Hi,
This week found us at another miradouro. Just like last week, this miradouro is close to Porto (north, as opposed to east, of the city) and looked out over a town below, but there the similarities diverged. Trono Romano do Miradouro de Santa Justa was a more natural scene, but this week’s Miradouro de São Bento das Peras (9PM6+VQ6, Tagilde, Portugal) was more landscaped. There were no ‘trails’ at São Bento das Peras. The grounds at the top of this mountain are manicured and the paths are paved so that anyone can get into the site. Unfortunately, one of the miradouros is upstairs, so there is no handicapped access to it. But the rest of the site is accessible. And the entire site is open to leashed dogs (outside, not inside the buildings). You can see Opal and Onyx having a grand time exploring in the video. It was a beautiful day, and the grounds were striking. We all enjoyed our visit. I am even thinking about researching what I saw there…and elsewhere. It seems that everywhere we go, we find large round boulders littering the land. I feel like I should find out why Portugal’s geology is so unique. Who knows? Maybe I will? If I do get around to it, I’ll let you know what I find.
That is the overview, our total experience, us looking at the site as a whole. However, there are many different pieces of the site. The miradouro is the reason we visited, and it was not a disappointment. It consisted of a pier sticking off the side of the mountain, giving us an unobstructed and sweeping view of the town below. As I mentioned earlier, there were stairs to get up to the viewpoint. Thankfully, this did not stop us.
In addition to that miradouro, there was another miradouro on the other side of the mountain, which had no stairs leading up to it. It, also, was a pier jutting out from the mountain, so the view was just as spectacular, without any accessibility issues.
The miradouros aside, the site has a church and a chapel (big church and a small church) along with a hermitage and an outdoor stage area. On a lower path from the parking area, there is a children’s playground and a park area. We did not go down that path, but we could hear folks playing music and having a great time. Something for everyone!
Nola