KNOWING THE SHRINE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA - PORTUGAL

fatimadsousa (48)in #life • 7 years ago

Hello friends of Steemit today I want to tell you about my experience when I met the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal, to whom I owe my name and of whom we are very devoted in my family. I hope you enjoy it.

Going to the Sanctuary is very simple and there are many ways to go, from Lisbon where I was it is possible to pay for a tour that includes from the explanations in the place, transfers and in some cases refreshments and food; You can also rent a car and activate the GPS, they will arrive without problem or even by train, even if the station in Fatima is a bit far from the Sanctuary.

In my case, we decided to go by bus, it is a short trip of approximately 1 hour with a cost of 18 euros round trip, although you can also get promotions at different times of the year. To leave from Lisbon to Fatima you will only have to go to the metro station "Sete Rios" inside the blue line of the Lisbon metro, once you have arrived in Sete Rios you will be able to go out and find the bus station very close, and only you will have to buy the ticket and wait to leave, the station is big and buses depart regularly not only to Fatima but to the rest of Portugal, they can even travel by bus to Spain or France. Is not it amazing? .

The buses are very comfortable and equipped with everything to make the trip a pleasant experience, Wi-Fi, individual lights for each seat and a bathroom at the end of the bus are part of the characteristics of these buses. The trip is very nice, it is possible to appreciate beautiful fields as we travel along a perfectly flat highway with their respective road signs, the good thing about doing this bus trip is that the Fatima station is a few meters away from the Sanctuary so you could visit it , spend the day there and return, there are also many options for accommodation at different prices depending on your needs, the same with food, we decided to stay to sleep to enjoy the whole place more comfortably.

Arriving in Fatima I could saw that it is small and what abounds are the hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops, it is a very nice and quiet place, in the autumn time in which I went the weather is divine during the day and cold during the night, so do not forget your jackets if you plan to visit Fatima in these months.

The Sanctuary is not just a beautiful church NO!, it is a huge space that includes chapels, a basilica, a church, beautiful gardens and a beautiful giant plaza where many devotees arrive on their knees to the small chapel where the image of the Virgin, a chapel that was made exactly where it appeared in 1919 to the three little shepherds. It is an incredible experience to be there, it made me shudder and it made me want to cry, there is such a beautiful energy that it is not easy to put it into words.

There are tourists from all over the world, that's why in the Chapel of the Apparitions they give mass all day in different languages: Portuguese, English, French, Italian, etc; There is also a space dedicated to offerings, mainly candles of all shapes, sizes and prices, but what caught my attention is that on this site there is no person charging the candles or the different offerings, they have the price marked and a slot to introduce the cost of what it is taking, it was amazing to see that people did and paid exactly what they were taking, I loved that and I think that honesty should exist everywhere and in all areas.

In the Basilica it is possible to appreciate more deeply the great work of architecture that they have done, it is a beautiful Basilica on the outside and inside where the curious, tourists and devotees abound, from all countries and languages, here they also rest the remains of the Portuguese shepherds who saw the Virgin in Cova de Iria in 1919.

Fatima is a must for all who travel to Portugal, may visit the Sanctuary throughout the year and is open to the public all day including the night, this year was special for all visitors as it is the commemoration of 100 years of the appearance of the Virgin.