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5th CampingCar Portugal
Meeting
"Mistérios do
Monte da Lua"
(Moon Hill
Mysteries) - Sintra
From 4 to 7 October 2007
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Palácio Nacional de Queluz - Main square,
meeting point, where last participants arrived at dawn |
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The encounter begun with a visit to
Palácio Nacional de Queluz... |
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...and to its gardens |
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Close to lunch time, we moved to Portela
de Sintra |
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Lunch finished, time to go up to Quinta
da Regaleira |
The portrayed Palace
and Quinta da Regaleira, are from the beginnings of XX century, started
by a owner's dream, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro and from the
project responsible architect, the italian Luigi Manini |
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One of the guides of
the Quinta, gave a light history introduction,about Regaleira, to one of
the groups CampingCar Portugal |
Each room, new
particularities to discover |
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A pause, in the so called Patamar dos
Deuses (Gods' Platform) |
Group II hears with attention, guide's
explanation |
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Different group, equal attention |
Going through "Lago
dos Cisnes" (Swans' lake) |
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Chapel of
Santíssima Trindade (Holy Trinity) |
Guardians entrance and Celestial Terrace |
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From the top of the Iniciatic well, the
stairs aspect spiralling downwards nine levels, to the bottom, where the
Knights Templars cross, can be seen |
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Unnamed arch |
Omnipresent, the Moorish Castle,
conquered by King Dom Afonso Henriques, in 1147 |
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Sintra - Remaining part of the day,
reserved for shopping and historical centre visiting |
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Saturday morning, we
went to see Palácio Nacional da Pena and their gardens.
Exponent
maximum of the portuguese romantic architecture, the Palácio da Pena,
was erected in 1840 by Dom Fernando, over the ruins of an old convent. |
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Two panoramic pictures of Palácio da Pena |
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Preamble, to what we were going to see |
Group II follow our ancestors footsteps
at Pena bulkwalls |
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Another picture of
Moorish Castle |
Around lunch time,
buses, brought us to our motor-caravans |
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Afternoon, we went to visit Convento dos
Capuchos (A Monastic order) built in 1560 by Dom Alvaro de Castro |
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Once again, history is said by one of the
guides |
Covent entrance |
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Access courtyard to convent |
Convent dos Capuchos |
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Also known as
Convento de Santa Cruz da Cortiça ( Cork ) its minor monks' cells and
chapel, are covered by cork, their only "luxury", as a protection,
against cold and humidity conditions |
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At the end of the day, we moved to Volta
do Duche ( shower turn ) for parking and overnight stay |
Before the convivial
diner, group's photo |
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Sunday morning, was entirely dedicated to
the beautiful Sintra Village Palace |
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A very happy group,wait patiently, their
turn to enter |
The Paço Real (Royal Palace),
became a summer retreat, preferred by the court and portuguese royalty,
until 1880 |
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A curious ceiling of one of the rooms and
Palace mosaics |
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Chapel oak ceiling from XIV century |
Placed underneath of large connical
chimneys of the Palace, kitchens, utensils and roast spits, are seen |
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Praia das Maçãs (Apple beach), was the chosen local for parking and
lunch |
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The motor-caravans
column drive to Cabo da Roca, got the assistance of elements of the
county Municipal Police and marked the end of our V encounter.
There, was time to
hand out to participants the presence certificates and a last group's
photo |
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Cabo da
Roca: (cape-thread spinning utensil), the most westerly point in the
european continent |
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