Saturday 3rd May 2025.
Tonight we are stopping on a free aire in Ponte de Lima, bridge over the River Lima. It’s a very historical bridge and dates back to an initial construction during Roman times the 1st century AD.
The weather after our arrival was somewhat mixed with rumbles of thunder and heavy showers and so our walk around was a little limited.
On the way to Ponte de Lima we stopped at Bom Jesus do Monte which is a catholic shrine high above the city of Braga, its name means Good Jesus of the Mount.
Work commenced on this sanctuary in 1722 and continued with all its additions until the mid 1800’s. In 1882 a water balance funicular was built to make the ascent easier, it was 4 euros each return.
The striking feature is the monumental Baroque staircase that climbs 116m.
The staircase (which we descended) has 583 steps, pilgrims were encouraged to mount the stairs on their knees experiencing the Scenes of the Passions of Christ with a station of the cross on each level where there was also a water fountain.
Here are a few extra photos.
A very spectacular place and well worth a visit.
We ended today with a very nice meal in a restaurant in town where the portions were very generous😊
This was the image of the church as we walked back to Homer.
taraabit 