Tourist time after the build, Saturday, April 30, 2022

We said our goodbyes to Filipa and her son Gabriel, packed all of our luggage out of Domus and into the bus, and met up with our tour guide Arnaldo and his girl friend Sophia.  We headed across town to Bom Jesus do Monte or Good Jesus of the Mountain.

There are many beautiful gardens and great views of Braga below us.

We checked out the man made grotto.

We went into the main cathedral.

We then began our journey down the 581 steps.

The funicular was not working.

Looking back up at the stairs, we could see the optical illusion of the chalice.

We then headed to Barcelos for the Festival of the Cross.  When we visited two years ago, it was a sleepy town on a Saturday morning.  This time, the city was busy with a carnival, street vendors, musical performers and tourists.

We took a brief trip through the small cathedral built for the Miracle of the Cross in 1504.

Like many cities, Barcelos was once a walled city.  One of the towers still remains as a museum.  As it was two years ago, many beautiful works of art - this time it was ceramics made by a local artist.

From the top of the tower, we had beautiful views of the city.

There were groups of performers amidst the tourists.

We visited the archeological park to learn more about the history of the Barcelos.

Then we learned about the legend of the rooster, and how the rooster was taken as a symbol of the country by the dictator Salazar.

And we talked about the Way of Saint James, the pilgrims on the camino and Santiago de Compestela.

Then it was on to Viana do Costelo at the mouth of the Lima River and the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. We had a delightful lunch with wine and sangria, and then explored the town.

Then we had free time, some went to the fabric museum, and some of us had more sangria while enjoying the afternoon.

Our last stop was Parque Merendas on a hilltop on the north side of the city, with a chapel and great views of the city, river and Atlantic Ocean.

Then it was back to Porto and Moov Central Hotel.  We went across the plaza for our final team dinner at A Bicicleta restaurant in the Accor Hotel.

And so ends another trip to build homes with Fuller Center for Housing.  The group split up with some flying home that Saturday night, some on Sunday and later, and some went on to other places in Europe. As one of the team members put it, we are all so fortunate to have been born in the USA and to be able to do things like this.