Sagres

The drive from Coimbra to Sagres looks simple enough on the map: just go down and then turn to the right. In reality, it is really a little more complex getting to the end of the earth.

Sagres is actually the end of the earth. It is the most south-westerly point in all of Europe. It was here that, reportedly, Henry the Navigator established his sailing school. I am not sure why he would have done this here, other than the fact that, perhaps, by choosing the most dangerous terrain on the earth, he would be preparing some pretty fearless navigators.

But, I digress... when we started out from Coimbra it was about 37 degrees celsius. As we turned from the highway to the secondary road the temperature started to drop. First, it was about 30, then about 5 minutes later, it was down to 25. Then, the sky started to turn from the bright, crisp, cloudless blue to an ominous, misty, hazy grey. We crested a slight slope and in front of us, we found a short, wide, white fort, of the ancient variety. We were both a little stunned. As with most of the trip, we had no expectations coming to Sagres, but we were really not expecting this. It was breathtaking, in the 'oh my, did we just step into a film about pirates' sense of the term.

We parked the car, enjoying every degree of the now 21 celsius temperature, and walked to the fortress. The ticket to enter the complex is 3 euros and is worth it if you are of hearty stock and do not mind treading on extremely uneven cobblestones. We walked most of the ramparts, taking pictures as best as we could, as the air was so thick, the clouds so low that it made picture taking almost impossible. I fear I will have a whole stack of grey haze, but I suppose that is the beauty of digital pictures.

After we walked the complex and checked out the giftshop (which is terribly over priced), we set off back to the car, in search of the hotel. We had tried to plug the address into the GPS, but the GPS lady keep insisting that no such address existed, the road completely invented. So, we just started driving around. I mean, really, the place is like 4 roads. We made two passes and then decided to stop at the information desk. We parked the car and walked across the road. It was 5:21PM. The office was closed, locked up tighter than a drum, with a big sign on the door stating that it was open until 5:30. I guess 5:30 means 5:21 in Sagres...

We got back into the car and made two more passes in the town. On the start of the third pass, we noticed a road, ahem, an alley, we hadn't tried yet. And, sure enough, there was out hotel: The Mareta View Bed and Breakfast Boutique. We parked in the square across the way and went into. After we got settled, we decided it was time for dinner. We walked out into the square where I saw a little shop where I was sure I would find a tee shirt (I am trying to find a little tee for my niece from each of our stops). I saw 'Bon Giorno' and thought, how cute it was that the Portuguese shop keeper was trying to be all Italian. But, as we came closer, I noticed that there was a huge tapestry of Bob Marley and a waist high hukka pipe. It was then that the name made more sense... it was BONGOURDA... BONG being the operative part of the term. I am pretty sure the only shirt I would be able to find Catherine would give my brother an anurysium. So, shirtless, we walked in search of food. In a few short steps, we came across an Italian restaurant, attached to the hotel. We decided to try that. Maureen put it aptly, "If we take another step, we might get frostbite..."

By now, the temperature had dropped and it must have been in the high teens. We ate our meal outside, because, on vacation, you are supposed to eat outside... and besides, we didn't know when we would see sweater weather again, and who were we to deny ourselves the opportunity to freeze in July?

I, for one, am glad we got that last breath of cold air, because, most certainly, the drive back inland will be very, very hot.