Portugal – Braga – Part II (En)
On Friday morning we went by motorbike to see the Sameiro Sanctuary and the Bom Jesus do Monte Sanctuary, 15 minutes on the motorbike but all the way is uphill pretty steep and the motorbike started to do an awful noise and couldn’t keep going, so in the middle of a very steep road the motorbike broke down. We took the motorbike down to a place in the shade as it was really hot where we could call my insurance. They told me that they cover the tow truck but not the reparation of the motorbike, so we went to a McDonald’s which was there to give an address and we wait for the tow truck. The guy on the tow truck was really nice and took us back to the camping as my insurance will cover the repair in Spain, so we will take it to the mechanic in Marbella.
We arrived back at the camping really late so today Saturday finally we went to see the sanctuaries in Uber. Only 6 euros and the uber driver really nice who took us to a place really steep and going up the road backwards he switched off the car and the car keep going moving! Going up by itself! The theory is that there is a kind of magnet under the road which pull up everything. It was pretty cool! First, we went to see the Sameiro Sanctuary the highest point of Braga, at 566 metres of altitude. It is from the 19th century and was built over several decades, the religious complex comprises, among other elements, a venue for church mass, the Casa das Estampas, the Rector’s House, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the main church, the crypt and a wide monumental staircase, at the top of which are the monuments of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of Our Lady of the Conception. The place is stunning!
From there we went walking to Bom Jesus Sanctuary as it was all downhill, 20 minutes walking. We arrived at the top of the Sanctuary and we passed a very cute lake and a square with chapels and saint statues. When we arrived at the Sanctuary in the square there is a cave with stalagmites pretty cool. The sanctuary started being built in 1722, is a catholic pilgrim site with a Baroque stairway that climbs 116 meters. Each stairway row has chapels dedicated to the Via Crucis and each chapel is decorated with terra cotta sculptures depicting the Passion of Christ. The next segment of stairways is dedicated to the Five senses. Each sense (Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch, Taste) is represented by a different fountain. They told us that the couples that do all the stairs will be happily in love forever. We did go down all the stairs! until the entrance arch where an Australian was playing the didgeridoo. On 7 July 2019, the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
And tomorrow Sunday we are going to Porto, where our Portugueses friends have told us that we have to try the francesinha, a typical dish from there. And you can see all this in the next post!
