Tuesday's Glorious day in Ancient Braga

When I left you last, dear reader, I was seated in the lobby of our overnight home in Porto.  I looked on this choice for the night as a mistake. When I mentioned it to my sister, she said it is not a mistake. It is a bonus.  It seems that rather than booking a Hotel, I had inadvertently booked a Hostel.  Our accommodation consisted of four stark bare walls and a bed.  There were no creature comforts present whatsoever.  I am beginning to see that my sister may have been right.  The bed was confortable, and the place was clean.  We needed nothing more.  And now I can say that I have had the experience of a European Hostel

Once Becky was up and out, we hit the road along the A3 headed for Braga.  It was about a 45-minute drive. At the outskirts of the city you can already see what a beautiful and very ancient city this is.  When we reached our turn off from the A3 to begin touring, we made a stop at the first café we saw.  We had left Porto without any breakfast, and so we were really ready for an early lunch. 

The café was a small family style place, and from the very plainness of the building I didn’t hold out much hope for the meal we would receive.  Upon entering,  there were lots of locals gathered there enjoying coffee.  The owner sent us to the dining room, where the owner’s family was getting ready to have their own meal.  Periodically one of them would get up from their table to serve us.

We had two espressos each, and a liter of agua fresca. We were served steak and eggs, salad, fries and rice, as well as a wonderful ice cream sundae for dessert.  It was a huge meal.  I went to pay, and was shocked when the price came to only $20.50 euros.

We entered the GPS coordinates for our first stop in Braga, Bom Jesus do Mount.  It was only a short distance from where we were, but the GPS correctly told us it would take us 20 minutes to get there.  The mount in the name of this place was indeed a steep but weathered mountain, and we would have to snake our way up the side. What awaited us would have been worth the effort even if we had needed to climb the whole way on foot.

One of many small chapels arranged along the way to Bom Jesus

Becky seated in a small garden on the way to Bom Jesus

Approaching the Basilica do Bom Jesus de Mount 

The beautiful gardens of the Mount

More of the terraced Gardens

Near the Basilica

Gardens at Bom Jesus

Bom Jesus Gardens

On the roof of a building looking back down the climb to Bom Jesus

A grotto on a walking path in the Parque Bom Jesus

Climbing stairs to this lovely Gazebo

A gazebo along the walk

The Basilica of Bom Jesus de Mount is situated in an enormous series of gardens.  It is surrounded by walking trails, and the park-like atmosphere draws hundreds of people each day, who spread out blankets on the ground and enjoy a family picnic before going in to the Basilica or one of the many outdoor chapels to pray.  We walked all around the grounds, taking in the beauty of all the incredible gardens.  As the gardens are terraced on a 365 step climb to the basilica at the top, when you look down you discover that as well as the gardens that you saw on the ground level on your ascent, there are also rooftop gardens on the tops of buildings.  Beautiful gazebos and walkways draw you to explore even further. 

When we finally arrived at the Basilica on this Tuesday afternoon, we discovered that a couple had just completed their wedding ceremony within this incredible historic church.  The bride and groom were just emerging from the doors of the basilica to the cheers of guests and tourists alike.

Statue of St. Luke

Bride and Groom leaving the Basilica

More beautiful statuary

After rehydrating with a liter of water each, we began to pick our way back to our car to head off to the next adventure.   We snaked our way back down the mountain and then made our way through narrow cobbled streets to the area of the Sé Catedral de Braga.  From where we parked we were in easy walking distance of only a couple blocks from the cathedral.  Bearing testimony to the fact that Braga was the Catholic Capital of Iberia in the Roman era, we passed a large Basilica, a small church and a chapel as we walked those few blocks to the Cathedral.

A beautiful Basilica you pass on the three block walk to the Cathedral in the Cristian Capital of iberia 

Approaching the Cathedral from the rear

The apse behind the high altar of the Cathedral

A cloister walk within the cathedral grounds

The grave of one of the many Archbishops of Braga within the Cathedral

Pieces of Roman Ruins in the Cathedral Museum

More Roman Ruins

One of six side chapels of the Cathedral

The Beautiful vaulted ceiling above the crossing. Very similar to the Dome of St. George's only squared.

