On June 16, we visited Bom Jesus do Monte, a beautiful Catholic Sanctuario in the hills northeast of Braga. You will see this beautiful hilltop spot with its dramatic staircase in almost any Braga tourist brochure.
We made plans to take the bus, which left from around the corner from our apartment. We meant to take the bus that went to the bottom of the historical funicular – 140 years old this year, one of the oldest in Europe, and one of very few to run on water power. If we had taken the bus #2, that would have gotten us there, but a bus #2 never came and finally a #90 came, which also went to Bom Jesus. We hopped on and went on a winding ride through hilly suburbs. At the end of route, there were signs to Bom Jesus so we started walking. It was less than a mile walk and we ended up at the top, at the sanctuary and gardens. This matters because the famous view of this landmark is from the bottom with its remarkable zig-zag stairway, lined with statues and stations of the cross.
The bells started ringing shortly after we arrived. They rang the quarter hour, then started playing beautiful, lively tunes that sounded like traditional Portuguese folk music. There were formal gardens with boxwood and lots of flowers on the terrace. There was also a naturalistic grotto, where a turtle swam. Near the grotto we ran into the British couple that was on the historical tour of Braga from yesterday.
We heard singing and found there was a service in the sanctuary’s small cathedral. The singing of the congregation was gentle and beautifully resonant. The people here know their songs and liturgy and do participate.
In the front of the cathedral behind the altar, there was a realistic, life-size diorama of Christ and the two thieves on the crosses on a dark brown hill, with Roman soldiers hanging about and the women crying. It looked so unusual, reminding me of a natural history museum. Around the diorama, the front of the church was ornate. The back of the church was more simple, covered with tiles in an abstract pattern that looked rather modern but was probably supposed to be a rosy-tan marble.
We climbed higher yet to a park above the sanctuary. We found a tiny artificial pond with rowboats, a snack shop, and a children’s playground. It seemed that there was more park to discover, but we headed back down to another snack bar. It started raining just as we sat down on the terrace, but the cafe umbrella was good enough, even though the waiter thought we were a bit odd to want to eat outside. It was still raining when we finished, alas. David had his raincoat, but Pam, the optimist, had swapped out her raincoat for something else before we left – maybe a water bottle. So since the rain was still heavy, she bought an umbrella at the gift shop. Of course, the rain stopped about 15 minutes later.
There were 3 or 4 low-key hotels around the sanctuary, with matching architecture. We also discovered the top of the funicular, which looked a bit like a toy train made of wood. We started down the stairs, which were quite impressive, with statues of saints, apostles, and old testament figures, as well as stations of the cross as dioramas in little shelters. After we descended the zig-zag stairs, the path fanned out under the shelter of trees, with several sequences of eight-step stairs per turn. At every hairpin turn, there was a saint and a separate statue for one of the Roman gods.
We found the bus stop for bus number 2 at the bottom, so we could complete our plan in reverse. Pam likes climbing, but David likes descending, so he won out!