Batalha Monastery, Nazaré, Óbidos
We arrived at the Mercure Fátima pretty late on October 30. The lobby is very interestingly designed to reflect the legend of three children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto who reportedly saw the Virgin Mary on the 13th of each month between May and October 1917.
To the Tasquinha Resutarant which is very close to the Santuário de Fátima (Shrine of Fátima). We are treated to some local wines and a couple of items on their traditional Portuguese menu.
We get back to the hotel a little later than I had hoped but we'll survive.
We have breakfast around 7 AM on the 31st, they bring a three-tiered tray of local foods and other breakfast treats and eggs, bacon and grilled mushrooms.
Well, we finally get some serious rain. I mean pouring rain and wind. Luckily a lot of our visit to the monastery is indoors.
The Monastery of the Dominicans of Batalha was built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians at the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385.
When the Dominicans were expelled from the complex in 1834, the church and convent were abandoned and left to fall into ruin.
In 1840, king Ferdinand II of Portugal started a restoration program of the abandoned and ruined convent, saving this jewel of Gothic architecture. The restoration would last until the early years of the 20th century.
The joint tomb of King John I of Portugal (d. 1433) and his wife Philippa of Lancaster (d. 1415) stands under the star vault of the octagon (see below). 
On the cover plate of the tomb are inscribed in repetition the mottos of the king Por bem ("for the better") and of the queen Yl me plet ("I am pleased").
The original damaged crucifix was discovered in the rubble of a church and became an iconic image, with its damaged state symbolizing the suffering of war.
It was adopted by soldiers and became the focus of religious sentiment in the trenches, with the Portuguese military later claiming the statue and now keeping it in the tomb of their Unknown Soldier (see below).
On to Nazaré.
We arrive a little before our scheduled lunch so we have some time to quickly explore the beach. The red flags are up in the howling wind and crashing waves.
Lunch is chicken salad and grilled cauliflower.
After lunch we are treated to a taste of Alambicaria, the one we get to try is blackcurrant.
We have about 30 minutes to explore Nazaré. No 100 foot waves today but the wind is brutal.
The Hawaiian surfer Garrett McNamara received worldwide publicity when, in 2011, rode the biggest beach-breaking wave in the world, about 30 metres high, at Praia do Norte.
The story of 'Veado' a 6.3-meter (21 ft) statue of a human figure with the head of a deer, holding a surfboard. But if you want to know how exactly this enigmatic statue came about, it’s a long story that goes back to the earliest days of Christianity.
In the fourth century, a Greek monk by the name of Ciriaco “rescued” a statuette called Our Lady of Nazareth that was believed to have been sculpted by none other than Saint Joseph. It is said that the statuette was passed on from Saint Jerome to Saint Augustine, and it eventually landed in Spain, at the Cauliniana Monastery. It remained at this monastery until the year 711, when the Moors were on the monastery's doorstep. A monk named Romano fled with the statuette, taking refuge in a fishing village that would eventually be named Nazaré, where he decided to live the rest of his days as a hermit in a grotto by the sea. That grotto would house the statuette for the next several centuries.
On September 14, 1182, a noble warrior by the name of Dom Fuas Roupinho was hunting in the area and caught sight of a deer through thick fog. He was on the chase when the deer approached a cliff and jumped off, seemingly into the void. Dom Fuas Roupinho’s horse nearly followed suit, but managed to stop right before going over the edge. The cliff was several hundred feet high and the fall would have meant sure death. Dom Fuas Roupinho soon realized that he had stopped right by the grotto holding the statuette. He attributed his survival to divine intervention and commissioned the construction of a chapel to house the statuette of Our Lady of Nazareth. Since then, the deer has been a recurring image in the iconography related to the so-called Legend of Nazaré.
Over the centuries, history and legend intertwined in Nazaré. The town eventually became a tranquil seaside destination. But more change was in store for Nazaré’s identity. In the early 2000s, word started spreading among surfers that Nazaré was home to monster waves, thanks to a large underwater canyon just off the Portuguese coast.
