Tomar to Fatima and on to Batalha

     On the 13th of each month, people in the millions come and we stopped in for a few moments to check it out. It is supposedly the site, in the early 1900s, of the visitation of the Virgin Mary to 3 children, with subsequent appearances each month for several months, each time the children receiving a prophecy.
     You cannot come to Portugal without seeing the influence of the various religions that have made their mark here, Celts,Visigoths, Moors, Christians.
     Deciding earlier that we were going to find a room, we picked out a whitewashed residencial with geranium window boxes right on the praca with the Monastery only to find it was full. Told to wait, the Dona could be seen running across the praca to return with another woman, in traditional Portuguese dress. There in turn we were lead to another woman who ran a tourist store and we were offered a room.
     At first we thought that we were going to end up in someone's house, and had been quoted the same price as the cost of the room at the first place, €30. Upon arrival however it was it´s own place, with room for our bikes, two balconies that overlooked another praca, bedroom, bath, living room, a full apartment! We got her name and number for the future, and we sank into the lap of luxury ~

     The evening was spent on the Praca at a Prosciutto bar, hams hung from the ceiling and slices of cured prosciutto piled high on rustic bread, the blue azulejo tiled room filled with local men and huge mugs of Sagres beer passed around. A good way to relax!
     Life is pretty good sleeping on the Big Agnes sleeping pad in the tent but beds still can`t be beat! And in room suites win hands down!
     Our favorite however is the tomb of Henry the Navigator, responsible for the Age of Discovery. Not that it was more outstanding than any other tomb but of who he was, he´s just our personal wandering favorite. After an easy morning of viewing and coffees, we were off to Alcobaca.