Portugal: the palaces of Sintra, the ocean and the end of the world. Part 2.
Continuation.
Thanks to the fact that we very well chose the location in Sintra, the next day we were among the first to open the Quinta da Regaleira Palace. We didn't have to wait for buses, we walked everywhere.
Quinta da Regaleira Estate
The estate passed from one owner to another many times, until in 1892, the philanthropist Monteiro became the owner of the estate. It was under him that the estate acquired its present form.
Kinta Palace
And only since 1996, when the municipality of Sintra bought the estate, it became available to visitors from all over the world.
Terrace of the Kinta Palace
Tickets to Quintu cannot be purchased online. There is no such option. Only at the box office. The cost is 8 euros per person. We came to the opening, there were 5-6 people in line.
Mostly, tourists start their tour of Sintra's palaces from the Pena Palace, so if you come to Quinta for the opening, there will most likely be no queue. People start arriving after 11 o'clock.
Decorative elements of the Kinta Palace
As soon as the entrance was opened, the first thing we did was run to look for the Well of Initiation (Initiation).
The Well of Initiation
It's good that you get a map of the park with tickets.
We still can't believe our luck: we were alone in the Well of Initiation!
Star at the bottom of the Well of Initiation
What a mystical place this is! There is definitely something there. At us, for example, the camera began to junk. What is remarkable is that nothing like this happened to him before or after. The Well of Initiation is an inverted tower with nine tiers, symbolizing the nine circles of hell, purgatory and paradise.
Tiers of the Well of Initiation
After going down the spiral staircase, you find yourself at the bottom of the well, in which the coat of arms of Monteiro is laid out - an eight-pointed star. There is an opinion that the well served for the ceremonies of the Masonic brotherhood. Passing all nine tiers, as if you are reborn, you turn to the dark side of yourself.
Having descended to the bottom of the well, and going outside, you find yourself in the corridors leading to the grottoes
Corridors to the grottoes on the Way of Truth
A person must intuitively find in the dark the way to the grotto leading to the surface, that is, to find the Way of Truth. Other grottoes do not lead to the exit,
False grottoes on the Path of Truth
but today the path in the corridors is illuminated, it's hard to get lost there. However, we found the desired grotto only the second time.
It turns out that the Path of Truth runs through a pond. Everything is symbolic: water is the source of life.
False grottoes on the Path of Truth
The last stage of initiation is to walk on water. Flat stones are laid right along the bottom. Very beautiful and unusual. The water level changes depending on the season.
On our visit, the stones only slightly stood out above the water. There is an assumption that during the time of Monteiro, the stones were completely hidden under water. Only a true believer could walk on water.
But the most pleasant thing is that there are no people yet, and no one bothers you to look for this Path and take as many photos as you want.
The Regaleira Manor Park, though not as big as the Pena Park, is beautiful and mysterious. Arranged in tiers.
Kinta Manor Park
Its layout and elements hide symbols associated with various cults.
Quinta da Regaleira Estate Park
We really liked the labyrinth of grottoes,
Labyrinth of grottoes
we explored it with pleasure, but you need to have a flashlight, since daylight does not get there, and there is no illumination there.
Labyrinth of grottoes
And the false exits from the labyrinth go straight into the water.
Not everyone knows, and we didn't know that there is another inverted well in the park.
Unfinished well
This is a false Well of Initiation, and certainly not as pretty, and certainly less popular.
There are several towers in the park,
Towers in Kinta Park
each with its own meaning,
Towers in Kinta Park
and a very memorable Guardian Portal.
Guardian Portal
In the center of the portal are two tritons, the protectors of the underworld.
There used to be a wall of water flowing behind them, hiding another entrance to the Well of Initiation. Now this secret entrance is closed, and there is no water in the portal.
In the stone lace decor, you will definitely find sea ropes, delicately carved branches and leaves of plants, symbols of royalty, as well as other earthly and religious symbols.
It is also worth paying attention to the door handles in the form of lions - symbols of wealth and power.
Door handles in the Kinta Palace
The second floor of the palace and access to the roof, where Monteiro's alchemical laboratory was, unfortunately, is closed for restoration. It was not possible to arrange a photo shoot with gargoyles on the roof.
Chapel in the estate of Kinta
A small chapel on the estate deserves special attention. But the entrance to it was closed, and almost nothing was visible through the bars.
The interior of the chapel
Above the entrance to the hall of the chapel, the sign of the Masons (an eye in a triangle) is clearly visible, which is also indirect evidence that the millionaire Monteiro was a member of this secret lodge.
Masonic sign in the Kint chapel
After all, only true believers were accepted into Masons, regardless of their religion.
So, the second palace and park were examined, now it remains to solve the issue of food.
For a budget tourist, it is very expensive to eat in restaurants twice a day. The average bill in restaurants in Portugal is 40 euros for two.
Even after a hearty breakfast at the hotel, when the time is approaching dinner, there is a desire to have something to eat. In Portugal there is a chain of supermarkets called Pingo Doce. (We found their addresses in Sintra and Lisbon beforehand). This is just a find for a tourist!
In Sintra, such a supermarket is located near the Sintra Portella station, this is the penultimate stop when traveling from Lisbon, 10 minutes walk from the center of Sintra.
The chain of these supermarkets, in addition to the usual products, has ready-made meals (a full meal, usually meat or fish with a side dish) in plastic bowls, costing up to 3 euros. Everything is very tasty and well prepared.
