Day Three: Sacavem to Alverca

Today was twenty kilometers, 12 miles, finally getting out of the city and into the country.  It was a beautiful, hot sunny probably 80 degree day.  Jacques, Maria and I walked and finished at their apartment.  We carried lunch and plenty of water because first there factories and then country with no services until we found a cafe about 3 miles from Alverca.

Once we left the city behind, we walked along the Rio Trancao.  We are still close enough to the ocean that this river is affected by the tide.  You might be able to see the mud along the bank.

This is an abandoned farm that must have been very grand sometime in the past when it was in production.

Maria told me the story of this bridge.  It was meant to be a bypass for local traffic instead of using the very busy N-1.  Apparently, the plans were not well thought out because the bridge was finished but the roads on either side were never built.  It's difficult to see how it could have worked because both ends of the bridge end in hillsides.  Tunnels, anti-gravity levitation?

We finished today with several miles through tidal flats filled with birds and lush vegetation.

This is the church in Alverca.  It's unusual because it is new and modern.  The bell tower also seems to be a controversial issue because it is massive grey concrete.  Churches in Portugal are not as always obvious as they are in Spain.  Many churches here are square buidings with a gable roof and no bell tower and not even a name plate.