Cascais & Sintra
Vasco da Gama
Ian Strathcarron
Tue 8 Jul 2008 08:50
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After a week of enjoyable indolence in this
pleasant fishing port we are getting the boat ready for the next part of the
trip as we think the starter motor has reached Lisbon and could be fitted in the
next couple of days. I have to go back to London for a week,
so Ian is heading off to Gibraltar either alone or with help if help
can be found.
We are very drawn to a magical town called Sintra
in the mountains 20 km north of here. It's at the top of the mountain
range, built across a series of peaks separated by ravines, packed with oaks,
pines and magnolias, and exotic species of trees which have been introduced
and flourished such as giant tree ferns and palms. At the top of
the highest peak are the remains of a 9th Century Moorish castle, with
flags flying from the battlements which make you think you are back in
the Middle Ages. The town was an escape from the heat and plagues of
Lisbon summers and has a view down to Lisbon, the Tagus estuary and out to
sea. The Muslims built the castle and palaces which became monasteries and
a hunting lodge for the royal family after the reconquest. The buildings
in Sintra were seriously damaged by the great earthquake of 1755 which
destroyed Lisbon and they were gradually rebuilt in the Gothic Revival and
Romantic styles of the 19th Century, so that driving in you are reminded of
King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria, although the grandest palace, the Palacio
Nacional da Pena, was begun in 1830, 30 years before King Ludwig's building
spree. The site of this Palace had been a monastery
built where Vasco da Gama's ship was first seen returning
after its first voyage to India in 1499. We were excited to come
across Lawrence's Hotel where Byron and Hobhouse stayed on their Grand Tour
in 1809 and which is decorated in an English style with small chintz-decorated
sitting rooms and Lord Byron's portrait hanging in the dining room.
I will take up the blog again next week, meanwhile
I hope our good Captain will keep you up to date.
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