Jason Evangelho 🐧🎒I'm moving out of my awesome little place in Merced. In 6 weeks, my new home will be the open road for several months, and I don't plan to settle anywhere until it feels perfect.
Curiosity Drive 🚐Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais lies to the west of Lisbon & covers a stretch of Atlantic shoreline as well as extending into the Sintra hills. Our first stop was Azenhas do Mar, where whitewashed houses are stacked on steep cliffs of limestone & shale above a beach & seawater pool (📷1). On to Cabo da Roca | Cape Roca, the westernmost point in Continental Europe. The landmark was crowded & while the view to the open Atlantic was thought provoking, the sea cliffs to the north were more dramatic (📷2). There are marked trails on the headland beginning near the 🅿️ area; this view looks south back to the cape’s lighthouse (📷3), while this view is towards the golden sand beach of Praia da Ursa lying at the bottom the cliff (📷4).
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife
[2/2] The ramparts of Óbidos provide views out into the surrounding landscape, but also draw the eye inward across town house courtyards, where varied use is made of small outdoor spaces (📷1–3). Touristy it may be, but “the thing” in Óbidos is ginjinha | cherry liqueur, served in small cups made of chocolate. The correct means of consumption, we are reliably informed, is to drink first then eat the cup. We can neither confirm nor deny whether we presently have cherry liqueur aboard this vanship…
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco
[1/2] We entered the walled medieval city of Óbidos via Porta da Vila, the main gate built c. 1376 CE, which integrates a small baroque chapel lined with azulejo | tiles depicting biblical scenes, installed c. 1740–45 (📷1). Rua da Direita is the main cobbled street leading from the gate to the castle, lined with shops, cafés & traditional (guest) houses (📷2). Muralhas de Óbidos | the town walls are well-preserved & make for an alternative route from Porta da Vila to the castle (📷3), although some fellow visitors seemed unnerved by the absence of railings. Castelo de Óbidos | Óbidos Castle was originally Moorish; it was expanded following the Christian reconquest. The Governor’s Palace was rebuilt in the 16th C. & has been a hotel/ restaurant since 1948. Adjacent is Igreja-Livraria de Santiago, a former church converted into a bookshop—in keeping with the town’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Literature (📷4).
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco
Nazaré is globally recognised among the surfing community for it’s big waves, which can reach 20–30m in height. Just offshore here is one end of the largest submarine trench in Europe, at ~230km long & ~5km deep. The Nazaré Canyon funnels Atlantic swells towards the shore, where the abrupt change in depth compresses wave energy, refracting & amplifying it. Our visit to Nazaré coincided with a coastal wind warning (gusts up to 55 km/h) so we saw no 🏄 surfing, but we did see 🌊 surf! Praia da Nazaré is the city’s main golden-sand beach, viewed here from the rocky headland at the north end of the beach (📷1). On the tip of the headland is Farol de Nazaré, a lighthouse atop a fort, providing a vantage point from which to watch the breakers roll in to adjacent Praia do Norte (📷2). We watched long waves crest & collapse, all the while the wind whipping off the tops in sheets of spray (📷3). Other waves broke apart thunderously on the rocks directly below the lighthouse (📷4).
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife
Convento de Cristo | Convent of Christ cont. Claustro do Cemitério | Cemetery Cloister, with a view of the church, is one of a number of cloisters within the complex (📷1); initially built in the 15th C. it was remodelled in the early 17th C. & is named for its role as a burial ground for friar knights. The end of 1 of 3 corridors making up the 40-cell Dormitório Grande | Main Dormitory (📷2); completed in 1543–45, the azulejo dado tiles were added in the 17th C. We also toured the Refeitório | Refectory c. 1535 & Cozinha | Kitchen, which wasn’t completed until after 1550. On the eastern flank of the convent, Castelo De Tomar | Tomar Castle—closed for restoration—was built c. 1160 as a stronghold & headquarters of the Portuguese Knights Templar (📷3); it was transferred to the Order of Christ & later integrated into Convento de Cristo. On the western flank of the convent is Aqueduto dos Pegões | Pegões Aqueduct—access here was also barred. However, there is an access tower ~3km away on Rua do Saibreiro from where two tiers of stone arches can be seen (📷4). Although it looks Roman-like, the 6km-long structure was built 1593–1614 to supply water to the convent.
