Evolutee Hotel

LOCATION The Berlenga Island is about 7 miles from the Peniche Port ; it is 1500 meters long and 800 meters wide, with a perimeter of 4000 meters and reaches 88 meters at its highest point and –30 meters at its lowest. It is a region of great interest for botanical specialists with several endemic species and species of limited distribution. A nesting spot for some species of ocean birds (such as the guillemot - Airo uria aalge- , a symbol of the reserve), and a passing point for several migratory species. A Maritime Reserve of great wild life richness, particularly ichthyology.

The Lagoon of Óbidos is the most extensive lagunar system in the coast of Portugal. It has an approximate area of 6.9 square kilometres and an average depth of two meters, with a quota that goes from half a meter to five meters. The Lagoon of Óbidos extends through two branches: Braço do Bom Sucesso towards West, and the Braço da Barrosa facing East. It also borders the municipality of Caldas da Rainha (North) with the Parish Councils of Foz do Arelho and Nadadouro, and the municipality of Óbidos (South) with the Parish Councils of Vau and Saint Maria. It has a maximum length of 6 kilometres and a width that varies from 1 and 1,5 km, with a NW-SW orientation. The Lagoon was actually much larger having reached, in earlier times, the Castle walls of Óbidos. The natural tendency of the Lagoon of Óbidos is to close its connection to the sea, become a swamp and eventually disappear. Also, with the human presence, silting has increased mainly due to the constant changes that have occurred in the lagoon and which have lead to the accumulation large sediment deposits. However, the population has tried to invert the situation by intervening through dredging, increasing the profundity of the lagoon.

The Wedding Town” was the traditional bridal gift of the kings of Portugal to their queens, a custom begun in 1282 by Dom Dinis. The town (a couple of hours from Lisbon by train) has hardly changed in appearance since then: its cobbled streets and steep staircases wind up to the ramparts, from where you can gaze across a countryside of windmills and vineyards. The parish church, Igreja de Santa Maria (in the central Praça), was chosen for the wedding of the ten-year-old child-king Afonso V and his eight-year-old cousin, Isabel, in 1444. It dates mainly from the Renaissance, though the interior is lined with seventeenth-century blue azulejos (or painted tiles) in a homely manner typical of Portuguese churches. The retable in a side chapel on the right-hand side was painted by Josefa de Obidos, one of the finest Portuguese painters and one of the few female artists afforded any reputation by art historians. One corner of the triangular fortifications is occupied by a massively towered Castle built by Dom Dinis which has been converted into a Pousada.

The town owes its name to the thermal spring that was much appreciated by Queen Dona Leonor, wife of the 15th century King Dom JoãoII, who had the opportunity to confirm the curative properties of these waters when they cured her of a wound that for a long time had not healed, although she had tried various treatments. As the waters were much in demand at the time by the local people, who bathed in them to cure their ailments, the Queen ordered a hospital to be built so that they could treat themselves in some comfort. Around the hospital a village was formed, which came to be known as "Caldas da Rainha" (The Queen`s Hot Springs). The town continued to grow, reaching its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th century, at a time when it was fashionable to take a holiday in a spa resort, and Caldas da Rainha was one of the places chosen by the nobility and aristocracy. During the Second World War, too, the town was chosen as a place of refuge by many foreigners fleeing from persecution by the Nazis.