Monte de Santa Luzia

We headed into Viana do Costelo from our beachside camp site and found a convenient parking spot under the dual purpose bridge with cars on to and trains below. Our first objective was Santa Luzia which was high on the mountain and required a funicular to reach it.

The funicular was only half working, as in only one of the two carriages were operational, so it took a while. Anyway it beat walking.

The inside of the church is absolutely stunning in a quiet and conservative way. There are no great expanses of gold but beautiful design subtlety decorated.

Of course some stunning stained glass.

And of course the views from on top were amazing, if a little hazy.

A beautiful church well worth the visit.

The statue represents the saying “I will return to Viana”

Another festival in town. This one is one of the largest in Portugal, called Romaria de Nossa Senhora d’Agonia. Which means I haven’t got a clue but it runs for 9 days and we were in the middle of it.

In the Courts of Justice building a beautiful stained glass story.

Part of the festival features drumming bands, each trying to be better and louder than the previous one.

Word on the street is that the parties and concerts go until 4 am.

The town has a long history with gold. There was certainly a lot of on display.

Igreja Da Misericordia, another church in town built in 1589, again absolutely stunning. In this case it was the use of blue and white tiles on the walls that sets it apart.

All the tiles are hand painted.

Yet another church, simple, elegant, beautiful.

The Hospital Ship Gil Eannes was built in 1955 in the Viana do Castelo shipyards. Its mission was to support the Portuguese fleet of cod fishing boats in the North Sea. She was working until 1984.

Bit of naval support for the festival.

The barber.

Bread mixer and dough rising bins.

Couple of wine barrels to keep the crew going.

Procedure and surgery room. The ship had two doctors on board.

State of the art Xray machine in 1955.

Modern washing machine.

It was a 12 bed hospital, with 8 general beds and 4 isolation beds for infectious diseases.

This was a fascinating museum and well worth the visit.

Swing bridge at the marina.

In spite of the 39C heat we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Viana do Castelo.. It’s a beautiful town with lots to see. We were surprised to find that everyone we spoke to today has good English which makes getting around a lot easier.

Headed of to Braga mid afternoon in 40C heat and the air conditioning running overtime. Our desired camp site in town was full so we had to make a 30 minute drive into the country to find another place for the night. Just as well because its nicer and has a swimming pool which we took advantage of.

Braga tomorrow and another 40C day

David & Collette