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Batalha Cathedral
Bucaco, Leiria, Batalha & Alcobaca, Portugal
Bucaco Leaving Ponte de Lima in northern Portugal, we motored south down life’s main highway and headed for the center of the universe, which this day in the life was Leiria where we would stay while visiting 2 of Portugal’s most revered shrines.
On the way we made a detour to the Bucaco forest, a monastic domain in Portugal’s most famous and revered woods and the site of a battle that saw Napoleon’s first significant defeat in the Peninsular War. Also here in the arboretum of over 700 species of trees is the Hotel Palace do Bucaco. Built as a forest and hunting lodge for the Portuguese monarchy in the Emanulene style, on the site of an old Carmelite monastery the now hotel, being above our budget was a brief respite on life’s journey for these 2 not lost souls and we did submit to it’s charms for a bit of libation in 2 glasses of port.
I should have been forewarned by the comment that 1987 was a very good year, in which we concurred with our limited knowledge that it was, that this was a spendy bistro as well as a spendy hotel. 4400$00 escudos plus gratuity, around 25 bones U.S., made us happy that we didn’t do lunch. It was however quite enjoyable spending a few moments in the lap of luxury in the old hotel and reading for the first time in the English language newspaper that the republicans had suffered a humiliating defeat in the elections and that the Nuet Nuet would probably be falling on his sword post haste. Good news indeed! Leiria
Moving further on down the road we reached Leiria and found suitable habitation before the fall of light, ate a full meal at a local diner and slept well ere we journeyed further. Batalha
After arising and breakfasting at the pensao Residential Leorense, we were off to the first of 2 monuments of Portuguese past, the Mosteiro de Maria da Vitoria, better known as Batalha - the battle abby. With incredible Emanuline decoration it is a supreme achievement in Portuguese architecture.
Constructed between 1388 and 1434 Batalha is profusely ornate with peaks, acmes, pinnacles, flying buttresses and parapets lavishly constructed. We took photos of course but realized at the time that there is no way to convey the immense height of the interior and how dwarfed the sinners are in juxtaposition to these Gothic pillars. Humbled in the house of the lord indeed.
Alcobaca
The next of our 2 shrines for the day was Alcobaca, the Cistercian monastery founded in 1153. Now if I was to be a monk, this is where I should have wanted to do my monking. As well as being quite generous to the populace, whom they bestowed upon their knowledge of viniculture and the production of farm goods in general, these monkerly dudes were the max gourmands of their day. Feasting and swilling the grog, passing the bottle as freely as in Scotland and indulging in general gluttony, they passed their days wantonly assisting god in his plan for man.
Here at the monastery we viewed a kitchen capable of Queing up 6 whole steers at a time. Whoa dude, my kind of austerity. Pass the juice ta me Bruce. There was also a trout stream re-routed through the kitchen and ah, the price of the sin of gluttony, a portal through which, if a monk could not pass he would be made to fast, such an ugly word, till he could. Another tale in life's continuing saga by Raymond Ellstad
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