Last bit on São Filipe Fortress/Castle

Even here it seems I must make photos of the sunrise - this image is supposed to be a complete silhouette but the blog software lightens the photo a bit - not what I wanted but still okay.
A brief word about the Fortress/Castle thing. The terms tend to be used without a clear distinction. This place seems to be referred to here as the "Castle", but it clearly was a fortress, a military structure designed to defend the harbour. One definition of a "castle" is "a large building occupied by a ruler and fortified against attack". Though this structure was built on the direction of the king and he was apparently present when building began, I have seen nothing to suggest that he actually took up residency here. So, I would think fortress rather than castle.

Remember our arrival trip up the long tunnel with the light at the end? This is an image on the way down with a beautiful tile pattern around the arch and the light shining from the entrance doorway into what one might refer to as the "foyer". Somehow I doubt that the tiles around the arch were part of the original fortress but maybe they were.

Now we go back up again and at the upper end of the tunnel that opens near the  terrace, remember?

At the left is the entry to the chapel mentioned in the brief history of the fortress provided in the first post about the São Filipe Fortress/Castle. The chapel is decorated on every inch of space - except the altar - with painted tiles, some of which apparently depict the life of St. Phillip.

In an earlier post I mentioned that, while much of the original structure had been polished up to make it safe and tidy, some areas were left in a fairly weathered and worn condition, somewhat closer to what they had been like after 400 plus years. This stairway to the level above the terrace has the appearance of age that has not seen much renovation. Both the wall and steps are pretty rough and the rise and run of the steps varies substantially so you have to pay close attention when negotiating this avenue up to the top.

And once at the upper level you can slip into one of the corner turrets and from inside this one, through the small entry way, you can catch a glimpse of the inn and terrace area with the unique umbrellas which you will see more of in this post than you likely want!

These umbrellas, which you have seen in earlier posts, are great for shading the lunch area on the terrace, appreciated anytime but no doubt especially in the heat of the summer. But, in addition to providing shade, they have an aesthetic, interesting and appealing arrangement of shapes and curved outlines including the light patterns on the stone where the sun slips through (which you can see in the photo above)

and they are also interesting, at least to me, from above, as in this view from our room window

or this one with the tug boat far down on the water of the Sado river harbour and the tiny boat in the distance - also taken from our room window. This photo was made with a zoom lens so, because zooms compress distances, the tug boat appears much closer than it actually is.

And the last one, I promise, with the early morning sun creating an interesting outline of the umbrellas and a soft glow of light on the harbour through the "window" between the umbrellas and the terrace wall.

You've seen a view a bit like this one - looking southward toward the ocean and the town of Troia, but the flowers in the foreground in this view are, for me, a nice touch of colour and softness - a contrast to the grey stone of the fortress wall. You can also see a bit of the second wall, mentioned in an earlier post, at the base of the outer wall of the fortress. And, in the upper right, you may catch sight of the frequently displayed umbrellas.

And there is the door to our room to which we say good bye and good bye to Pousada de São Filipe, once a Fortress, perhaps in recent times, a Castle.
By the way, São in front of a name means Saint - so, in this case in English, Saint Philip.