Trayle

Sintra (August 2005)

One of the most fairy tale places I've ever been to. Let's talk castles!!

You actually stumble over castles and palaces in this place. Just a short drive from Lisbon it is one of the places you can't miss out on. Sintra used to be the summer residence of the royal family of Portugal and before that the the Moorish gentlefolk from Lisbon.
To start with there is the Moorish Castello dos mouros. From the entrance (Euro 3,50 pp) it is a short walk to the actual ruin through some forrest and beautiful maintained gardens. You can walk all along the ancient walls and enjoy the fantastic views over the coastline as well as the rest of the town and its splendid altough sometimes bizarre buildings. Almost opposite the Castello dos mouros you will find the Palácio da Pena. This very colourful kitsch palace dating from the 40's of the 19th century is often used on covers of travel guides and just one picture here doesn't do it justice.  Entrance to the park costs Euro 3,50 pp and you can take the bus (Euro 1,50 for a return ticket) but it is such a nice walk that you should not bother. The park/garden surrounding the palace is filled with amazing trees, gorgeous lakes with beautiful swans and absurd buildings. You would expect to spot Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty any minute now! The interior of the palace itself has been left exactly as it was when the royal family fledded Portugal in 1910. It has concrete walls painted to look like wood, statues of Moors with turbans and electric light candles in their hands and all kind of other strange features. The German architect baron Eschwege put a statue of himself on top of the rocks probably afraid he would be forgotten. For more information about the Palácio da Pena check this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pena_National_Palace.
But wait.....there is more. If you really want to see some grotesque kitsch (I loved it) go to the estate of Quinta da Regaleira at the outer limits of the centre (Euro 5,- pp). It was built between 1904 and 1910 during the last days of the Portuguese monarchy so it is not even that old and it is classified as World Heritage by Unesco. The garden represents a micro-cosmos and show some places full of magic and mystery. The manmade caves and underground lake are an example of that. If you are a fan of mosaics (see picture below), woodcraft, stonecarving or whatever craft has ever been invented check this out since it is truly amazing. A playground for the very rich adult. For more information about the Quinta da Regaleira check this link: http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa/sintra/regaleira.html

 

If you still haven't had enough you can always spend the night in hotel Palácio dos Seteais (palace of the seven sighs) just around the corner of the Quinta da Regaleira. Don't forget to bring your creditcar though because it is one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels in Portugal, we just had a coke and a beer and that was Euro 9,50.

 

Brazil, 

 

Perhaps my favourite country although after 4 visits I still have seen a little bit. It is far too large to enjoy it all in a couple of weeks. Even a year will not be enough.

And I have only seen the North East, more or less from Rio upwards.

Rio de Janeiro 

Of course Rio is the place to be. A city that never sleeps either and where life buzzes everywhere around you.

 

 

 

Downtown, (Corcovado) the Jezus Statue, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches (and Ipanema beachwear), the night life and the magical surroundings. 
One of the characteristic of Brasil is that The Beach is quite a central place in the lifes of the Brasilians.  You go there to:

• play football
• work out
• meet friends
• have a drink
• do business meetings
• surf or swim
• sleep or rest
• eat
• think about the hardships of life
• think about the good things of life
• do nothing at all
• and everything else you can think of
  

Buy a beachguide. There are plenty of them with the best 30000 beaches in Brazil, all with descriptions just like a camping guide in Europe.

But starting from the most Southern point I have been:

Parati:

A pretty historic little town halfway Sao Paulo and Rio where Sao Paulistas and Cariocas (from Rio) go for the weekends and the holidays. Together with Ilha Grande (the Big Island, although it is not so big) a good place to chill out. Quite touristy but if you just arrived in Brasil a very good place to get your first steps into the rhythm of Brazilian life.

 

Santo Andres

Some 25km north of Porto Seguro we passed a little place called Santo Andres. Not very well know but very nice to relax. There are quite a few pousadas here although the very cheap you will not find.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Morro do Sao Paulo

Ok, we travelled up north again and via some transfers we ended up in a but to a place called Valenca where you have to take the boat to Morro do Sao Paolo. This is very worth the visit, only beware after Carnaval because then half of Brasil suddenly wants to be here and that lead to prices of 500% the normal price.
But normally this is a excellent place. It is built on a big sandy peninsula and the village is marked praia (beach) 1 to praia 5. Praia 1 and 2 are the busy ones and contain the 'downtown'. Praia 3 to 5 are the quieter ones.
The beachvendors treat you with fresh fruit juices where you can pick the fruit you want into it. Most juices are even better with a little wodka or some other spririt. On beach 2 there are often life concerts and there is always someting going on.

From Morro you can take the boat/bus, the catamaran (do not get seasick) or an airplane to get out, mostly to Salvador the Bahia. WE had to wait some hours at the airport but asked a taxi driver to get us to the nearest beach. Hmm, nice again!

Salvador de Bahia is one of Brasils mayer tourist cities. Although I have been there 4 times I did not think it was the best special but others won't agree with me. The little downtown (Pelourinho) is very nice and pictoresque but beware because the Bahians there like to know what is on your backpack or wallet. But one thing, Salvador is famous for its music, totally addictive.

