Sintra’s ancient Moorish castle

Saturday started out sunny but we could see the forecasted rainy dark clouds in the distance. Our destination for the day was the Moorish Castle perched on the high hill overlooking Sintra. We took the local bus up the steep, narrow and winding road. It was amazing the bus could make it around some of the hairpin turns and up the steep cobblestone road. Ian was glad he wasn't driving.

The castle is a thousand years old and is in perfect shape since it was restored when the nearby Pena Palace was built.

We got our workout for the day climbing all the steep stone steps. And Ian got his fill of heights as we traversed the ramparts.

We got alternatively soaked and then baked as the rain and sun played hide and seek. Everytime we took off our rain gear, we'd take a few steps and another deluge would start.

Later we took the train back to Lisbon. Just by luck Pam’s friend Nancy Templeton was vacationing in Lisbon too. We arranged to meet for dinner and had fun catching up.