Peniche & Óbidos

Peniche

Thank goodness Dermot keeps an eye on the weather. He saw a heat wave coming so we searched for a place to hide from it. That place turned out to be the small peninsula of Peniche where high temps were supposed to stay in the 70’s. It over-delivered the first day with cold winds and gusts over 30 mph. We ventured out to a nice seafood restaurant to celebrate Father’s Day. Dermot chose the “Sea Rice” for two. It came in a big pot with prawns, mussels, and monkfish. It was delicious and was actually enough for four since we had the leftovers for dinner the next day. 

PenichePria campground was the best campsite we found and was modern but the owners had made some ill-advised design choices in the restrooms IMHO. No toilet paper (why? WHY?) or hand soap (again, why!?), no shower temperature control in the men’s and no mirrors in the women’s. Sinks at a height that better accommodated Amazons than petites like me. 

Our photos here

Golden Spike - line between Upper and Lower Jurassic

Our first hike started from camp and included sites of geological importance like the “Golden Spike” which clearly delineated by color the change between the upper and lower Jurassic. Super exciting to geologists! There aren’t that many in the whole world and there’s only one in Portugal. 

Also there’s a plethora of fossils here - many were still visible in the limestone beneath our feet! 

Signs in Portuguese and English were very interesting and described the geology, history and cultural implications of many sights with maps and historical photos. 

We were lucky we hiked the trail at Ilhéu da Papôa on a day without gusty winds because it was fun to see the waves crashing into the cliffs. The many times the trail had sheer drops what seemed like mere inches from our feet would have turned the fun to terror.

We spent another day exploring more of the coast and the city which included a fort that had been used as a prison for political prisoners until the Carnation Revolution ended the 48 year dictatorship in 1974. Check out the photos to see the extreme variety of geology within just a few kilometers of each other. 

The colorful houses picturesquely cascading down the culvert near the fort is Bairro do Visconde. It has a long history and we enjoyed roaming the back alleys and streets.

Óbidos

Dermot and I usually love to walk on the historical walls encircling castle towns. The plan was to walk along the wall from one end of town looking down into the streets below all the way to the castle. The problem with this wall was that there was no barrier on one side. 

It was wide enough to feel safe to me but it gave Dermot blurred vision and self-destructive urges. I offered to go back to street level many times but his stubborn streak kicked in and he soldiered on behind me always in contact with the wall. The worst times were when we had to pass similarly inclined people and somebody had to lose touch however briefly. 

I enjoyed the view and stopped for pictures from our unique vantage point but these were torturous pauses for him so I kept them to a minimum. 

Sadly, when we got to the castle, they had converted it to a hotel and you couldn’t tour the interior. Outside, preparations building small shops for a medieval renaissance fair to be held here in July were in full swing. 

At that point we were overheated and overdue for cold drink. We found it at the quirky Bar Ibn Erik Rex. Dark and filled with things to ponder such as the multitude of minis hanging from the ceiling and implements of war on the walls. We savored our cider, beer and rest. 

Refreshed, we toured the rest of the town including its churches and square. This square looks so inviting but the photo is taken right next to the pillory where all manner of punishments could be inflicted - just trying to keep things in perspective.

Next: Nazaré