Beautiful sunny day and at the crack of dawn, after breakfast, 10 am, we took off for Guiamares the old capital of Portugal. We strolled around the medieval town centre, saw the duke's palace, the cathedral as well as other historic buildings. After a scenic lunch on the old town square we took the cable car up the mountain to yet another chapel and spectacular scenic views over the city and valley.
We then proceeded to Braga where we visited the shrine of Bom Jesus. This is a mountain top shrine that is reached by 2 km of steps that zig-zag up the mountain with the 14 stations of the cross on the way up. Normally you would make your way up the mountain on your knees. However, we cheated and took the funicular to the top where there were spectacular views over the countryside and a beautiful church. We then walked down, passing the statues of Faith, Hope and Charity, then the five fountains representing the five senses – each on its own staircase. As you went down there was a fountain at each level of the staircase. It was very beautiful and moving.
Then it was back to the Formula 1 track and back to Porto! After dining in situ, we went out for cappuccino and croissants at the Via Santa Catarina.
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