Walking in the footsteps of royalty in Mafra and Ericeira

We have now spent 3 days here on this Aire in the pretty little town of Mafra.  And a quick update, following on from my last blog we now have electric!  It’s survival of the fittest on this Aire, as one motorhome moves on there is a race to move out of the car park opposite the Aire into the dedicated spots.  We were lucky to nab a spot early Sunday morning.

Sonny, the motorhome on full charge for free at Mafra!

The little town of Mafra is totally dominated by just one building - the vast monastery/ palace, which King João V (the wealthiest and most extravagant of all Portuguese monarchs) had built.  Work begun in 1717 and was initially intended for just 13 Franciscan Friars.  But as his wealth increased with gold that poured into the coffers from Brazil, João V and his architect increased their plans to include a massive basilica, two royal wings ad monastery to house 300 monks.  Build Symmetrically, the work took 13 years to complete and is an impressive piece of Italian Baroque architecture.

A couple of Brits had told us that when you get your ticket if you say you are ‘seniors’ you can get in for half price and you don’t have to show any ID.  Now, I don’t mind lying to say I am younger but to say I am 65 - 9 years older than I am, I don’t feel happy about!  Mel, however had no problem asking for 2 seniors tickets and we both got in for half price - he clearly looked older than his age of 60 years!  On Sunday’s Portuguese residents get free access into the palace, so I didn’t feel that bad about getting in for half price!

It took us nearly 2 hours to walk around the royal quarters, parts of the monastery (parts of which are now used by the military, so are restricted) and basilica.  It covers a area of 4 hectares, with 1,260 rooms, 5,200 doorways, 2,500 windows and 2 immense bell towers each containing over 50 bells.

Monastery Infirmary

Music Room

The most shocking room was the ‘trophy room’ with its furniture (and even its chandeliers) constructed out of antlers and upholstered in deerskin.

The most magnificent room for us was the Rococo library, with its tiled marble floor.  The wooden book shelves house around 36,000 leather-bound volumes of books covering medicine, history, geography, philosophy, theology, Law, mathematics and literature, from 14th -19th century.  The area is cordoned off to protect the books – some very rare editions and apparently kept free of insect infestation by a colony of tiny bats that live in the eaves.

Nearly all the rooms are reconstructed, as João V had to flee to Brazil when the French advanced and he took nearly all of the furniture and valuables with him.

Basilica 

The next day, we took a scooter ride 8kms to Ericeira.  A pretty village perched 30 metres above a sandy beach and the whole town is virtually pedestrianised. It’s a favourite beach retreat for locals and windsurfers and was the final refuge of Portugal's last monarch, Dom Manuel II.

The sea was certainly crashing against those rocks today  this fisherman must have got a good soaking!

Typical pedestrionised street of Ericeira

The little chapel of Sant Antonio (patron saint of Portuguese fishermen)

A great mural down near the beach

The threat of French invasions under Napoleon into Portugal at the start of the 19^th century led to the engineering of the Lines of Torres Vedras, a fortified circuit that protected Lisbon from the Bonaparte’s troops.  152 military structures were designed on the boundary of Lisbon and Mafra was one of the main links.

Along the road from Mafra to Ericeira is one such fortress – Zambujal Fort, with its protective moat, connected by a tunnel and manned by 250 men, which we stumbled across.

A great view across the countryside and the road we travelled from Ericeira

The plan is to move on tomorrow to Peniche - Portugal’s westernmost point.  But, tomorrow is another day and plans in our little motorhome can easily change!

Sally x