PT RR - Surprise Group * May '22

 Tiago is noo the new host of this RR of the Portuguese speaking community and the surprise groups are back. 

These cards are all very different from each other but they have one thing in common, they are all the north of Portugal.

fotografia: Oswaldo Santos

 

I've been to Braga several times, I've visited this sanctuary, I bought several postcards of it but this is the first time I receive a postcard from there and post it here. Nídia sent it because she saw that I like churches. Let's find outa little more about the Bom Jesus Sanctuary, classified as a World Heritage Site since 2019.

Located on the slopes of Mount Espinho, overlooking the city of Braga in the north of Portugal, this cultural landscape evokes Christian Jerusalem, recreating a sacred mount crowned with a church. The sanctuary was developed over a period of more than 600 years, primarily in a Baroque style, and illustrates a European tradition of creating Sacri Monti (sacred mountains), promoted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in the 16th century, in reaction to the Protestant Reformation. The Bom Jesus ensemble is centred on a Via Crucis that leads up the western slope of the mount. It includes a series of chapels that house sculptures evoking the Passion of Christ, as well as fountains, allegorical sculptures and formal gardens. The Via Crucis culminates at the church, which was built between 1784 and 1811. The granite buildings have whitewashed plaster façades, framed by exposed stonework. The celebrated Stairway of the Five Senses, with its walls, steps, fountains, statues and other ornamental elements, is the most emblematic Baroque work within the property. They are framed by lush woodland and embraced by a picturesque park that, masterfully set on the rugged hill, highly contributes to the landscape value of the ensemble. - in: https://whc.unesco.org 

This is a beautiful postcard from Gerês, but the first thing I thought when I received it was that all these photos would made beautiful postcards. In April Tiago was on vacation and toured Gerês from one end to the other.

The Peneda-Gerês National Park, also known simply as Gerês, is a national park located in northern Portugal. Created on 8 May 1971, it is the oldest protected area and the only national park in Portugal. It covers an area of 695.93 km2 (268.70 sq mi), occupying the Districts of Viana do Castelo, Braga, and Vila Real and bordering the Spanish Baixa Limia – Serra do Xurés natural park to the north, with which forms the UNESCO biosphere reserve of Gerês-Xurés. - in: wikipédia

This is a mountainous region, composed mainly of granite, with points of high altitude where the effects of the latest glaciation can be seen. Deep and embedded valleys support a dense hydrographic network.
Peneda-Gerês National Park, is also rich historical and cultural heritage (megalithic necropolis, traces of romanization, castles, traditional granaries with corncobs, ovens, mills, dams, terraces, etc.) and visitors can learn more about it exploring the mountain villages and seeing the presence of well-preserved traditional architecture sets. - in: https://natural.pt

fotografia: Oswaldo Santos

Very famous since the beginning of the 20th century, Moledo Beach is frequented by families of politicians, public figures and also Eric, a well-known postcrosser! 

In an area of great natural beauty, surrounded by the Camarido protected area, this Beach is somewhat windy with strong waves reaching shore here creating good year round surfing conditions and windsurfing during the summer.

In front of Moledo Beach is a small rocky island that can be visited by boat. On the island is the Ínsua Fortress, built in the 15th century as a convent before, in the 17th and 18th centuries undergoing conversion work that transformed it into a coastal defence post. - in: https://www.visitportugal.com