Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report

Chapter Twelve: Tomar To Coimbra

Day Twelve: Arch Supports, Skipping “Our Lady,” Massive Magnificent Monastery, In Search Of Henry, Sky Ceiling, Stadium Parking, Fit For A King, Trash Talking, Rental Car Peril, A Quirky Fun Hotel, Cape Town and Singing The Night Away

Our short stay in Tomar had come to an end. Tomar was perfect for a two night stay and there was plenty to do. Despite the construction going on next door, we recommend the Thomar Boutique Hotel as a quality place to stay. Now, it was on to Coimbra.

It was just five minutes to our first destination of the day, Aqueduto dos Pegões Altos (aka O Aqueduto do Convento de Cristo).

Stretching for about six kilometers across the Ribeira dos Pegões Valley, the aqueduct was constructed to supply water to Convento di Cristo and Tomar. It did so until the middle of the 20th century.

Construction began in 1593 under direction of Filippo Terzi, who had the cool moniker of “Chief Architect of the Kingdom.” Take that Frank Gehry.

There are a lot of good vantage points to take in this marvel that brought water to the convent from four springs. The aqueduct has 178 more arches than McDonald’s, 180 in all. The highest of them rises nearly 100 feet.

For the brave and those willing to risk death, there are sections of the aqueduct that you can walk on. In actuality, speaking from my ground level point of view, it’s not too bad if you have balance, so only Tracy and Kim went up onto the aqueduct. This building is the entrance to the top of the aqueduct.

We spent about 20-30 minutes hanging around. It was a great way to start the day.

A half-hour later we reached the gorgeous Gothic (along with Manueline) style Mosteiro da Batalha (Moistero Santa Maria da Vitória), the final stop on our Heritage Trifecta Ticket. Don’t skip this mosterio, it is magnificent! Founded by King João I in 1386, although construction continued for another 200 years. The king made a vow to the Virgin Mary after Portugal’s victory in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 to build the mosteiro, and he followed through on his promise.

I learned that King João I was the founder of the House of Aviz (Avis) Dynasty, whose motto I believe was, “We try harder.”

It’s hard to find a place in Portugal without a statue or tribute to Henry The Navigator called a “brilliant light of medieval history.” Since 1461 his remains have been at Batalha in the Founder’s Chapel with several of his family members. This bust was created in 2010 to commemorate the 550th year since he died.

When we arrived at 10:30, the place was virtually empty. (I guess everyone was in Sintra.)

In the square stands a statue of Nuo Álvarez Pereira, a strategist in winning the Battle of Aljubarrota. Je was also a brother at the Convento di Carmo in Lisbon and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. He now goes by the name of Saint Nuno of Saint Mary.

Walking around the exterior, you got a good feel of how large this place really was.

On each side of the entrance to the Nave of the Church of Santa Maria da Vitória are the apostles.

Once inside, the first thought is, “This church is huge.” It’s more than 260 feet long and more than 100 feet tall. It is quite impressive. as are the stained glass windows near the altar.

For more than 25 years the man who served as architect for the monastery was Mateo Fernandes. As a reward for his efforts, his tomb is located within the church.

Just off the nave is The Founder’s Chapel, which was built as a family pantheon in 1434 for King João I and the Avis Dynasty. The King and Queen Filipa de Lencastre’s magnificent tombs are located in the center of the chapel where they hold hands for eternity (we get a better view of another royal couple later).

There are, of course, tombs of other royals, but the one everyone gravitates to after the king and queen is the one of Henry The Navigator (on the right). I believe Prince João and his wife, Isabel, are the ones on the left.

We saw a lot of tombs on this trip.

Entering the Chapter House,  the first thing I spotted were two soldiers with weapons standing guard.

That’s because this room contains The Portuguese Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers of two unknown soldiers who were killed during World War I.

The stained glass window dates to 1508.

We stepped into The Royal Cloister also known as the Cloister of King João I.

The Basin served as a very important part of the monastery’s hydraulic system. This is also where washing of hands took place before dining (and this was