During our visit, wildfires were ravaging a good portion of Portugal. Our initial route included some pretty major detours around, and sometimes directly through, the fires. The smoke was visible from miles away, and it kept getting closer until we were driving right through it.
The detour took us straight through some of the wildfires. There were points where there were open flames on both sides of the road.
Our drive was longer than we anticipated. We stopped along the way to fuel up and had to try the America snacks. They were actually very tasty!
The fires had not reached Obidos, but it was still very hazy. The old town of Obidos is entirely encircled by a medieval castle. The wall is walkable, which you reach by climbing one of several stone staircases around the perimeter.
From the top of the wall, the countryside and town are all visible.
The wall reaches over 40 feet in some spots, and has no rail/protection on the inside. If you are not good with heights (like Kyle), it can definitely raise your heart rate a bit.
The walkway goes around the whole town, and you are looking down at it the entire time.
We didn’t walk the entire length of the perimeter, but we did walk down one side of the town.
A view of the staircase we went down at the end.
Outside the town walls, the parking lot is bordered by an aqueduct built in the 16th century.
The castle is located at the opposite end of where you enter into the walled area.
After descending the steps, we spent the rest of the day exploring the town. It was pretty touristy, but also very quaint. Some of the side streets were very quiet, and had lush vegetation mixed with medieval buildings.
The buildings have blue and yellow accents throughout the entire town.
Another side street. The haze from the wildfires was becoming thicker and thicker as the day went on.
Ginja, or Ginjinha is a delicious sour cherry liqueur. It’s everywhere (at least that we went) in Portugal, but its origins are in Obidos. They serve it in small chocolate cups, so it almost tastes like a cherry cordial.
Lisa spotted a medieval tavern, which we had to check out. The outside entrance looks just like you would assume.
We tried the ginja at the medieval tavern.
The view from our hotel room, which we didn’t really discover we had until we were leaving the next morning. Our hotel was just outside the castle walls, near the entrance.
Leaving Obidos, we made our way to Cascais. Cascais is a beach town just outside of Lisbon. This is one of the more famous spots in the area, Boca do Inferno.
The westernmost point of Europe, Cabo de São Vicente.
Another view from the westernmost point of Europe.
After one last dinner in Portugal, we found a small restaurant to have a nightcap. Lisa tried the local Cascais IPA.
