Off on the bus again by 8.30am into Sintra. First stop was a coffee in The Cafe Paris with its tunnels beneath! Then walked to The Quinta da Regaleira (Palace) and it's gardens. David was in his element as it features heavily in his Knights Templar book. The gardens (forest of angels) was unbelievable and so magical-moss covered granite rocks,ferns,waterfalls,grottos and labyrinths that run under the estate. Without going into too many details that anyone could find out themselves - the area of Sintra has always been described as a sacred mountain, again as at Sagres and Evora, it is proved that there are major concentrations of magnetism and intersecting ley lines in these locations. Hence, why the Knights Templars took possession of them. This Palace and gardens were built by Carvalho Monteiro, a Freemason, who wanted to carry on the lineage of Freemason owners of the original property that dates back to the 1100's. Everywhere we went here there were signs relating to Freemasonry. The 2 initiation wells, one which was 27m deep into the mountain, are connected to each other by a labyrinth of tunnels with chambers large enough to accommodate someone in "total sensory deprivation to meditate in the peace & quiet and darkness of the womb to the point where the ego is dissolved and only the soul remains" it is so hard to describe what this man was trying to create (more of a connection to the natural world as The Knights Templars had) but you knew that most people walking around were oblivious to this (we've all lost that connection I'm afraid). On a lighter note after 5 hours in this wonderful place we took the hop on hop off bus on a 2 hour tour out to the coast at Cabo de Roca (where sadly 2 people lost their lives yesterday by falling over the edge!) also stopped at a large surf beach where we watched the waves crash over a hotel swimming pool! We were glad we didn't stop at these places on Sunday in Priscilla as I think we would have struggled to park or even move. Stunning drive back through national park that David could enjoy as he wasn't driving. Back into Sintra and then got on our bus back to Santra Susana and Priscilla. Had a meal in the bar next to us and used the wifi. 2 days is not really enough for this area of Sintra and would recommend it to anyone. 2 very big 11 hour days but SO worth it.
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