Visiting Bragança

This is my kind of tourism day, except for the part about Joe feeling sick and staying in bed for the morning. It seems that 24 hours of airport and airplane food did not sit well with his stomach. He’s fine now, but stayed in bed till about noon.

That meant I had all morning to walk around town center and climb the castle walls! Lots of up and down, lots of pretty views. I just love these small cities, where life is really going on but some (but not too many) tourists come to see their beautiful historic sites. In this case, it’s basically the castle and the old part inside the walls. There is a late medieval “Town Hall” inside the walls. It´s an oddly shaped stone building (looks like a pentagon drawn by someone with bad measuring skills). But it’s a beautiful building, another one of those rare civic romanesque buildings still standing (my other favorite is the Palacio Gelmirez in Santiago, but this is nothing that elaborate). This was where the city leaders met to govern, and the meeting hall sits above the cistern.

And for those of you who have heard a lot about the Duques de Bragança, they are from here, of course, but they were the ruling royal family in Portugal from mid 17th century till the monarchy fell in early 1900s. That’s why there are Bragança palaces all over the country. I was told there is still a Duque de Bragança, though I’m not sure how he spends his day now that there’s no monarchy.

Around noon, I was able to convince Joe that he’d have much more fun coming along for a drive through the Parque Natural de Montesinho, a huge swath of northern Portugal that hits the Spanish border. We went to a few small hamlets, old houses all made of stone, deserted except for a few old people and the occasional café. On our way back into Bragança, I took the back route up to the castle and parked the car about five minutes away so Joe could go see it.

When I dropped Joe off for his nap, I decided to walk back to the castle area because I had seen a sign pointing to the “”albergue de peregrinos.” I know there’s a route through here, the Zamorano-Portugués, and it’s one I’ve been eyeing. I was happy to find 5 Spanish pilgrims there, all of whom raved about the route (except for the heat). The albergue system is estupendo, they said — nice scenery, no crowds, but good facilities. Maybe part of Camino 2024?

I’m back at the hotel with a little time before dinner. I am not sure that Joe’s stomach will be up for a tasting menu, though, so I don’t know what we’ll do. Eating a fancy meal while he watches me doesn’t sound like much fun. We’ll see.Read more