Before leaving Fátima this morning, a few of us took a quick tour of the overabundance of souvenir shops in the village, and I was able to take a picture of the wax body parts people bring to the shrine to pray for someone with a particular medical problem e.g. breast cancer, brain tumor, etc. I am afraid I have succumbed to the shopping temptations and I am coming home with an extra bag stuffed full of souvenirs and food items.

When I say overabundance I’m really saying that the area has unfortunately been overcommercialized. It reminded me so much of the area around Niagara Falls, if you’ve visited there before. There’s a lot of religious “kitsch” here! I did buy a rather nice Nativity set here.

We had three different visits today before returning to Lisbon, starting with Batalha, (meaning “battle”) which I enjoyed very much. This is a late Gothic cathedral which was 250 years in the making and was never finished, as you could see by the unfinished chapels (there aren’t any roofs—they open to the blue sky above).

Netflix is shooting a movie here tomorrow (“Damsel”) and the film crew was already setting up their equipment. They attached fake pomegranates to the tree in the courtyard!

We next stopped at Nazaré, a place famous for surfing the highest “monster” waves in the world. A spectacular view of the beach from the Sitio, high above the village offers grandstand views of surfing competitions. On the bus we watched a couple of videos about the daredevil surfers who challenge these monster waves — our tour director called them “crazies!” They wear wetsuits which inflate and allow them to surface quickly, because sometimes the waves can keep the surfers under the water for up to 10 minutes. Definitely the special wetsuits save lives.

Up there also was a tiny church (Capela de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré) in which the interior was covered with hand painted tile work.

Today is our first truly hot day. We’ve been extremely lucky on this trip to have had beautiful, cool weather (mid 70s F) so only this afternoon was uncomfortable.

Our final stop was in Obidos, an ancient walled city with charming architecture. Our guide, Pedro, gave us the last of the “surprises” — a chocolate cup filled with cherry brandy.

It was only a couple of days ago that I learned that the iPhone can identify any plant or flower merely by taking a picture of it, so I’m having fun identifying the flowers I’ve photographed.

Tonight is our farewell dinner and we will say goodbye to our new friends. This has been an excellent trip—outstanding 4-star hotels, a comfortable and safe coach ride with a competent driver, lots of interesting sightseeing, new and delicous foods, but most of all, a thoroughly knowledgeable and experienced tour guide, Pedro Pinto, who answered all our questions patiently and with a great sense of humor. Who can forget his instructions starting with “My family…” and getting off the coach, “Jump 1-2-3!”

It’s been a fantastic trip! Thanks, Trafalgar!