Revised Windy and wet in Viana do Castelo

Serenity of Swanwick
Phil and Sarah Tadd
Wed 16 Sep 2015 09:32
We spent Tuesday in Viana do Castelo, one of 5 boats stern to the wall in their overflow parking, as they were very full due to the forecast bad weather.  And it was horrible: wet, wet, wet, though our spot was sheltered from the worst of the wind by nearby buildings.

We took the opportunity to get some washing done, and put on full wet weather gear to walk to the shopping centre and get ourselves sorted out with a Portuguese SIM card for the phone.  Sarah made bread (we wanted a change from the insubstantial continental fare) and cakes.

On Wednesday the weather was better, but there was still a big sea running so we took the opportunity to see a bit of Viana, and walked up to the Sanctuary on top of the hill.  620+ steps to get to the building and then a further 158 to the dome at the top.  To be fair, there was a Funicular up the hill and a lift part way up the building, but we needed the exercise, and the view from the top was worth it. The last spiral staircase was very constricted only shoulder width!

In the evening we found a small restaurant and had a nice meal. Sarah is having to eat fish as they don't do vegetarianism much here. Unfortunately despite ordering Salmon she was offered a plate of pork, so we shared my bass while waiting for a cod dish to arrive, the salmon was off.

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