Portugal - Nazereh and Obidos

(Veruschka reporting) Just as previously arranged, we met with Jose and Mira at the Plaza Figueira to begin our travels of the day. We were headed to the town of Nazareh; a very old and quite traditional fisherman town that has become a favorite place for Scandinavians, Britons and Germans over the last couple of years. We were certainly intrigued. The trip started smoothly, but after an hour or so all of us felt like we needed a little coffee. Sweet Mira decided that she was going to treat us all for a quick coffee-break, and no matter what we would say, she wouldn’t accept a refusal. This exemplifies in a way the Portuguese hospitality. From there on the trip seemed to get a bit longer than planned. Sure enough, we got lost! The road signs were of no help either, and even though Cliff and I got a kick out of the situation, we learned later that poor Jose got actually very stressed. A few wrong turns later and a couple of stops to ask for directions, and we were in Nazareh! It is a beautiful little village, filled with white homes and terra-cotta-colored roofs built on a hill facing an omnipresent beach and ocean that caresses its borders. Unfortunately because we got there a bit too late, we couldn’t stay very long. However we did have a typical seafood lunch at a fisherman’s small restaurant. It was a huge bowl of fresh caught chopped fish, mussels, clams, shrimp and vegetables in a tomato based sauce, with rice or potatoes. Obidos was to be our next destination. Only 40km away from Nazareh (around 30+ miles), it is not a beach village. Instead it is a gorgeous very old roman town, still surrounded by the castle walls that sits atop the highest point in the area. Every home seemed as old as the town is, yet the people living in them have kept them very well maintained. Jose insisted on taking us into one of the cute bars to have a typical Portuguese drink called “gingha” (sp?). Basically a very tasty (and sweet) type of cherry wine. By now it was close to 7pm. We still had a long way to go home. Cliff and I were lucky to change our hotel arrangements the night before to stay in a brand-new Hotel in downtown Cascais. We were looking forward to that.