9th October, 2018

Thank you Universe, for hearing my pleas and sending me salad! This is the first healthy meal I’ve had in weeks. Mind you, there’s only one place in town that serves this kind of food, so I’ll be paying them a daily visit while here.

I discovered Caldas de Rainha quite accidentally, but I’m happy to have, because its a sweet little town (the center, that is). I met this Australian couple last week, who told me about a small town called Obidos, and highly recommend that I visit.

Now, they have an interesting story….they spent the past 6 months sailing their catamaran from Oz to the US, then around parts of the southern Atlantic/northern Caribbean, then across to the Azores, Maderia and finally mainland Portugal, where I met them in Porto. But I digress….in the process of sorting out the trip down to Obidos, it became apparent that accommodation in the place was not only spare, but expensive. So, I pulled out the old guide book, found a nearby town with better transport links and here I am!

CdR has a lovely square at its center, lined with colorful building, a beautiful park adjacent to the old thermal hospital (which is unfortunately now abandoned), founded by the queen in the 15th century and a quirky museum dedicated to Portugal’s cycling champs. The name of the town roughly translates to Queen’s Spa. The queen discovered thermal spas in the town while she was passing by, enroute to Obidos coincidentally, and founded the hospital to capitalize on the healing effects of the water.  The town is also known for ceramics, especially from Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro, a 19th century artist who started his workshop here. All around town, there are these giant ceramic pieces, depicting objects from everyday local life, as a homage to its pottery history.

Unfortunately, half of the restaurants and stores are closed up for the season, so beyond the museums (some of which are also closed up!), there’s not much to do. There’s the beach outside of town but I’m not really a go-lie-on-the-beach kind of person, especially by myself. Which means that come Friday, I’ll have to hit the road again. Not sure where to frankly…guess I’ll continue making my way south, with the goal of arriving in Lisbon by the 27th to catchup with my cousin. Which leaves November as a big question mark. I don’t think I’ll stay in Portugal, so will have to make a decision pretty soon if I need to sort flights. Watch this space!