The Pena Palace, an exquisitely designed and constructed ornament adorning an entire mountain top. Again...we were awestruck at the design and man-years that produced this work of art. The left-hand photo shows the view from a balcony outside the Telescope Room containing multiple forms of star-gazing and distance-viewing instruments. The right-hand photo captures a menacing creature of gigantic proportions...ornate cement work around a bay window that is mounted over an equally creative archway leading through the Palace to the balconies overlooking the valley below.
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Here we are, for those who have requested photos of us...Roy and I (Carol) on the Moorish Castle wall overlooking the more modern side of Sintra, while Brendan is captured blending into the architecture.
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We were awestruck by the views from the Moorish Castle. This composite photo uses the camera's zoom to peer down upon a magical castle at Quinta da Regaleira (about 2 miles away) and the Pena Palace on the next mountaintop (also about 2 miles.) Our next stop would be Pena Palace, to which we walked/climbed (except for Brendan and Kenney, who clung to the back of a shuttle...Roy and I beat them to the top.)
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The left side of the composite photo shows two ancient wells that draw water from a cistern below...and the right hand side shows the actual cistern from a small opening in the end at a lower landing...HUGE...a structurally significant example of substantial construction. It is probably 12 feet wide and 25 feet deep...very impressive! There are two people walking behind the wells, upper center, to give perspective.
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Roy, Carol, Brendan, and Kenney from neighboring schooner, headed north to Sintra for a day of exploring. First stop, the Moorish Castle... an awesome experience...beautifully maintained and a step-climbers dream...acres of steps, walls to climb on, stunning views over the town and down to the sea. We spent a long time examining every crevass, including a remarkable ancient cistern that still holds a great deal of water today.
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When the Ericsson Round-the-World Racing Yacht headed out to sea, we happened to be in the dinghy, so we gave chase for a little photo op while she hoisted her sails. Later we saw her doing PR beside a huge tent and discovered that Ericsson, who sponsors the boat, sends their employees, a few at a time, to take a "working" ride, taking the helm and operating the grinders. At the end of the day they were kind enough to give us a tour. The composite shows her under sail, at dockside with Roy and Carol, Roy talking to Jeremy (boat builder,) and Ken, skipper of the schooner near us.
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