The cafe con leches at €1.10 each were very good indeed, so we had two as we waited for a train to Lisbon. The WiFi worked and the toilet was clean.
We were on the return leg of our somewhat unexpected journey and we sat outside the cafe in the warm breeze for over an hour enjoying the day.
I thought I was in a one - no horse - town, that could have been in the USA's Wild West centuries ago; it looked as how I imagined Tombstone.
What was much more important than the good coffees was the kindness of the staff who ordered a taxi for us on our way to Fàtima, as truth is we were lost.
The lady in the cafe rang a few places and advised the taxi would be 5 minutes. It was nearer 20 minutes and stupid as it sounds the whole time we waited a taxi driver was parked up beside us reading a newspaper. He told us to go into the cafe and order a taxi. We half expected him to take us on foot of the phone call but he was disinterested.
The taxi that eventually did arrive - a 30 year old Mercedes - almost got us to Fatima city and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima, which was our intended destination but it broke down on the journey leaving us to walk the last mile from a Burger-king.
We had arrived here in Caxarias by accident that derived from an assumption that was wrong. Ever thus.
We had booked a train on - line from Lisbon to Fatima. We expected, not surprisingly, to arrive in the city of Fatima. I guess a fair assumption but only on arrival at 'Fatima' (there were two Fatima stops but neither was Fatima city) we found that the nearest train station in Fátima is Caxarias station.
So we were actually about 18 kilometres northeast with no decent bus service. Apparently the bus is there about 9am to go to Fàtima and returns at 4pm.
The taxis to/from Caxarias cost us as much as the train return Lisbon to Fàtima which was mis sold to us and we met others similarly duped.
We had booked a train whose real destination was Caxarias but that destination is not shown on the ticket. A grand day out. read more