Ericeira

Yes! I know I said it was a 15 day cruise and this is day 15. It's been a journey. You will actually be treated to a couple more cruise blogs by land, because we spent some time along the Portuguese coast after our cruise so here is part one of that blog.

Land ahoy!

Our cruise ship docked in Lisbon in the morning of our 15th day of travel. We had had an incredible trip, with no sea days and a brand new exciting city at every single stop.

We dismbarked as early as we could (after a good breakfast of course) and got a taxi to Lisbon airport to get our hire car. It was a little bit out of the way, but after an hour or so of waiting we finally got our car and all our luggage loaded. My parents were with us too.

My mom's face! Oh no...oh no...oh no no no no no...

Unfortunately, only 5 minutes from the hire company my husband turned a corner too sharp (We drive on the opposite side of the road) and he clipped the pavement making a huge hole in the tire. Two...Hours...Later...The car tow finally got us to a place that could replace the tire. Who knew that these hire cars didn't come with spare tires!!!

We were eventually back on the road and headed for Ericeira. The area of Ericeira is know as the World Surf Reserve and my husband and dad were chomping at the bit to get into the water. We weren't able to bring boards along, but it was a good enough price to hire at Ribeira d'Ilhas beach.

First we checked in at our guest house called Ocean House and dropped off our luggage. We had booked 2 rooms next to each other on the upper level which had fantastic views and our own balconies. The booking included breakfast each morning with an incredible spread in the dining room below.

As soon as we were all settled in we got back in the car and headed directly to our closest beach, about a 2 min drive to Praiae de Ribeira d'Ilhas. ie. The Beach!

We had been conditioned to only having a few hours in each town, so the realisation that we had a few days here was refreshing.

I got a photo of the Ribeira Restaurant menu to keep for later. For us South Africans the prices were out of our league. What are the Europeans thoughts? Are these normal prices for the Portuguese coast and is it cheaper inland?

The guys surfed while my mom and I sat on the beach and read our books in the sunshine.

The very next morning we were back at the beach for a morning surf. The surf was good for a while and then the wind and tide turned bringing the guys back in. Luckily the surf shop allowed one to swap boards of the one chosen wasn't right.

Walking Ericeira

We drove down the coast for a couple Kilometres to the town of Ericeira. It is an old fishing village surrounded by beaches and good surf.

Our plan was to do our own walking tour and search for Pasteis de natas.

Ermida de São Sebastião da Ericeira

Just a few meters from the parking area we found Ermida de São Sebastião da Ericeira. This chapel looks quite unassuming from the outside but the inside is tiled from the floor to the domed roof.

It was quite incredible and much cooler inside than out. I love the tile detail. It reminded me of my trip to Porto a few years ago with the building facades completely tiled.

We headed back into the bright sunshine and walked down old cobbled roads only wide enough for one car. The buildings were mostly renovated with the odd derelict on a corner or hidden around a bend.

The architecture is simple with most buildings in the old town being double story simple shapes but with detailed window sills and either painted or tiled.

And then we found what we had been searching for, the genuine Portuguese pastries in a tiny cafe in the middle of the old town in its own little square, Maria's!

We sat down for the best coffee and Pasteis de Nata we had ever had. Beautiful soft and gooey custard held by crispy, almost burnt (But not!) flaky pastry.

Across the other side of the old neighbourhood we found the more commercial part of town with busy shops, tourist traps and expensive restaurants. We felt spoilt to have found the small and local Maria's and didn't feel the need to spends stacks of cash in these touristy restaurants.

Thew views of the ocean and beach below were incredible. We sat on benches and watched the surf for a while. As the afternoon waned the weather changed and we slowly walked back to find a grocery store for a few provisions. Before heading back to the guest house for the evening.

We got slightly lost walking the cobbled streets of the old town on the way back, but we knew that as long as we headed in the right direction we would get to the car. Soon we popped out the other side back at the chapel and our car.

Follow along tomorrow for our day trip up the coast to Santa Cruz! We didn't get a far as Nazare, although my husband would have loved that.

I feel like I have run out of words for today. Does anyone else ever feel like that?

//:# (!worldmappin 38.96915 lat -9.41992 long Mediterranean Cruise: Ericeira, World Surf Reserve Day 1 (15) d3scr)