Day 8: Obidos, Alcobaca, Nazare, Batalha and Fatima trip.
We started our 1hr journey to the walled city of Obidos at around 9am. The little town used to be a fortress against Castilla (now Madrid in Spain). After spending an hour in this area, we then headed to Alcobaca where the longest church in Portugal is located. It was indeed a long one, there was a wedding going on when we came. The church was grand on the exterior and very simple inside. The most fascinating thing about this church was the tomb of Pedro and Inez, the Romeo and Juliet real life story of Portugal.
Pedro was the son of a king who fell in love with his wife’s bestfriend who belonged to a Castillan family. Portugal and Spain were on a war then since the latter wants to rule over Portugal. When Pedro’s wife died he wanted to marry Inez which created much havoc in Portugal, the king ordered to have Inez killed to stop the marriage. When finally the king died and Pedro was crowned King of Portugal, he ordered that Inez be wedded to him and be crowned as a Queen. So then Inez became Queen of Portugal after her death. Both their tombs were inside the church of Alcobaca across from each other, feet to feet.
Obidos
Alcobaca
We headed to the fishing village of Nazare to have our lunch which was of course fish, the national food of Portugal. The place was flanked by locals and tourists alike, the beach was amazing. Too bad we didn’t get to spend more time on the beach.
Batalha was our next stop where King Henry the navigator was buried. Nothing much to see here but well, another church. :p
Batalha
Lastly, the main purpose of this trip was the visit to Fatima where the Virgin Mother Mary appeared to three kids. The place was too touristic now, they no longer have the oak tree where Mary appeared because people visiting the place would take a twig or any part of the tree for souvenir, thus killing it. They created a small chapel where the apparition took place. There was a mass going on when we came and lots of Catholics on a pilgrimage attended it.
Fatima
After an hour spent there, we headed back to our hotel in Lisbon.
[…] Read more about Obidos here. […]