Servings are quite enough to have a hearty lunch for an adult.
Here, in the supermarket, after the cash registers, there is a microwave in which all this can be warmed up for free. And there are tables nearby where you can use it. Very comfortably. The diet also offers cream soup in plastic buckets, but we never took it.
Well, the worm has died, we can soak up the pool for another half a day. The weather is excellent: during the day +30, in the evening about +20.
The next day we decided to dedicate a tour of Montserrat Palace. Here you need to drive up to it by bus, on foot and go far uphill.
Montserrat Palace
Buses directly from the Sintra railway station go to all the palaces, it is very easy to get there.
Armory of Montserrat Palace
Tickets to Montserrat can also be bought online, and in the case of buying tickets to Pena and Montserrat, the latter will cost not 8 euros, as at the box office, but 7.20.
To be honest, we found out about this late. And didn't use the discount.
Montserrat Palace is located high on the mountain.
The manor got its name in the 16th century, when a chapel was built on the site of the current palace.
Halls of Montserrat Palace
At that time, a Benedictine monk made a pilgrimage to the Catalan monastery of Montserrat and, upon his return, gave the chapel the same name. The lands changed their owners many times. The chapel became a villa,
Carved ceilings of Montserrat Palace
The villa was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. The palace that we have the good fortune to see now was built by order of the British Francis Cook.
Halls of Montserrat Palace
Three styles are mixed in the style of the palace: Moorish, Indian and Gothic.
Terraces of Montserrat Palace
The palace is decorated with elegant stucco, beautiful bas-reliefs and stone carvings.
Montserrat Palace
And also at the palace there is a huge park, which, in turn, is divided into a Rosary, a Mexican garden,
Japanese Garden, Fern Alley.
The park has a system of small decorative lakes,
Artificial pond in Montserrat Park
thanks to which watering of plants is provided. We were most impressed by the Mexican Garden.
Agaves in Montserrat Park
We've never seen taller aloe and agave before! And huge cacti
Mexican Garden of Montserrat Palace
as if fresh from the Mexican prairies. We were also delighted with ferns the height of a decent palm tree.
The ruins of an old chapel have been preserved in the park. Its walls are woven with tree roots. Unusual and not abandoned.
The ruins of an ancient chapel in Montserrat Park
On the contrary, there are benches inside and small flower beds. The park has toilets, a souvenir shop and a cafe.
After walking around the park and seeing enough beauty, we returned to the center of Sintra.
Sintra city center
It's small
and cozy, lots of greenery,
Center of Sintra, the National Palace is visible
The facades of the houses are decorated with azulejo tiles and elegant street signs.
Beautiful signs in Sintra
The people sit in cafes and restaurants, and from the surrounding hills the castle of the Moors and the Pena Palace strictly look after the order.
We went to the cafe "Keyzhadash",
The interior of the cafe "Keijadas" in Sintra
we tried small cinnamon curd dough cakes,
Keijadash cakes
Drank a cup of delicious coffee.
Walked along the old streets,
The streets of old Sintra
to the free city park Liberdade (Freedom),
Plates in Sintra
We bought souvenirs and went to the hotel.
I really didn't want to leave, but it's time. We paid off and took the city bus towards the ocean.
Since 1909, an old tram has been running from Sintra towards the ocean to the village of Praia Dash Masas (where we stopped). Know went to breathe the ocean air. There is a tram for 45 minutes, the fare is 3 euros per person. But we never rode it. The fact is that he walks according to the schedule only three times a day. And the timetable didn't work for us. Although the final tram was just in front of our hotel.
For the remaining 8 days we lived right on the beach at the Oceano Hotel, from where further excursions were planned around the area, to Lisbon and to Cape Roca.
(read more about the hotel here).
It is very difficult to convey your feelings from the ocean. This is the element!
Smell, waves,
foam, breeze!
So many states! It changes, it glows, it's alive, it's beautiful! You can watch him forever. It's just some kind of system hang! But you can't swim in it! And the point is not at all that it is cold (probably 18 degrees on our arrival), but that you can’t even go deeper than knee-deep. The waves pick you up and throw you on the shore. All ocean bathing consists in the fact that people line up in a chain along the coast and jump in the waves. I don’t know who writes in the reviews that on this beach you can even with children. Unless kids are 18+. But on all the beaches of this coast there are many surfing schools. That's who swims, so it's surfers on their boards.
Surfer school classes
The school has wetsuits and boards for rent.
The village of Praya Dash Masash (which means apple beach) is very cozy.
Compared to others, it can be said that it is very touristy. It has several hotels, apartments, a small supermarket, a pharmacy and restaurants. What surprised me was the lack of souvenir shops. There is nowhere to buy even a banal magnet. A sunbathed and well-fed tourist would like to spend money, but there is nowhere to do it. Except in restaurants and supermarkets. The Greeks, of course, in this matter give odds to the Portuguese. There, even in the smallest village, there will be several shops with souvenirs, leather goods, silver and God knows what else! And here the only evening entertainment is the sunset!
They come to see him with glasses of wine and blankets,
People meet the sunset
because you can't just sit on the beach in the evening: a cold, piercing wind ruffles your hair and tears your soul.
Today was our first sunset on the ocean. Inexpressible emotions!
Well, tomorrow is a new day! And - a new sunset!
