17.12.2016 - Santigo do Cacem

With a clear blue sky, we took a look from the motorhome over the lagoon to the Atlantic (see photo). Then we continued our way north. 37 km to Sinnes, a city with a container port, marina and fishing port. The city has a long maritime tradition and is the birthplace of Vasko da Gama. Of course, we visited the remains of the fortress where he was born. :-) From up there, we had a unique view over the harbor and the sea.

We took a walk through the city and then headed to our next destination, Santiago do Cacem. The city is located about 30 km inland. Due to a construction site and blocked roads, we ended up in the very narrow streets of the city center and once again rejoiced that we don't have a big motorhome. We were very impressed by the remains of a Roman settlement. It's incredible how skillful and imaginative the Romans were when it came to construction.

We postponed the visit to the Templar Castle until tomorrow. Today, I had enough of the old buildings.

We found a parking space for the night at the swimming pool parking lot.

By the way, the landscape has changed significantly here. From the rather barren nature in the southwest, we now have lush pine forests and peeled cork oaks. There are also a lot fewer palm trees here than on the Algarve coast.