 

Recife and Olinda

Further north there is Recife and Natal. Recife and Olinda are worth the visit. Natal I do not know but between Recife and Natal tourism is growing because of the very good tourist conditions. Recife and especially Olinda are very artistic places as well.

Even as this music man just from the countryside, there is much activity there.

 

Canoa Quebrada

 

On the way to Fortaleza we passed a little dune village Canoa Quebrada.

 

It is a village built on a dune where everything is built on the dune, even the graveyard.

 

But that gives you the feeling that you really live in another place. If you can make it, wake up early to watch the sunrise (or just go to bed after it). Then hire a buggy and ride the dunes. Never seen dunes like this before. It was like a desert, so big.

 

 

 
Fortaleza is a big but poor city where mass tourism from Europe is already flourishing and where sextourism is a result of that. Bit of a shame because that are not my favourite kind of places. But if you want to snack western fastfood, drink a lot with other drinkers and do whatever easy holiday activities you can think of, it is all there.

 

Fernando do Noronha

 

And there is something extra. 400 km of the North East Coast there is the tiny little group of islands called: Fernando do Noronha Islands.

 

You get there by plane from Fortaleza or Recife and it is a little natural reserve. Brilliant! You find the beaches of all beaches, no activity and the snorkling and diving are of a high standard. Get a little hotel, they await you at the airport, and rent a bycicly. For the rest, go see all the beaches and the sealife, take a boatride a go diving. Do not forget the surfing. There were massive waves and many good surfers so it must be good.

Have you ever been to the North-West of Spain?

No?

Well, we have and we can recommend it. Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country are worth to spend some weeks around. In autumn and winter it is said to be quite chilly and wet but we went in July and had a great time. The surroundings are rough but green mountains that end straight into the sea. There are many white beaches although the water is not very warm. The seafood here is one of the best in Spain and it is not so touristy as the many Costas in the rest of Spain.

We entered Spain from France in San Sebastian. We passed San Sebastian and Bilbao because we had to meet up with friends in Santiago some days later, so we missed out on the best tapas  in Spain and the Guggenheim museum. Unfortunately we forgot to drive up into the Picos de Europa. We were later told that this is a fantastic mountainside in the area where Cantabria, Asturias and Leon meet, and where you can hike for ever from one lookout to the other. So we have to go back again.

 

Anyway, in Spain we followed to country road in stead of the highway. This way we got a much better feeling with the countryside although it takes much more time. We called it a day on camping "Playa de Berria" in a little village called Santoña (Cantabria), a place where many surfers go.

 

 

We had a basic snack in the camping before an unreal sunset appeared in front of us. At night we had a couple of stiff drinks in the camping bar before hitting the beds.

The next 2 weeks we have been in marvellous Santiago de Compostela with its huge cathedral and its fine streets full of restaurants, bars and people. We also visited Vigo, Pontevedra, Ourense and many little villages in between.

 

We follow the beautiful Rio Miño from Ourense to the coast, where this river borders Spain and Portugal. Following the coast to the north you find the Rias. These look similar as the Norwegian Fjords but are much more crowded.

 

One night we arrived in BUEU at the beaches of the Ria de Pontevedra. We stayed at the surprisingly affordable Hotel-Restaurant Loureiro where we had a double room for ? 35,- (in July).

Next door there was a good restaurant Veiriña do Mar (no, this is not Portuguese but Galician) where the seafood was great again and we had another magnificent view.

 

 The gambas were what we were eating and this sunset was what we were seeing. Not bad, isn't it?

 

 

And a nice sunset hit us again, but this time with some nice gambas in our mouth and a camera nearby.The northwest of Spain is a place of its own. Another area to go back to (But life is so short).

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Costa de Muerte. Almost our private beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And with a nice beach you think of a cool, fresh...... ;-)

When we travel from Holland to Spain by car and we are not in a hurry time we definitely take a detour and stay the night at hotel Relais Royal which is run by some friends of ours. Relais Royal is a four star hotel in the center of the historic little town of Mirepoix in the South of France and has immensely luxurious rooms, excellent service and a fantastic restaurant "Le ciel d'or". They serve delicious traditional French cuisine with an international twist. They have a special wine waiter and the hotel has a magnificent underground arched wine cellar where you can get a tour at any time of the day.

Mirepoix itself is situated in the Ariège region at the foot of the Pyrenean Mountains (about two hours from Andorra). There are a lot possiblities for activities such as walking and skiing in the Pyrenees (depending on the season of course), cycling routes, mountain biking, go-carting, golf ing, parachuting and sailing (on the Montbel lake). It has fourteenth century galleries and the St. Maurice Cathedral. On Monday there is a market.

Many other beautiful attractions surround the town such as The Cathare Montsegur Castle and

the world famous medieval castle town of Carcassonne (on which the board game is based). Carcassonne is the biggest castle constructed by the Cathars who were all but extinct for their religion. Although very touristy remains a very nice place to visit. Don't forget to take a look in the St. Nazarius cathedral with its magnificent stained glass windows.