Life's a Stitch

Serra de Santo Antonio, though a tiny village (population 750), was perched within an hour of the ocean and lots of history, thanks to our car rental, a Renault Captur:

 The town itself is famous for its caves, discovered in 1955  by a boy chasing a bird.

We drove an hour eastward to the beautiful beach village of Nazare, famous for seafood, and due to an underwater canyon, world records in surfing.

Nazare gave us  the opportunity to dine on the percebes, AKA  goose barnacles, that I raved about last year. There is a culinary competition between Spain and Portugal as to whose are the best. Well, they were good in Portugal, but served cold. We eventually learned, after finishing the entire plateful, that we were eating them raw. Got to say, I prefer them warmed accompanied with garlic butter.

To the west we we visited Tomar, home to the Convento de Christo, a castle built by the Knights Templar in the 12th century.

Big thanks to our friends Lynn and Dennis for arranging the house in Serra de San Antonio and their guidance in the must do category. 

The next day we boarded a bus to Porto for the last part of our Portuguese vacation before we begin our Camino pilgrimage. Booking busses early allows you to pick your seat and several times we've been lucky to get the first two seats on the right side for great views. This time I discovered the views include more than the scenery. Generally the European bus drivers present as professionals who take their jobs seriously. This particular driver appeared dozy and at one point was texting while driving. I was glad to arrive safely in Porto.