Monthly Archives: October 2010

Autumn in Ericeira

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In Ericeira summer is over. Autumn has arrived, but we still have sunny days and warm temperatures. How beautiful Ericeira is late afternoon. We look out to sea and in the distance we can see ” Cabo da Roca”, the most westerly point inPortugal. It appears to be saying ” I am always here”. At low tide when the sea goes out and the waves  become smaller, we are invited to enter in to the water.   Of course surfers are always ready to accept this invitation. The Lizandro  river winds its way down to the sea. Clean, crystalline water bringing with it some fresh water eels, the main ingredient of “ensopada”a dish  much appreciated by local people and visitors, who come to local restaurants in search of a good meal. Along the banks of the river the foliage of the plants and bushes change  colour to the beautiful golds and ambers typical of the season.
All the seasons of the year have their own special charm. In Ericeira, all are well defined. In the summer the beaches are full of holiday-makers, the majority children, whose paediatritians have recommended Ericeira, since the high level of ozone in the air is beneficial to bone and teeth developement. In the narrow paved streets we can see and hear tourists.The coffee-shops are full of people ,who enjoy a good cup of coffee and a cake, chosen from the great variety on offer here, made by the excellent pastry cooks, who have given Ericeira its good name in this field. To spend the summer in Ericeira is undoubtedly an unforgettable experience. In the winter the beauty of the rough seas and waves, sometimes as high as 7 metres, breaking on the rocks make us loose  our sights in the infinite space of the ocean. Spring brings us the return of the swallows, warm weather, an indication of times to come, and with them the arrival of the first visitors. We see them arrive at the week-ends, in search of the much missed sun and sea. And autumn? What does autumn bring us?. The beauty of nature`s colours, falling leaves, the smell of roast chestnuts, swallows flying south, sweet ,soft tones of music coming from the ocean, the chirping of the sea-gulls combined  with the sound of the waves form a lovely lullaby. Well! Walking along the sea-front commonly known as “Furnas”, sitting outside coffee bars drinking coffee or even in the local belvedere called”Sala das Visitas”we cannot but be amazed by the beautiful scenery. Nature is wonderful! We should appreciate, feel and take advantage of everything it has to offer.  A balsam, to help us forget the frequent mentionings of “CRISIS” that all too often spoil our days.

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Santa Marta

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Continuing our strolls through Ericeira, we started out in Santa Marta. We entered the park and sat to have a coffee and take in the beautiful views and have a chat about times gone by.

We spoke of our youth and how we would come to the park to dance in the afternoons. We remembered the fun we had choosing our favourite music from the juke-box.

We remember our children, playing on the swings, later roller-skating, always watched over by the park guard “Ti Xico”,  as he was known, mini-golf, tennis and 5 a side football championships organized by groups of local teenagers. Such a lot to remember. I could almost write a book about my memories of Santa Marta.  In this delightful place we remember parties, courtships,  tea-times and card games not forgetting the  fauna and different species of birds. Sebastião a long missed friend worked in the bar and after him another great friend Gabriel continued in his place.
Santa Marta, long before being a recreational area was a Spa famous for its medicinal waters. This attracted many visitors to Ericeira and the fame and prestige were a great impulse to the tourist industry in the area and on a national scale. ÁGUAS TERMAIS
In 1898 Sr. António Lopes Costa, the owner of  all the land , where the park is now situated, realised that after drinking the water from his well his stomach problems disappeared and his rheumatism was greatly improved. He decided to to apply for a licence and was granted the concession to operate “Águas Mineromedicinais de Santa Marta”.

The fame of Ericeira as a place where many illnesses could be treated or cured soon spread throughout Portugal. Many people from Lisbon came to treat their health problems. The first doctor to work there was the municipal doctor Dr. Raul de Andrade,who  later founded the local hospital, “Hospital da Santa Casa da Misericórdia”. 30 years later Dr António Bento Franco, a devoted historian, advanced with the idea that in the XVI century there had been cures ,which the people associated with their devotion to a certain image of the  saint called Saúde, in the chapel of Santa Marta.
In 1960 the spa was closed and the park was opened in its place. What a pity! I would really like to have a spa here , but still….
In 2007 the park was once again remodelled, following a prize winning project of local born architect Sr Carlos Rui. We can spend a pleasant afternoon in the park and if we like surf the net,since free use of the internet is available to all visitors. Just take your lap-top and you can work while taking in the beautiful surroundings. Great!!
( part of this text taken from Memória das Águas by Sebastião Diniz )

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Walking through Ericeira

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The other day I told you about our stroll along the sea from north of St Sebastião down to the street Raul Duarte Gomes. Today I am going to tell you how we continued our walk. We took the ramp to Praia da Baleia. (The Whale Beach, so called because one day a whale  stranded there), there were children swimming and diving from their inflatable dinghy boats. A little further, as it was low tide, there were people fishing with a stemlike rod. We sat down on the low wall to watch the infinite and appreciate the views. We walked on along the beach up the Rivoti ramp and when we arrived at the road we continued north. We arrived at the panoramic belvedere, where we stopped for a while. We turned to enter the town via street Dr. Eduardo Burnay, – a great friend of Ericeira and where he lived part of his life, – the pedestrian street leading to “Jogo da Bola”, the main square also called Square of the Republic. Besides taking in all the local commerce, the good restaurants, the cafés, (there was a delicious smell of cakes from Casa do Gama), we cannot help but look at the ground. Made entirely of portuguese paving stones, all white with designs in black stones. Beautiful. The designs are related to the sea,  like this caravelle which you can see in the phtograph. In Jogo da Bola we sat on the old wooden benches to have a rest in the shade of the planetrees. There were people watching their children playing and the pigeons were begging to be hand fed. The terraces of the Café Central were full of tourists enjoying good coffee with good cakes called “Marés da Ericeira”. We walked on to street 5 de Outubro, thus named because the 5th of October is a date that Ericeira is proud to remember. On that day the last of the Portuguese royal family fled into exile from here, King Dom Manuel II, his mother Queen Dona Amélia and his grandmother Dona Maria Pia. At the end of this street stands the parish church of Ericeira, Church St Peter, where we ended our tour, but not before stopping to admire the pillory and to visit the Museum in the Square of Misericordia Church. We liked the Museum very much, and some other day I will tell you about it, and about the church of Misericordia and St Peter’s. In every song about Ericeira, besides the salty fragrance of the ocean there is always something worth seeing.

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