Our first stop of the day was a visit to a lace making 'school'. There were not many people there early in the morning, but some of the work was on display.
Peniche is the most westerly town in Portugual and Europe. The Coast nearby is very interesting and reminiscent of the drive along the great ocean road in Australia.
We drove along the coast nearby and stopped at the lighthouse by this formation
Nearby is an old fortified town on a hill, Óbidos. This is just inside the entrance
Clearly, the locals were expecting us
We called into a shop for a taste of a cherry liquor in a small chocolate shell and then headed for the castle and walls.
The vow from the walls over the countryside
There was a school visit in progress so it was quite difficult to move around when the children were Al running around
Our time here was limited, so it was soon time to return to the bus through the narrow streets, made even more narrow by a horse and cart
A side road under repair
A side road under repair
The castle
We had lunch at Nazaré, a rather nice season resort and, we were told, the site of another miracle, although commercialism seems to have escaped this town.
After lunch, we had some free time to walk along the promenade. The beach is large and few people were there, it being a little early for the main holidays.
We found fish drying on racks, mostly netted to safeguard it from cats
The fish was also for sale
Houses on the sea front
The main shopping street
The town is on several levels with a funicular between two of the levels.
A wooden statue had been brought from Nazareth in 711 by a monk and was kept in a chapel on the upper level for many years. Legend says that, in the 12th century, a knight was out hunting in thick fog when his horse slipped and fell off the high cliff, the the knight was miraculously saved and the hoof print of the horse can still be seen on the rocks (we didn't see it).
In the 14th century, the king built a new church for the statue which is still there, with the statue.
The church
The statue is in the centre
Then it was time for the group photo, organised, as always by John. Getting us all in was a bit tricky, but john mangled it on the third go (just).
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