May 4th. Tuesday.

by Administrator 4. May 2010 18:53
May 4th Tuesday.
A cold night, Tims new very light sleepingbag barely adequate. Today we do Belem a part of Lisbon on the river Tagus from where Vasco da Garma sailed and much of the Portuguse colonial expansion set out. The achitectural style is Manuline after one of the kings of the time, responsible in part for the monastery of St Geronimos set up to pray for the royal dead. This is a World Heritage site and has more stone carving per square metre than anywhere we have seen as well as a marvellous double storied cloister marred only by the assembly in the courtyard of a scaffolding monstrosity we suspect for the forthcoming papal visit.
Lunch is at one of many little restaurants along the main road just here. After a siesta in the park along with not a few locals, most seeming unconcerned about the state of their country's finances, we wander round the coach museum. This houses the national collection of royal coaches back to the 17th century. Including the one in which their king and crown prince were shot back in 1903. After this all else is an anticlimax so we head for the campsite by a convenient Decathlon store to get some gas for the brew stove in the morning. The one we found on the site has run out.
Link to where we are on Google Maps

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Tony Dyson, Tim and Betsy Digger

Two years ago Tony and Tim walked from England to Finisterre taking four months along the way of St James. (See Blogroll below). This year we set off again this time with Tim's wife Betsy and travelling along the second most popular route, from Portugal, the Camino Portugesa.

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