Moon Hill Mysteries
October 4–7, 2007
Queluz National Palace: main square...
... and meeting point, where the last participants arrived at dawn
The encounter begun with a visit to Palácio Nacional de Queluz...
Inside the Palace
The Palace Gardens
The Palace Gardens
Close to lunch time, we moved to Portela de Sintra
Lunch finished, time to go up to Quinta da Regaleira
The portrayed Palace and Quinta da Regaleira, are from the beginnings of 20th century, started by a owner's dream, António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro and from the project responsible architect, the italian Luigi Manini
One of the guides of the Quinta, gave a light history introduction,about Regaleira, to one of the groups CampingCar Portugal
Each room, new particularities to discover
A pause, in the so called Patamar dos Deuses (Gods' Platform)
Group II hears with attention, guide's explanation
Different group, equal attention
Going by "Lago dos Cisnes" (Swans lake)
Chapel of Santíssima Trindade (Holy Trinity)
Guardian entrance and Celestial Terrace
The nine stories high spiral staircase of the Ititiation Well...
... which leads to the bottom, where the templar star is at
Omnipresent, the Moorish Castle, conquered by King Dom Afonso Henriques, in 1147
The rest of the day was reverved for shopping...
... and visiting the historical centre
Palácio Nacional da Pena
Saturday morning we went to see Palácio Nacional da Pena and its gardens
As the pinnacle of portuguese romantic architecture, Palácio da Pena was erected in 1840 by Dom Fernando, over the ruins of an old convent.
Palácio da Pena
Palácio da Pena
Preamble, to what we were going to see
The second group follows our ancestors' footsteps at the Pena bulk walls
The Moorish Castle
Around lunch time, buses brought us back to our motorhomes
Afternoon, we went to visit Convento dos Capuchos (A Monastic order) built in 1560 by Dom Álvaro de Castro
Everybody head to the Convent!
Once again, history is introduced by one of the guides
Entrance to the Convent
Pathway to the Convent
Convento dos Capuchos
Also known as Convento de Santa Cruz da Cortiça ( Cork ) its minor monks' cells and chapel, are covered by cork, their only "luxury", as a protection against cold and humidity
Cell inside Convento dos Capuchos
At the end of the day, we moved to Volta do Duche for parking and overnight stay
Group photo, just before dinner
Sunday morning was entirely dedicated to the beautiful Sintra Village Palace
Sintra Village Palace
Sintra Village Palace
A very happy group awaits patiently their turn to enter
The Paço Real (Royal Palace), became a summer retreat, preferred by the court and Portuguese royalty, until 1880
A curious ceiling of one of the rooms
The typical Portuguese "azulejos"
Chapel ceiling in oak from 14th century
Placed underneath large conical chimneys of the Palace, kitchens, utensils and roast spits, are seen
Praia das Maçãs (Apple beach), was the chosen local for parking and lunch
Praia das Maçãs
Cabo da Roca Cliffs
The motorhome column drive to Cabo da Roca assisted by a Police scout car set the ending of this V CampingCar Portugal Meeting. Every participant got their presence certificate and we made a final group photo
Cabo da Roca: the westernmost point of the European continent