could clearly see the Basilica on the Mount Santa Luzia and so we made for where we thought the funicular would run from to get us the easy way to the top.

Again with the help from a friendly local we were put on track when we had drifted away from where we needed to be.

The funicular doesn’t feature much in tour guides for the city which is a shame for although it was just a 7 minute ride to the top it was very inexpensive at €3 each return and saved our legs walking the steep hill.

The funicular operated without a driver on board being controlled by a laid back guy at the top who also entertained himself watching TV in between times when the funicular wasn’t running on its 15 minute cycle. He had the better of the two positions as the guy at the bottom who sold us the tickets had nothing to watch and had to spend time behind a small counter waiting for riders to show up.

It wasn’t as steep as the Lourdes funicular but it had the same system with a passing loop at half way and made the same clunky sounds which we attributed to the car going over the guides for the tow line.

The views from the top were indeed panoramic over the city, down the coast and into the hinterland and we had certainly got a grand day for it.

The only drawback to the uninterrupted view was a tour bus which had delivered its passengers to wander the grounds. It was bang in the middle of a photo shot from the top of the stairs of the Basilica and the only way to get it out of shot was to drop down a few metres to the landing on the other side of the bus.

Why do tourist buses do this?!There was heaps of room for it to be parked out of view and the tourist would have only had a few more metres to walk to get back on it.

The Sanctuary as it is also known as was constructed between 1904 and 1959 and is said to be modelled on Sacre Couer in Paris.

Given its more recent history the interior was ‘modern ‘and surprisingly light even though there weren’t a lot of windows or stained glass at lower levels. There is large rosette above the entry and this was probably the supplier of the lightness. The acoustics were very good, so good in fact that we could hear a man praying in the front row from where we seated in the rear. Another church well worth entering and getting a feeling for.

There were a couple of other buildings on Mount Santa Luzia including a museum but we felt we had enough of the history and so returned to the town via the funicular with the man at the top still watching TV and the one at the bottom looking rather bored.

Again a helpful local directed us to an over bridge to the railway station which then lead us to the main street and alleyways filled with shops that lead of it.

We didn’t have to walk too far to find a cafe to have lunch, this time a cachorro each. The cachorro is a bit like a New York hot dog but we added whatever we wanted in sauces or mustard. The hot dog was slightly spicy and fitted neatly in a lightly toasted baguette(French traditions are following us even in Portugal).It was a fantastic value for money and included a €1 beer of 250ml which was just right for the time taken to wait for and then eat our cachorro.

Passing along the alleyway we took in the architecture of the buildings, many of which dated back to the 14th and 15th century, well at least the facades did!

One thing we have noticed in Portugal as we have driven through towns are the ‘China Bazaar’s ‘similar to the $2 Shops back home usually run by Chinese or Indians

For some reason the sight of Chinese people at the cash till at this shop in Portugal didn’t look quite right despite the name of the shop.

We were looking for a plastic long flat container to place our cutlery in to keep them tidier than the flimsy supermarket bags used for putting produce in.

This place had almost everything including what we wanted at €1.50.What it didn’t have was a panama type sun hat for me as I had to leave mine at home due to the lack of room in the suitcase. However we sense that as proceed on and spring gives way to summer we shall see what I want in one of these shops which will do me until it’s time to pack the suitcase for home and I ditch it.

Peggy was safe and sound where we had left her and a short drive back over the odd bridge and we were home for a coffee and a bit of R&R before we took on the beach and the boardwalk to see how far south we can get around the bay.

Refreshed we headed off in winds that again picked up to close to the strength they were yesterday afternoon when we arrived. Thankfully the way south had the wind at our backs making it easier over the sand made soft by the incoming tide and occasional larger wave.

We made good progress until we reached a river that had been hidden from our view when staking out our route.

So it was time to return to the apartment but this time away from the beach on a boardwalk amidst tall pine trees that would give excellent shade to the two motor camps and residents and absent resident’s houses along the way.

Deciding we had done quite well for sightseeing and exercise it was time for pre dinner drinks and the last of the duty free Brandy from Dubai Airport during our stopover.

It is a relative short drive tomorrow of around 100km and we don’t have to check out until midday so we can sleep in, again.


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