We started the day at the ungodly hour of 6:15 AM to take showers and get dressed. Today we are going on a day tour to Braga and Guimaraes with the folks from Viator. We are scheduled to leave at 8:45 am and will return to town about 6:45 pm.

Temperature wise, the day started out a bit cool and breezy. The smoke from the wild fires still hung in the air. Our motorcoach arrived a bit behind schedule, as it was a replacement. Our original vehicle was coming from the south and emergency services had some of the roads blocked off for the day.

Our group was twenty people, so it was a manageable size for the walking tours. When the coach arrived, our guide – Diego herded everyone aboard and off we went.

Diego did a good job of providing us with background information on the sites that we visited and supplemented that with answers to questions that people had.

Our first stop was at the Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary. It’s located just outside of Braga at the top of a mountain. Our bus driver Patrick did a great job of maneuvering us up and down through the hairpin turns.

Luckily we did have Patrick to drive us. I didn’t see any show of hands when they mentioned that there are 600 stairs in case anyone wanted to walk the pilgrimage path.

The gardens throughout the sanctuary are meticulously manicured.

There is an overall feeling of peacefulness as you walk around. There are many small chapels throughout the grounds for private reflection and then the main cathedral. The altar contains a beautiful 3-D cruxifixction scene and cross.

Our second stop was in the town of Braga; the highlight of the stop being the cathedral. It is designed in Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles due to the length of time it took to construct it.

We started with a short walk across the town square to get a feel for the town itself. It was always an important religious town with many popes and bishops having taken up residence there. As time passed, it lost some of its shine to Fatima, which became the more important pilgrimage site.

The Cathedral has its roots back to Roman times. Construction in town has had to be halted numerous times as the construction crews dig and come across ancient ruins.

Before entering the cathedral, you pass through a small area that actually serves as a museum for some of the artifacts that have been found.

The ancient cathedral retains its original double organs made from wood. It’s a stunning arrangement capped by a magnificent ceiling painting of the ‘Wedding of Mary and Joseph’. The double organs are currently undergoing a major refurbishment due to termite infestation.

We had some free time to grab lunch and wander around for a bit before gathering back together. Our final stop of the day was in the town of Guimaraes.

We started with a walk through an ancient Moorish Castle that once protected the town. There’s not much more than a shell left these days, but it is still solid enough to tour.

Next was a very small chapel that contained the tombs of several Templar Knights. Despite their status, they were buried in a simple chapel and in simple tombs.

Continuing our walk, we passed by a large church that was said to have been the place that the king had been baptized. One slight problem with history though, it wasn’t built until 100 years after the king. Maybe it was a retroactive baptism?

In the square, there is a statue of Portugal’s First King – Alphonse Henrique I. There have not been any paintings found with his likeness, so he has been done with an almost hidden look – beard and mustache, full helmet, battle gear and large shield with a Templar Knight cross.

Our last view as we gathered up to leave was of the Church of St. Walter with its twin spires.

By this time we were ready to head back home so it was a happy moment when the bus rolled up.

The ride home was a little over an hour long as we were caught up in rush hour traffic along the way. It was a pleasant day though and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

We were both a little hungry, so we dropped our stuff off at the apartment and went across the street for a bite to eat. They were busy, but we nabbed a table and did some people watching while we waited for our food and drinks.

The staff members were running around like crazy, while people who sat down at dirty tables got annoyed because someone didn’t run over to them right away. If only they knew the secrets: things like a smile, and words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.

We enjoyed our meal, finished up, and then headed all the way across the street to put our feet up and relax for the evening – it was a long day.