The Serenity of Fatima

Last week, we started off this multi-part series on our recent Spanish holiday, a land tour starting off in Madrid on board our BMW X1 and BMW 320-D, luxury cars that were also the utmost in comfortable, safe driving in the long, fast highways of Spain.

From Madrid we were off to Portugal, going through the city of Salamanca first where we intended to have lunch. It was a two-hour drive across scenic freeways. Speed limit was almost always at 120 km/hr., so we caution the speed maniacs to strictly observe this as CCTV cameras abound in these highways and you could end up with very steep fines. Yes, they can trace your vehicle plate numbers.

Salamanca, which I only heard about from old movies, was quaint, and homey, reminiscent of old towns and friendly people, with many back alleys dotted with cafes. Like all of Spain, these cafes always had terrazas where people love to sit for lunch or dinner.  The lovely souvenir shops where we had some great finds like small pendulum clocks done in mosaic and costing only 15 Euros, the old brick and tile buildings, and many more all lend its small-town charm to Salamanca. Just remember to haggle with the friendly shopkeepers.

Another three-hour drive would bring us to Fatima, our first destination in Portugal where we stayed at the Hotel Santa Maria at the Rua Santo Antonio Fatima, one of the new hotels that have cropped up in the last year or so near the apparition site. Fatima was disconcertingly modern, the buildings stark with no distinctive architecture to speak of. These boutique hotels offer good rates at $265 for twin room rates and $365 for triple room rates, though the breakfast buffets suffered much in comparison to our Madrid experience where our triple sharing room was $198/night but with fantastic breakfast buffets. Various hotels advertized much cheaper rates starting from 60 Euros/night, but we didn’t want to venture there.

What stands out about Fatima though is the pervading air of serenity and stillness.  The streets are very, very clean, the city itself has a quiet, peaceful quality that can only come from a place noted for its pilgrimage site.  We purposely came here for a short pilgrimage to our Lady of Fatima in this erstwhile sleepy town that has been transformed into a modern city due to the numerous pilgrim tourists who descend here in the millions every year. The actual pilgrimage site is also stark and modern, the old church done quite poorly in concrete, with a modern tower bearing a huge cross. Inside, the crucifix is also done in modern art.

The second church is a small, open air one and we were fortunate to catch a mass here at 12 noon, with simple benches gathered around the simple altar.

The apparition site has been marked by an area that is paved in concrete, but solemnity is observed by the pilgrims and tourists who abound in Fatima. The souvenir shops selling nothing but religious articles stand side by side, so numerous you wonder how they all survive.  Small rosaries sell for two Euros each, while the small holy water bottles bearing the Fatima name sell for one Euro each. The priest blesses these religious items after each mass, so pilgrims just hold them out for the mass blessing.

We also sampled the Portuguese cuisine during our two nights there. We had a good lunch of fresh bacalao in tomato sauce and olive oil (watch out for fish bones), grilled pork cutlets that tasted like bacon, steak which was very tasty but which turned out too tough, some chorizos and bread. A feast enough for five hungry people and quite reasonable at 68 Euros. Converted, this comes out to over P4,000, but food is really quite pricey everywhere else in Europe.

Then we were off to explore the other sights of Portugal, starting off with Estoril which was 2-1/2 hours away from Fatima. This is a resort town that has all the elements of the playground of the rich and famous, with tourists sitting in open air cafes watching the sailboats drift nearby.  And with it comes steep prices too.  A light snack of one pizza, garlic bread and coffee set us back 42 Euros! Word of caution to the unsuspecting tourists: always ask first if the appetizing basket of garlic bread or plain crusty bread served with olive oil the waiter plunks down on your table is free before consuming it. The Estoril Casino, said to be the oldest in Europe is also one big entertainment area.

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, has retained its old world charm, from the old brick buildings downtown to the narrow roads leading to gated magnificent homes and tree-lined avenues.  It is clear that the prominent people of Portugal have chosen Lisbon as their domicile.

After the side tour to Portugal, it’s back to Spain for us.  Our first stop on this return trip – Seville, a four-hour drive from Lisbon. Our home for two days in Seville was the Hotel Vertice, another modern hotel from a well-known chain, and though both ambience and service were not above par, the location made up for the inadequacies. Twin room rates here are at $205 while triple room rates are at $290/night.

First on our list of must-sees was the Royal Palace, a magnificent complex indeed with vast grounds and walk bridges, and a man-made lake surrounding it where tourists could go boating. The palace itself is huge, the architecture remarkable. From the size of the palace alone, one can surmise the way royals back then lived, in splendor and utmost luxury.

?An unfortunate incident marred our stay in Seville.  While joining the hotel guests for the usual breakfast buffet, I hung my shoulder bag on my chair, my wife Babes and son Wee flanking me, and Rey and Evelyn seated across.  I remember a small commotion of a young mother with two very small kids who wanted to have breakfast 10 a.m. but were told by the restaurant manager that the buffet was already closed. Next thing I knew, my bag went missing, and with it some cash, my cell phone and passport. Obviously, these guys are very good at their nefarious craft, so keep your bags, cameras, etc. in front of you at all times. The police authorities, though, were very helpful. And so was our local Embassy lead by Ambassador Carlos Salinas. But then that’s another story, which we’ll touch on later in our series.

Next on our itinerary was Malaga, passing through Cadiz and Marbella.  Both are coastal cities, Cadiz known for its very clean public beaches.

Marbella has a scenic coastline and remains as a top tourist resort in Spain, with many sandy beaches. When we were there, a lot of topless females nonchalantly walked the beaches. We walked the scenic coastal boardwalk, and checked out the Plaza de Toros, Marbella’s famous bullring.  Bullfights are still a big thing in Marbella, though other cities like Barcelona have stopped supporting the sport. It was also in Marbella where I was fined 100 Euros by two hefty policemen for illegal parking. It was either pay up immediately, or wait for a tow truck and and pay 200 Euros at the police station. Another lesson learned: check out the public parkings in the area if you can’t find a vacant space.

Next week, we find ourselves in Malaga.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.

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