In the North of Portugal is a beautiful place called Viana do Castelo. Located on the 'Portuguese Way' path, an alternative to the Camino de Santiago, it is situated at the mouth of the Lima river.
It is here that we found one of the best attractions we have ever seen in Portugal - the Gil Eannes hospital ship.
This huge vessel was built in Viano do Castelo, and as you can see from the image below (taken from the official exhibition) it is quite a ship. In 1955, her mission was to support the Portuguese cod fishing fleet that operated in the seas off the coast of Newfoundland and Greenland.
Her main purpose was to provide hospital assistance to all the fishermen and ships' crews, but the Gil Eannes was also a flagship, a post ship, a tug, and an ice breaker, guaranteeing food supplies, nets, bait and fuel for the fishing ships. Having ceased activity in 1984, she went to Lisbon and was sold as scrap in 1997. In 1998, she underwent an extensive refit and the shipyard in Viana do Castelo, and was placed on display in the commercial dock.
It is possible to visit the galley, engine room, doctor's office and treatment rooms. There is an entire floor dedicated to surgery rooms; doctors cabins, medical storage rooms. It is quite incredible to think of the vessel at sea for months on end with operations going on while they chartered perilous waters.
The kitchens and food storage areas were also great to visit - there are old menus so you can see exactly the sort of 'posh grub' that would come out of these incredible kitchens in the middle of the sea. There was even a room full of wine barrels - now that's our kind of hospital ship!
Viana do Castelo itself is also worth a visit. It is a perfect stop for a night or two (we did it on our way to the Peneda Gerês National Park) if you are travelling in the North of Portugal. Whatever you do, don't miss a visit to this fantastic visitor attraction - and don't underestimate how big the ship is either...it took us a good 90 minutes to view the whole exhibition!
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