On September 14, 1182, a noble warrior by the name of Dom Fuas Roupinho was hunting in the area and caught sight of a deer through thick fog. He was on the chase when the deer approached a cliff and jumped off, seemingly into the void. Dom Fuas Roupinho’s horse nearly followed suit, but managed to stop right before going over the edge. The cliff was several hundred feet high and the fall would have meant sure death. Dom Fuas Roupinho soon realized that he had stopped right by the grotto holding the statuette. He attributed his survival to divine intervention and commissioned the construction of a chapel to house the statuette of Our Lady of Nazareth. Since then, the deer has been a recurring image in the iconography related to the so-called Legend of Nazaré.
Over the centuries, history and legend intertwined in Nazaré. The town eventually became a tranquil seaside destination. But more change was in store for Nazaré’s identity. In the early 2000s, word started spreading among surfers that Nazaré was home to monster waves, thanks to a large underwater canyon just off the Portuguese coast.
Daredevil surfers started flocking to the town and in no time, surfing records were broken. Of note, in 2011, Garrett McNamara surfed a 23.8-meter (78 ft) wave, a record that was broken in 2017 by Rodrigo Koxa, who surfed a 24.4-meter (80 ft) wave.
In 2020, António Laureano broke the 30 meters limit by surfing a giant 30.9-meter (101 ft) wave.
To combine the legendary origins of Nazaré and its recent crowning as a world-class surfing destination, Agostinho Pires and Adália Alberto collaborated to create the statue known as Veado. It stands tall on the road to the lighthouse, which has been captured in so many images of surfers riding monster waves.
To combine the legendary origins of Nazaré and its recent crowning as a world-class surfing destination, Agostinho Pires and Adália Alberto collaborated to create the statue known as Veado. It stands tall on the road to the lighthouse, which has been captured in so many images of surfers riding monster waves.
On to Óbidos.
After the Islamic period came Afonso Henrique's conquest of the town in the 12th Century, followed by construction of the famous Óbidos Castle that is the local landmark.
Ever since King Dinis offered the town as a wedding gift for his wife Isabel, Óbidos belonged to the Portuguese queens, right up until the 19th Century - this fact explains why so many architectural landmarks (such as the Aqueduct) were built.
The 1755 earthquake and the Peninsular War in the early 19th century took their toll and led to renovations in the historic center, but Óbidos has never lost its medieval town charm.
We first stop to try Ginjinha is a Portuguese liqueur made from sour cherries. It’s dark red in color and is served in small shot glasses or edible chocolate cups. We get to try the edible chocolate cups!
It can be found at roadside stands and restaurants from Porto to the Algarve and everywhere in between, and is a must-try food for any visitor to Portugal.
First things first: it’s not a shot. Just because it’s served in a shot glass, that doesn’t mean you need to toss it back like tequila. It’s best to sip it slowly, savor the taste, and enjoy it.
Then there’s the question of the cup itself. Many places have started serving ginjinha in small cups made of dark chocolate, which you can devour right after you take the last sip.
Literally, this means “with or without them?” It refers to the sour cherries themselves, which can usually be found bobbing in the bottle. For the full experience, always go for com elas (with them). The cherries are soft and strikingly sour—just watch out for the pit!
I tried both and really liked the WITH the sour cherry the best.
Fortified with the sweet liqueur, it's time to explore the castle. The walled town and castle still have that medieval feel.
Pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela usually stopped at this church, before it was completely destroyed in an earthquake in 1755.
It was rebuilt in 1772, with its façade now facing the main street (Rua Direita) instead. Its 16th-century retable representing St. James is now on display in the Municipal Museum, and little of the original church decoration remains inside. Books (most in Portuguese, but also in English and other languages) now surround the altar and fill the interior, on a wooden structure.
Back at the Mercure Fátima we enjoy a light supper at the bar. Pumpkin soup and a Negroni-you can't go wrong.
More photos of Batalha Monastery, Nazaré and Óbidos: CLICK HERE
Back at the Mercure Fátima we enjoy a light supper at the bar. Pumpkin soup and a Negroni-you can't go wrong.
We have a 8AM lobby call for our bus to Evora tomorrow, November 1.
Travel on friends!