Óbidos and Fátima

Óbidos
Our first rental car was a tiny Fiat Punto, which was perfect for navigating the narrow roads of central Portugal when we struck out to visit the walled city of Óbidos and the religious shrine at Fátima.
	Óbidos is built on a little hill. There is a castle and the entire city is encircled by a 45 foot high wall. The fortifications date back as far as the 12th century.
	The entrance to the city is through a narrow passage where a traffic light keeps cars from driving in and out at the same time. Just inside the entrance is elaborate tile work from the 18th century.
	The streets and pathways inside the walls are all narrow and very tidy.
There are fine views of the bucholic countryside from atop the ramparts, which are so high and the paths so narrow that we both got vertigo and surmised that in the U.S. there would be handrails to protect against lawsuits.
Melissa was fascinated, in Óbidos as everywhere, by flowering plants, which seemed to grow beyond all reason in the near-Mediterranean climate. A "pousada," by the way, is a fancy hotel run in an old building, in this case, part of the old castle.
More pictures in and around Óbidos are here: Another view of the castle Another narrow street in Óbidos More flowers along an Óbidos street The Óbidos church The Óbidos church entrance More countryside from atop the ramparts More countryside from atop the ramparts (This view is just to the right of the above one, and includes the Church of Senhor Jesus da Pedra -- the elevated highway is the toll road from Lisboa) The Church of Senhor Jesus da Pedra (a Baroque church constructed on a hexagonal plan between 1740 and 1744 , located just outside Óbidos) Another castle, in nearby Porto de Mós (We spent half an hour trying to find our way up there from the town, but never reached this elusive castle) Some more countryside, en route from Óbidos to Caldas da Rainha The town of Caldas da Rainha (literally: The Queen's Hotsprings) (Note the similarity to the Spanish surname Reyna, which also means queen)

Fátima
On May 13th, 1917, and again the 13th of every month through October of that year, "The Virgin of the Rosary" is said to have appeared to three peasant girls, and various other miraculous things were seen (well, at least by the faithful . . . ).

Subsequently, a church and a huge esplanade were built to commemorate the miracles and to accommodate the tens of thousands of believers who come on the anniversaries of the miracles.

Mass is conducted continuously and some of the faithful don pads and go the length of the esplanade on their knees.

After a total of five nights and six days in and around Peniche, we went to Lisboa for four nights.

Fátima
On May 13th, 1917, and again the 13th of every month through October of that year, "The Virgin of the Rosary" is said to have appeared to three peasant girls, and various other miraculous things were seen (well, at least by the faithful . . . ). Subsequently, a church and a huge esplanade were built to commemorate the miracles and to accommodate the tens of thousands of believers who come on the anniversaries of the miracles.
	Mass is conducted continuously and some of the faithful don pads and go the length of the esplanade on their knees.