COVID-19 case numbers are spiking in several countries and several states. For my 'Georgia vs Portugal' graph, I've had to adjust the Y-axis again – after a shocking record week, Georgia's seven-day average is now 1927.0 new cases per day, and Portugal's is 360.0. Since I reported on these numbers at mid-month, Georgia is up from 777.4, a nearly one hundred and fifty percent increase (147.87%); Portugal is up from 301.7, a less than twenty percent increase (19.32%).
Strange then, that Portugal has seemed to be seen in Europe as a country that is also spiking. Recent erroneous reports have not helped. But there are increased case counts, and several civil parishes are back to 'calamity' status, while Greater Lisbon is back to 'contingency'. For me, more of the confusion comes from the translated terms that Portugal uses to label the conditions of the pandemic: 'alert', 'contingency', 'calamity', and 'emergency'.
Similar to the US, much of this recent spike is centered on the social activities of the younger population. In Portugal, this also involves the low-income and immigrant populations living just north and west of Lisbon.
Unfortunately, our train trip to Sintra on Sunday rolled right through some of those areas (Amadora, Massamá, Cacém, Rio de Mouro). We tried to be extra cautious about cleaning; luckily the change of status may have helped keep the day-trippers away, and the carriage was nearly empty.
cases: 10,329,918 global • 2,652,334 USA • 41,912 Portugal
deaths: 506,068 global • 128,557 USA • 1,568 Portugal
SUNDAY: We return to Sintra to visit the Quinta da Regaleira. Compared to the other palaces and castles in Sintra, Regaleira promises flowering gardens, grand old trees, as well as fascinating architecture and Manueline stonework – plus some unexpected extras.
Regaleira is about a half-hour walk west from the train station. We find the streets of Sintra abandoned and under repair – seems the city is using this time during the pandemic to deal with some re-paving. I remember the vistas around Sintra from hilltops and across valleys, but the views from the streets are collapsed by the scale of the contours. In contrast, Regaleira's approach is quite a splendid, processional presentation between grey parapets and green branches.
However, to reach the tourist entrance, we must walk around to the reverse side and up the hill a ways, as our necks crane skywards. It turns out our entrance is by the horse stables and coach house, with the sculpted heads of goats and cows adding to the farmyard fun. Unlike the Palácio da Pena, the colors comes from the flowers and the greenery, but like Pena, there's plenty to be had. The crenelated towers and walls are woven into the landscape, and views to the Palácio Nacional and the city below are revealed between the trees and battlements.
Many features are closed, like the Torre da Regaleira at the center of the park (click for map). We wander, generally trying to get ourselves uphill. After reading a few articles and watching a few travel blogs, my understanding is that you want to get to the Poço Iniciático (Initiation Well), go down to the bottom, through the Percurso Subterrâneo (caverns), walk across the stepping stones, then to the Capela before entering the Palácio.
Just above the Torre is the Portal dos Guardiães. We decide that the guardians are the two mini-godzilla-like figures holding the large conch shell. There is a lower wall with a small tower and zigurate, and an upper wall framed by two cylindrical towers and a kind of stone gazebo in the center. The right-hand tower houses a spiral stair, and there are gorgeous views to the Castelo dos Mouros from the upper level, as well as generous views down to Sintra.
I had read that there were nine 'turns' in the spiral, coinciding with the nine circles of Dante's Inferno, and was making refernece to the 'magic numbers' of the Templars (eight and one). But we do not turn more than four revolutions (maybe five, though the upper flight is closed off). I'm not sure of the math, though perhaps more is being read into the mystical nature of the architecture than exists. In any case, the Poço is completely wonderful.
At the bottom, the rustic stone turns into fancifully rough caverns, the Percurso Subterrâneo. Unfortunately, several of the pathways are blocked by more annoying orange traffic markers, though the inviting sound of rushing water can be heard beyond them. We are lead out to a shaggy rock opening with built-in benches and some stairs that lead down to the Patamar do Tenís (the old tennis courts). What an unexpected and unusual way to end such a mystical and magical journey.
