Hi,
Yesterday, we dropped by Figueira da Foz again. This time, we went further along the Mondego River and found where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. There, we found an old fort that is now a sweet bar, an ‘Eye’ ferris-wheel thingy, and two lighthouses. Let me explain.
We parked in the huge parking lot where the Figueira Eye is located. The north end of the parking lot (near the Eye) was mostly empty. It is not officially tourism-season yet, and the day was a little cool and windy. But the south end of the parking lot did have a surprising amount of RVs (RVs are ‘autocarvanas’ in Portugues, in case you want to know what to search for to find a spot). I guess the early-birder tourists all bring their own lodging.
Anyway, we looked at the Eye and said, ‘maybe later’. We walked up the street to the crosswalk, passing some carnival rides. I didn’t pay much attention to them, so I cannot tell you what is there. But if you are interested, you can see if the video gives you more information.
We crossed the street to Forte de Santa Catarina da Figueira da Foz (44XM+6F Figueira da Foz, Portugal). It is not a huge fort, but I can only assume it was big enough to handle itself in a fight, because it looks to be in great shape. Like the other fort we visited in Vila do Conde, this fort comes with refreshments. There is a burger and beer place on the ground floor, with seating and restrooms there as well as seating and beautiful views up on the parapets. I would love to see the sunset from there.
After walking the parapets and oohing and aahing over the daylight view, we walked across the street and down the jetty to the Farolim Molhe Norte Porto da Figueira da Foz (44VC+8M Figueira da Foz, Portugal). I will warn you that it started raining while we were walking to the lighthouse, so if you watch the video you will see a couple of raindrops on the lens. But don’t worry, the wind quickly dries the lens when the rain stops.
As with the fort, this lighthouse is not exceptionally large. Maybe a couple of stories tall, but not much more. That doesn’t seem to bother the visitors, though. To be honest, I think most of them were there to fish, not to appreciate the lighthouse. Still, I bet the lighthouse rarely feels lonely. Fishing there seems to be good.
I’m not sure how to feel about the lighthouse that is on top of the fort. I’m sure the lighthouses can see each other. Do they feel competitive? Or is this a ‘Running Bear and Little White Dove’ situation? I’m not sure what I would prefer. I am not fond of competition, but impossible love is even worse. I hope this doesn’t keep me awake at night.
The walk back to the parking lot was long (1.4km per Google Maps) but not as bad as I had thought it would be. As we were approaching the car (Chris got there ahead of me), I was looking at the Eye (44XJ+GX Figueira da Foz, Portugal). Chris was wearing his GoPro harness and had taken a video of the fort and lighthouse, and now was his chance to get on the Eye and get great shots of Figueira da Foz along with the surrounding area. Except, as soon as he opened the back door of the car to put the dogs inside, the battery ran out on the GoPro. Great timing, right? Wrong. Oh, well, this means we will be returning to Figueira da Foz in the future.
Nola