More of the Vaulted ceiling over the crossing

Old stone work from older iterations of the Church that his stood here since the very foundations of Christianity

Pieces of walls from earlier Cathedral structures

Even from the outside it was impossible to miss the depth of the history of this place.  Once inside its walls, the sense of history was completely overwhelming.  The first Bishop of Braga arrived there in the year 45 and established a Christian gathering there.  I so often find myself amazed to think that the place where I work dates back to some of the earliest days of our national history, and yet this place had roots running back to the very beginnings of Christianity.  This place had roots that ran back to before the birth of the Gospels; before the writing of many of the letters of Paul.

In the Cathedral Museum, as well as many significant objects from its history, there were stone remnants of the roman ruins of Braga, testament once again to the depth of its history.  When I went to purchase tickets for Becky and I to tour, I told the lady that I was Dean of St. George’s Cathedral in Kingston, Ontario.  She would not take my money for the tour, but simply handed me two tickets, and said in English, “Go and enjoy!” Knowing the depth of the Catholicity of Braga, I have a feeling that this reaction of hers might have been different if I had included that I was here on my Honeymoon.

After thoroughly exploring the Cathedral, we walked through the very ancient streets of Braga for a bit before discovering a beautiful little Café where we sat down to rest our tired feet and to rehydrate in the Portuguese way.  Glasses of rich red wine were soon placed in front of us, and we enjoyed them while watching the life of this glorious city pass by, and listened to water in the fountain of the courtyard across from us as it chattered away.

The lovely fountain across from where we stopped for a glass of Vinho Tinto

Enjoying a quiet stop and some Vinho Tinto in Beautiful Braga

A beautiful stained glass in the entrance to the very ancient part of Braga

Clearly, after our early lunch and our adventures in learning the life of the mountain goat in Bom Jesus Parque, we were both famished, and I wanted to take Becky to experience a Churrasquiera.  In Brazil, the Churrascarias were incredible wood-fired stone barbecues where various meats were always cooking and where they were brought to your table on spits for you to choose how much of each you would like.  At the very top of the barbecue, there were pineapples being barbecued with cinnamon, and the juice of the pineapple dripped down onto all the other cooking meats.  We drove about 20 minutes out of the city core to find one of these restaurants. 

The Portuguese Churrasquierra is somewhat different, but still an all you can eat barbecue experience.  We were seated, and soon a variety of platters of salads were brought to us so that we could serve ourselves as much as we wanted.  The second course was a platter of pork with cabbage and beans.  After this a huge platted of the tenderest beef imaginable was laid before us with roasted potatoes.  Finally, a platter of the rice, which both Becky and I have enjoyed so much, arrived.  It was a meal fit for royalty. A bottle of the usual rich red wine arrived along with the meat platters, and also a liter of fresh water.  We ate our fill, and then the server arrived to ask if we would like dessert.  Initially I said no, but when he said that he could provide me a gluten-free fruit salad I relented and enjoyed dessert also.  I am sure that even with the incredible amount of walking I have been doing, I am going to gain back some of the weight I have been working so hard to lose. Still, when will I be back to experience this place again?

Finally, we drove back to the A3 and began our two-hour drive back to the house in Mira where we have been so wonderfully taken care of.  Becky was exhausted and turned in with her book immediately.  For my part, I needed to move some more.  There had been too much time spent sitting in the car.  I walked into the woods as the sun set, and walked a 5 km circuit back to the house. 

Driving home along the A3

Approaching Mira

Arriving at the home of Silverio

With that completed, I was finally ready to read my book for a time and turn in.  Our guests desperately wanted us to stay up and join them for the usual evening ritual of wine, conversation and yet more food, but both Becky and I felt that we could not possible ingest any more food.  So ended a beautiful adventure in Northern Portugal.  We are now back in the central coastal region, and taking a very quiet day at home.  It is my intent to walk the 7km to the beach in the late afternoon, and stay there to photograph the sun setting over the Atlantic tonight.

Lourdes has also told me that there is another place in the woods that I will want to go to on my walks while I am still there.  It is a large fresh water Lagoa with a sandy beach and beautiful palm trees.  Unlike the ocean swimming, it is shallow enough that it grows very warm.  Tomorrow I will take my morning walk on that trail so that I can see and experience this.