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco
Convento de Cristo | Convent of Christ is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tomar, recognized for its blend of architecture (Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Renaissance, etc.) & historical links to the Knights Templar & the Age of Discovery.
[INTERLUDE]
The Knights Templar, monastic warrior monks, were founded in 1119 CE following the First Crusade to protect pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem; they were disbanded by papal bull (public decree) in 1312 following false accusations of heresy by King Philip IV of France. In 1319 Portugal’s King Dinis I determined to reuse/ repurpose/ recycle their assets (knights, goods, technology & knowledge) as the the Order of Christ. The former Templar castle was thus superseded by the Convent of Christ, with Tomar the spiritual & administrative seat of the new Order of Christ.
The Order of Christ helped finance & organize many of Portugal’s early voyages during the Age of Discovery. With the Order led by Prince Henry the Navigator, resources were directed towards maritime expeditions along the coast of Africa. The Order’s red cross emblem was painted on the sails of Portuguese caravels, a visible symbol of exploration in search of commercial opportunities, spreading Christianity & expanding Portugal’s influence.
[END]
The convent’s centrepiece is the church. Seen from the within the main body, the rotunda impresses (📷1); it began as a 12th C. early Templar Romanesque fortified oratory, inspired by the Temple in Jerusalem. Early in the 16th C. it became a chancel with an ambulatory (sequential iconographic panels telling a religious story). This view is from beside the central drum, looking towards the ceiling (📷2). The rotunda’s window frames are highly detailed (📷3). The exterior window on the church’s west façade (1519–13) exemplifies the late Gothic "Manueline" style, with maritime/ exotic motifs reflecting wealth brought back from overseas (📷4).
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco
[2/2] An impromptu study of the doorways and windows of Marvão. Who, across the centuries, has knocked & been invited into a dimly-lit interior, or looked out at the world & thought “There really is no place like home”?
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife
[1/2] Marvão is an attractive fortified town, dramatically located at ~860m on a ridge in the Serra de São Mamede, providing stunning views in all directions—including across the Alentejo plains into Spain. The village itself is pretty to wander, with its white walls/ red roofs (📷1) & immaculate gardens (📷2). Castelo de Marvão | Marvão Castle is well-worth the 1,50 € entry fee. It was begun by a 9th C. Islamic knight & taken by Christian forces around 1160–66 CE. The Moorish fortress underwent major redevelopment after the Christian reconquest of Iberia & it was strengthened during the 13th C. under King Dinis of Portugal. The massive 15th–16th C. vaulted cistern, intended to supply the castle during sieges, is quite a feat of late medieval engineering (📷3). The stone walls follow the natural contours of the mountain & the battlements are walkable; the keep is intact & can be climbed (📷4). We witnessed Gyps fulvus | griffin vultures, describing lazy circles on the thermals, & atop the keep were buzzed by fast-moving swifts. We found Marvão wasn’t overly commercialized & it was surprisingly quiet on a (pre-season) Saturday.
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife
A cactus garden in the evening light, seen from our van door on pitch at an eco-commune in Proença-a-Velha (📷1). The next morning, two new wildlife sightings: B’s first-ever look at Rhipicephalus sanguineus | the brown dog tick—we’ve been vaccinated against TBE (📷2) & a mongoose that crossed the road in front of us. Later, having continued south into the Alentejo region, we made a spontaneous visit to Anta | dolmen 1 of São Gens (📷3); it’s 1 of 4 megalithic tombs near Nisa that may have been erected as early as 3500 BCE. Castelo de Vide was a picturesque drive-by, developed around a 13th–14th C. hilltop castle (📷4); it’s also known for whitewashed houses, Jewish history & greenery.
🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife
