Trip Report: Peniche and Óbidos
From surf town to medieval walled city, and plenty in between
Hi everyone!
We’ve been keeping ourselves busy with travel this spring, and so I have another trip report for you - this time to the Silver Coast north of Lisbon:
Chasing waves in Peniche
Walking walls in Óbidos
Quick Hits
Hop on, let’s go!
Chasing waves in Peniche
Living in the middle of a decent-sized city, we miss the nature around Portland. I get a good amount of green in my life, since I bike out along the coast and into the hinterlands fairly often, but Hilary still yearns for it.
So when a long weekend opened up in late March, I booked us a car and an apartment in Peniche so we could soak in some natural beauty, and it paid off despite the lousy, rainy weather.
Peniche is a little spit of land about a 2.5-hour drive south of Porto. It’s home to a few famous surf beaches, including Super Tubos, so of course, it has all the elements of surf culture that sprout up in these types of places.
It also includes another little rock just to the north called Baleal, which is equally as dramatic. The Berlingas Islands just offshore are only reachable in season, so we will return for an extended visit when the weather is nicer.
The landscape is stunning, with rocks jutting up from the water, weathered by time, leaving dramatic, rugged formations. It’s also quite historic, with an old fort and a small town to wander around.
There’s not a lot going on in Peniche in the off season, but that’s fine with us. Our goal was to spend time hiking/driving around the peninsula and up along the coast to soak in the dramatic views and see some birds other than seagulls and pigeons (all that exists in Porto).
The rain showers came intermittently but often, and they were strong. So we toured around in the car, making a couple of loops of the peninsula, stopping frequently to take photos or wait out squalls. We soaked up many gorgeous views, saw plenty of cool birds (including some falcons), and bathed in the fresh sea air.
We drove up along the coast through Foz do Arelho to São Martinho do Porto, stopping at remote miradouros for stunning vistas. The red dirt cliffs capped with deep green vegetation drop dramatically into the ocean. A world away from our usual urban environment.
We spent some time kicking around old-town Peniche, enjoying a cute wine bar and an excellent vegan dinner at Mundano Baleal, a place Hilary enjoyed when she visited last year with her family.
Peniche is beautiful and well worth a visit if you’re in the area. It’s also a good base for a day trip to enjoy…
Walking medieval walls in Óbidos
Óbidos is on the tourist path in Portugal, and for good reason. It’s a very well-preserved medieval walled town within striking distance of Lisbon. An easy day trip, as evidenced by the legion of tour buses lining the parking areas and the hordes of tourists they regularly disgorged.
We lucked out on the day we visited - the rain clouds parted and we got full sun. The city was mobbed with people, a surprise in the off season, so we spent most of our time walking along the high stone walls surrounding the city.
This is classic Portugal. You can climb up on the walls and walk almost all the way around, and there are no safety rails. So you feel like you would have hundreds of years ago, looking out through the crenellations to the stunning views across the pastoral valleys that slope away from the hill town. All while trying not to fall off as you pass others walking the opposite way.
The city within the walls is quite small, with charming little back alleys and bustling main touristy thoroughfares. People still live in this town, but it feels like it’s about to tip over into the “just existing for tourism” state that many towns like this end up in.
Óbidos has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era, and has seen a succession of residents including Celts, Visigoths, Romans, Moors, and now Portuguese (not necessarily in that order). It’s steeped in history, and you can find all sorts of interesting food and things to see here.
Well worth a half day or longer.
Quick Hits
We’ve been keeping extremely busy these past couple of months. Here are a few highlights:
We popped over to London for a long weekend to attend a tequila and mezcal tasting event hosted by The Whiskey Exchange. I am a huge fan of agave spirits, so it was an excellent opportunity to taste a large variety while learning a lot from experts and brand reps via a series of masterclasses. We also spent time kicking around one of our favorite cities in the world, shopping, eating vegan food, and stopping now and again for a proper pint. Portugal doesn’t have many good pubs, so it’s always a pleasure to top up on that experience.
We squeezed in a 2-night trip to the Douro Valley wine country to do some touring and tasting. It’s an easy 2-hour train ride east up the river, with stunning views most of the way. We sipped local wines, toured an estate, and had a couple of great meals. Such a privilege to have a world-class wine destination a short, inexpensive train ride away.
About 4 weeks ago, Hilary got an emergency call to foster a mama cat and 3 newborn kittens who needed to be quickly removed from a bad situation. She rose to the occasion (as she does), converting our guest bedroom into a feline nursery. All three kittens have been growing strong thanks to Hilary’s attentive care, and mama cat just got spayed last Friday. The three little girls are turning into full-blown velociraptors, but they’re a barrel of fun. Anyone need an extra kitten/cat?
My friend Chris from Portland Food Adventures does high-end food tours around Europe, and brought a group on his first-ever Portugal tour last week. He asked me (as a former Portland expat and food scene guy) to host a tasca tour to kick it off. Tascas are little neighborhood joints that serve humble Portuguese food to working-class folks. I’m a huge fan of them. It was a fun challenge to find a place to show off truly local food from my new hometown. We included a stop for a francesinha and then artisanal gelato. Everyone had a great time.
Chris invited me to join the group for lunch cooked from the Bolhão market the next day, and then to attend a 2* Michelin dinner at Casa de Chá da Boa Nova the following evening. I haven’t eaten that well in a long time, and it was a great juxtaposition, going from back-alley dives to the fanciest restaurant in Porto in a 3-day stretch.
I’ve been playing padel with some buddies lately, and it has become a growing obsession. Padel is a cross between tennis and racquetball. It’s played on a glassed-in tennis court with hard paddles and tennis balls, and you play off the back and side walls. It’s fast and fun. I’m excited to dig into it.
What have you been up to since we last connected?
This week’s music - DARGZ finally dropped a full album that me think of you all. Enjoy it here: