From Obidos to Nazare

Obidos

If I have to pick the most delightful place I saw in Portugal, I can't help but mention the little town of Obidos. Maybe it was also thanks to that particular day, the contrast between an intense blue sky with the immaculate houses and the threatening black clouds in the background, the absence, or almost, of tourists, that brought me face to face with a painting from the last century. The impression I had would probably change on a cloudy day or with the thousands of tourists who often crowd the place, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it's truly a remarkable spot; the town, entirely surrounded by walls, presents itself as a maze of narrow streets lined with the whitest houses with edges painted blue and yellow, with the castle seeming to watch over the town from above.

The old houses have by now been turned into souvenir shops or small restaurants, but the bougainvillea and wisteria spilling down the facades, the little streets climbing toward the walls and the small churches offer a charm of other times. You enter the old core through the majestic main gate covered in azulejos; beyond the gate, the advice is to climb the steep staircase on the left that leads above the tower, from which you can admire a stunning view. Walking along one of the two main streets you come across women knitting, artisans at work, curious characters; splendid details of an unforgettable visit. Part of the castle has been turned into a luxury pousada, but it's always possible to enter the old part, climb up the tower and walk along the walls.

The main church, Santa Maria, is famous because it witnessed the marriage of Afonso V and his cousin Isabel, aged 10 and 8 respectively. Today it has a beautiful frescoed ceiling and walls entirely covered in splendid and authentic azulejos. Obidos can be reached via the fast A8 highway from Lisbon heading north in less than an hour, a road with no traffic at all.

Alcobaça

Another architectural masterpiece of Portugal included in the UNESCO World Heritage list is the Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de Alcobaça, one of the most important in Europe. Founded in 1153 following the liberation of the city of Santarem from the Moors, over the centuries it was one of the most powerful on the Iberian peninsula and came to house 999 monks. In the past it also became famous for the sad story between Dom Pedro and Dona Ines, who came from an influential Spanish family, was his lover and was murdered by his father for political reasons; her corpse was later exhumed and crowned when Pedro ascended the throne, after having savored an atrocious revenge. Now their tombs are among the most precious treasures of the church—the largest in the country—and they are placed facing each other so that on the Day of Judgment they can meet each other at once.

While visiting the church is free, to visit the rest of the monastery you have to pay an entrance fee of € 4.50 which gives access to the splendid Chiostro del Silenzio, a beautiful Manueline-style space characterized by perfect arches, and to the Sala Dos Reis, splendidly frescoed with all the statues of the rulers of Portugal. The spaces that strike you most, however, are the immense kitchen and the adjoining refectory. The kitchen has an enormous fireplace with a tall flue where whole oxen could be cooked, and a small channel connected to the river that allowed fresh fish to be supplied directly inside the monastery. The refectory is also beautiful and imposing, with a vaulted ceiling and the pulpit from which the Bible was read during meals.

Nazarè

Once a quiet fishing village rich in maritime traditions, today it has turned into a cheerful seaside town overlooking a splendid, immense beach bathed by the waves of the