Rick and Marie's Travels: Portugal: Obidos

Voijn, Marie, Natasha, and Nikolas, our host family in Lisbon.

Sept. 12: We enjoyed a leisurely morning at our favorite cafe before strapping on our backpacks. Travel days are "exciting" (i.e. tense?) because there's so much to think about; we'll manage, we always do.

So we schlepped our backpacks down to the Metro and rode out to Campo Grande, the second to last stop on the green line, and walked outside looking for the bus station called Rodotejo. This is where the lady at the "big i" told us we could purchase a ticket to Obidos.

Nikolas at two months.

At Campo Grande we followed the bus signs outside but didn't see a bus station so we asked directions from some motor coach drivers parked outside the Metro station. They told us to walk to the end of the street, turn right, and cross the next street. We did as directed, but didn't see a bus station, just a bus stop, so I asked directions from a nearby cafe owner and he told us to go back to the bus stop. We did and a local woman confirmed we caught the bus to Obidos here. Turns out the bus stop is called Rodotejo and tickets are purchased from the driver.

We had 45 minutes before boarding, according to the schedule posted at the stop so we strolled back to the cafe and had a coffee and a cookie. The motor coach arrived at 12:45PM for a 1:00PM departure.

And we're off to Obidos. Smooth ride.

Once again, the transportation In Portugal—whether tram, train, or bus—has been reliable. The Portuguese rival the Swiss for efficiency and timeliness. An hour later we grabbed our backpacks from the luggage bay, turned around, and were immediately given a hug from Gabriela Martin, the owner of our apartment.

Gabriela had a lunch date with friends, so she gave us directions to the apartment inside this medieval walled village. After a couple of wrong turns, we walked back to the beginning and asked a shop keeper for help. She Googled the address, and viola, just a few more blocks along, we turned right and we were at #4.

Paula the house cleaner welcomed us right after we knocked, gave us a brief tour of this really cute and comfortable apartment, gave us the keys to the place, and said she'd be off once she finished mopping the floors. We dropped off our stuff and headed outside the village walls and down the road about half a mile to Pingo Doce (a grocery chain in Portugal), and did a bit of grocery shopping. We had our feet up and were settled by 5:00PM.

We are going to love our five days here. All the tourists dropped off by the hundreds of motor coaches cleared out about 6:00PM and we now nearly have the entire walled village to ourselves. Whoohoo!

Having arrived at Casa da Travessa, #4, we can finally relax.

Obidos apartment.

All the first floor rooms have this tile wainscoting.

All settled.

Casa da Travessa, our home just off Main Street.

It's our third day (Sept. 14th) in Obidos and we've walked along the rampart walls, up and down the narrow lanes throughout the entire town, hiked down to the valley, outside and around the walled town, and meandered in and out of churches and museums. We've managed to ignore all the grot shops (i.e. tourist shops)—neither one of us are shoppers, but if we were, everything for sale here is made in Portugal.

Artisanal azulejo tiles, glazed pottery, and wines of all sorts are on display from the shops that line Rua Direita (12th century), the main street that runs from the town gate (refurbished in 1380) to the Old Arms Square behind the castle (now an inn) at the end of town.

The settlement dates back to the Romans, and even before, followed by the Visigoths during the 4th and 5th centuries. The Moors fortified the town in the 7th century but at 1148 Alfonso I drove them out.

Let's just say this town has a long history. Most of the buildings and homes were rebuilt after the Earthquake of 1755, a date Portugal considers its rebirth when much of Lisbon and surrounds were destroyed and rebuilt. The Portuguese we chat with talk about this event as if it happened yesterday.

Anyway, Obidos is surrounded by an 8th century wall and still has a few medieval buildings (St. John the Baptist Church, 1309); St. Martin's Chapel, 1331). The rest inside the wall were built during the Renaissance (16th century) or rebuilt after 1755.

The history lesson is done; what comes next are pictures we took the past two days, including a few from an evening stroll last night.

Close up of the frieze above the door to the left.

Close up of tile wainscoting in our apartment.

Our apartment is through the arch and right
around the corner.

Just a door to somebody's backyard.

Tourist information at 11:00AM.

Tourist information at 6:00PM.

Want to avoid the crowds? Yep, walk 500 feet off the main track.

A view from one of our rampart walks.

Rua Direita, the main street.

Castle in the evening, obviously.

This is the coolest bookstore. The shop owner also sells honey
and organic fruit from her orchard. We returned a few days later
and discovered there was an English section, but unfortunately,
most of the books were used medical textbooks. There's a recent
big red text with Asthma printed in large gold letters, a text
assured to cure insomnia.

Grandparents and grandson out for a walk along one of the
many paths that wind through the orchards surrounding the
walled town. They spied us up on the ramparts and waved.

This artist's workshop is next door to us.

Main gate azulejos tiles above. In the morning
this steel drum player is here, and in the after-
noon, it's an accordion player/singer. Great
acoustics here and at the entrance to the castle
on the other end of town.

Close up of main gate azulejos tiles.

Main gate into Obidos.

Rua Direita from rampart.

Rua Direita. That's the castle in the background.

Rua Direita, earlier in the day. The flat stones
in the center of the street allow for smooth
hand truck deliveries to shops.

Marie is standing in front of a house that's for
rent just behind St. Mary's. The main square
is just around the corner, but you'd never
know it, because it's really quiet tucked behind
this 17th century church.

Still strolling along the ramparts.

Can you tell this is a music shop?

Fountain on town's main square. Above it the
cylindrical stone with the flag on top is the
pillory (1513). It was used for public punish-
ment or humiliation.

View of community beyond Obidos walls. Really nice homes
with a nearby Pingo Doce (QFC-style grocery store), new
high school, and community center.

Wish this place was for rent. It too is behind St. Mary's.

Our Lord Jesus of the Stone Sanctuary (1747). We walked
down to the valley to have a look and were glad we did.
This picture was taken from from one of the lanes that
wound down to the main road below Obidos.

Taken from the parking lot. It's being re-plastered and will look like new shortly.

Cleaning up the plaster around the window.

This guy is applying the plaster.

Inside the sanctuary.

Sanctuary ceiling.

Sanctuary entrance.

Our Lady of Grace Gate, circa 12th/13th century. This
is a shortcut to the valley orchards and fields.

Looking up to Our Lady of Grace Gate. It
wasn't as bad walking back up as it looks.

Spotted these tiles of Santa and Guardian Angel for Children
on garage wall during our walk down to Our Lord Jesus of
the Stone Sanctuary.

This dog was lying below the tiles.

Cemetery behind St. John the Baptist Church, 1309. The
church is currently the parish museum. The cemetery is still
being used.

St. Martin's Chapel (1331) ceiling.

Gothic tomb inside St. Martin's Chapel.

St. Martin's Chapel.

St. Mary's Church was built on the site of a
Visigoth Temple, later used as a Mosque, and
in the 17th century refurbished with azueljos
tiles. The blue tiles span from floor to ceiling.