Day 6 - June 10th is Portugal Day, a state holiday, so when we rode to the town of Alcobaça, we had it practically all to ourselves.  We visited the Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça, with a forest of unadorned 12th-century arches. The monastery was one of the richest estates in the country, with allegedly 999 monks holding Mass nonstop in shifts.

After a tour of the monastery we wandered around Alcobaça, enjoyed some of their fabulous desserts, and were serenaded by a roving opera singer.

Part Two of our day trip was to Nazaré, one of the most popular seaside resorts in the Silver Coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Fatima gave us a lesson on eating barnacles and Lupini beans. She bought them from a local vendor on the street, demonstrated how to eat them, and then we tried our hand at eating them.

The bus dropped us off at the highest point in the town overlooking the ocean. So after enjoying the delectable treats, we took the funicular down to the commercial area for lunch and shopping, and even a parade!

After our day trip to Alcobaça and Nazaré, we returned to Óbidos. Details about our medieval surprise ending to Day 6 are at the bottom of the previous page, Óbidos!