I had read also, that the caverns would bring us to a place where we would 'walk on water' to complete the rite of initiation. We double back and find the small water feature with the stepping stones – they are also blocked off. The cobbles from the caves lead across the Lago da Cascata, up a set of stone steps, to a bridge just below a waterfall. I imagine being back in the caverns, following the sound of the cascade past the barricades, to the stepping stones, and then wonder why they are removed from the tour – surely the danger of virus shouldn't have required it.
Though we miss the experience of hopping over the rocks, it an enchanting part of the garden. The stairs continue up, then to a path lined with floating aganthus blooms, back to the Portal dos Guardiães (where earlier we had seen another exit from the Percurso Subterrâneo). This low approach, through the flower beds, paints a very pleasurable picture.
I can now put together, in my mind, a better sequence for the tunnels: from the entry at the megaliths, down the circles of the Inferno, into the dark of the caves, exit to the sunlight behind the Guardiães, down the flowering path, across the stepping stones at the waterfall, back into the caverns, finish at the benches, and return to the garden.
We press on through the old ferns and trees looking for the Gruta da Virgem (Grotto of the Virgin). At the very top of the park, we pass under a pair of rough stone arches, the path doubles back on itself, and we head downhill again. The place marked on the map as the Gruta is a kind of short, dim hole in the side of the hill – I suppose this is intended to mark the point of emergence. It is the only disappointment of the visit – at least there are no plastic orange cones.
Winding back downhill, we arrive at the Fonte da Regaleira, labelled as the Fonte da Abundáncia on our paper map. The Fonte is a remarkable, multi-colored mosaic, topped with obeliscos, and the impressive initials of Carvalho Monterio set below and above pairs of classical dolphins. Tall and grand, it looms over a teeny basin.
Past the Fonte, the Capela and the Palácio come into view among the leafy trunks and the hydrangeas. The chapel itself is a real beauty. The entrance is capped with what appears to be an Annunciation scene, with the Christ figure above, set in a woody, knotty wreath of budding flowers. To the left is a saint holding a small child and cross (Santo António), and to the right is a female figure staring upward and holding a substantial book (Santa Teresa d'Ávila).
Inside the Capela, in the stained glass panel on the left, a rider is shown on an upright horse, at the edge of a cliff; it must be the story of the Miracle of Nazaré, where the rider is saved by calling to the Virgin Mary (the rider, Dom Fuas, was thought to have been a Templar). In the altar is an image of the Crowned Virgin. On the floor sit marvelous carved wooden prayer seats, arranged on a mosaic of the Templar cross and an armillary sphere.
Between the Capela and the Palácio is an enormous stone bench with hunting scenes, flanked by storks.
The Palácio itself is compact by Sintra standards, but the ornament and detail are some of the best to be seen. The mosaic floors in the entry and the Sala da Caça (the Hunting Room) are simply breath-taking (I'm unsure if the SALVE offers welcome or salvation, or both). Opposite the Sala da Caça is the Sala da Renascença, a warm, dark-paneled room with an elaborate, octagonally-coffered ceiling. Today there is a pianist inside, playing his heart out, and filling the house and the entry plaza with some magnificent music.
The Sala da Musica, however, is on the opposite side of the stair hall, behind the Sala da Caça, where scenes of court life cover the walls. This leads to the Sala dos Reis (Room of the Kings), with a frieze of royal portraits between the brackets supporting the ceiling beams, and an exquisite iron pendant fixture. Then we proceed to the Sala do Fumo (the Smoking Room), with a stunning white stone fireplace and views out past the stonework of the street facade.
The way out is down the stairs to the loggia, with amazing views back to the gardens and the hills of Sintra, the Castelo dos Mouros and the Palácio da Pena crowning the edges. Leaves, florets, and twists of rope in the masonry mingle with wrought iron railings and grills.
At the far end of the loggia is a chunky, spikey stair tower leading up to the balcony, where the large female figure that centers the wide facade can be inspected up close: she is holding out her apron, perhaps collecting something, as three children peer down, surrounded by birds and other animals.
Strangely, we can also see that the joints of the rusticated blocks are actually painted, all the way up and across the building. It's an unexpected bit of artifice and may be the mark of architect Luigi Manini, who began his career designing set pieces for La Scala.
We make an unhurried exit, rambling through the statues and blossoms at the bottom of the park, lingering with the vistas framed at every turn.
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