Extreme West of Europe

Figueira da Foz is two towns, a lively somewhat tacky beach resort and a charming old town with leafy, shady, cool squares. Wellington briefly made the fort here his base when he landed to retake Portugal in 1808.
We then sailed south into the Estremadura and Ribatejo region and the fishing town of Peniche. During the sail we experienced winds from all points of the compass at strengths between zero and 20knots. Never have we seen so many fishing vessels gathered together in one place. They come and go at all hours of the clock and, together with the tripper boats out to the nearby Berlenga Islands, create and uncomfortable swell for yachts on the visitors pontoon. As well as fishing Peniche is renowned for its lace making. We watched this bobbin lace making at the school of lace making in the town. The products were absolutely magnificent but we were unwilling to pay 250 euros for a 1000mm x 250mm table runner even though it apparently took months to make.

Our sail into the Lisbon Coastal region took us past Cabo da Roca, the most westerly point of the European mainland. Our destination port Cascais is a safe and modern marina with facilities that are reasonable but do not live up to the exorbitant berthing fees! This is the place, however, from which to visit Lisbon and the Sierra de Sintra rather than sail into a dirty, noisy and crowded marina closer to the city centre.

Cascais itself was the summer residence of Kings and adjoining Estoril the haunt of exiled royalty and nobility fleeing European republicanism. Both towns are now beach resorts and business convention locations. Estoril has the largest Casino in Europe.

We have befriended world-renowned classical guiarist Michael Dossow and his wife Jutta; charming Germans travelling to the Mediterranean on their custom built Faurby 42. We have spent happy hours on each other’s yachts drinking tea or supping port. They were kind enough to take us in their hire car to explore the Serra de Sintra, a rugged granite wooded range of hills of up to 500m height, The principle interests in the Serra, apart from the countryside itself, is the Vila Sintra, two Palaces of Kings and a small chapel built high on top of the hills.

Vila Sintra, the old town and a UNESCO world heritage site, with its stunning setting on the north slopes of the Serra has at its heart the huge Palacio de Nacional de Sintra, a royal palace built in the 14th century on a site once occupied by Moorish leaders. The Palacio became the favourite retreat of Portuguese court and was occupied by royalty until the 1880’s. Gradual rebuilding over the years has resulted in a fascinating amalgamation of various styles of architecture and the towering conical chimneys serving the kitchens stand high above the town.

The fairy tale Palacio de Pena, the interior of which was closed, was built by Dom Ferdinand 11 cousin to Queen Victoria’s Albert in an incredible array of architectural styles in the 19th century. The exterior is fascinating with domes, castellated turrets, arches encrusted with neo Manueline carvings and daffodil yellow and strawberry pink external wall decoration. The Palacio, occupied by royalty until the declaration of the republic in 1910, stands in the wooded hillside of the Parque de Pena planted with exotic trees and shrubs.

We took lunch at a tiny village café and ordered the most expensive item on the menu at 6 euros not knowing what we were going to eat. The dish, named Bitoque, turned out to be delicious consisting of a beautifully prepared lean and tender beef escalope topped with a fried egg and surrounded with chips!

We visited the Cabo de Roca, mentioned previously and finished by going to the 17th century Chapel de Peninha perched 490m up on a grey rocks. This tiny chapel has the most beautiful azulejo tile decoration inside and affords stunning views over the coast, Lisbon and the river Tejo.

Lisbon is an intimate city of three parts, the Alfama, the Biaxa and Avenida and the Bairro Alta and Chiado.

The Alfama was the original Moorish settlement, although no buildings of that period exist now. The Alfama now comprises compact houses with facades strung with washing which survived the 1755 earthquake lining narrow, steep streets and steps. This now humble quarter of the city was once occupied by the wealthy who moved west for fear of earthquakes leaving the area to the fishermen and paupers.

A steep and exhausting climb through the Alfama leads to the Castelo Sao Jorge crowning Lisbon’s eastern hill. From here there are spectacular views over the city, the river Tejo and the surrounding countryside.

West of Alfama stands the magnificent Cathedral of Se created in 1150 but rebuilt often over the centuries due to earthquake damage. The internal furnishings and decorations in Portuguese Cathedrals and Churches are austere compared with the overbearing richness of the decoration and the clothed statues of saints found in the Spanish and in particular the French places of worship.

A short walk down the step hill or a tram ride for the less energetic leads to the relatively modern quarter of the Biaxa and Avenida rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake with neo classical buildings and grand squares all integrated into a grid layout. This appears to be the restaurant quarter of the city and we had a great lunch here in one of the thousands of street side restaurants.

Uphill again to the Bairro quarter on Lisbon’s western hill by foot because the funicular was being repaired! This area, first settled by the wealthy from the Alfama quarter and later by prostitutes, now houses small family workshops and cheap restaurants and nightclubs. Finally the elegant commercial district of the Chiado where the affluent Lisboetas do their shopping. We bought nothing but had coffee in the Café Brasileira, once popular with writers and intellectuals. A must for those visiting Lisbon!

Lisbon is a lovely city of great character but the graffiti capital of the world.

We are sitting here on our berth in Cascais marina now on the 27th of July under a cloudless sky and 26º C in the shade (lower than the recent spell in UK we are told) waiting for a replacement battery charger to be fitted and for the wind and waves to calm down.