CORK, OCTOPI, AND OLD PLACES

Bye to Cascais today, and part of our route took us past the suburbs of Lisbon (above).  The cities in Portugal are almost entirely high rises, even out in the sticks. Our driver for the rest of the tour, Nelson, showed up with his MAN bus which, unfortunately, has the same backbreaker seats as did the MAN one throughout Spain.  No lumbar support at all.  Thankfully, I always take an inflatable lumbar pillow when I fly any distance, and it worked fine for the bus as well.  Why do they make seats this uncomfortable when it’s so easy to do it right?  The Mercedes bus we used the last couple of days had great seats.  At least this one has onboard wifi which actually works.  We’ll be running down the battery on the phone in no time.  We skipped dinner last night after our big (and late) lunch, so we doubled down this morning at breakfast.  Bags out at 7, on the bus at 8.  Everyone managed to make it.  Collette does a thing on most tours where everyone rotates their seating position each day so as to allow everyone a stint up front, in the middle, and at the rear.  This is usually done by the guide sticking name tags above your assigned seat for the day.  Our guide this time is a little scatterbrained, and tried to do it by having people remember where they had been, then moving two rows.  Are you kidding me?  With a bunch of 80-year olds?  Chaos.  As the bus had about four rows more than was needed for the group, we just set up shop in the last row and stayed put for the duration.

We are passing through a lot of countryside containing cork trees.  Actually, a cork tree is an oak tree, and they look much like our California oaks.

 

It takes 9 to 10 years for a cork tree to mature sufficiently for its first stripping.  Then, by law, you have to wait nine more years for the next time.  Only the bark is taken by making a vertical slice, then peeling the bark off in one huge sheet around the trunk (the chunk at right is NOT an example of this).  The bark is rather thin upon cutting, but it is later processed by being boiled in huge vats, which swells the cork up to five times the original thickness.  The trees are each marked with the date of harvest, so that they know when it’s time to go back and cut.

Our first stop today will be the so-called “museum city” of Evora, which features a 2nd century Roman temple dedicated to Diana.  It certainly is a startling sight rising out of a more modern town.  (Loni’s in the white ball cap at the left edge of the group.)  I’m always amazed that such delicate-looking structures are still standing after a couple of thousand years of weather and human abuse.

That dark wall outline to my left as I take the shot of the temple is a former convent that has been transformed into one of Portugal’s “pousadas,” or historic hotels.  All over Portugal you can stay in historic buildings that have been converted to hostelries.  They aren’t cheap, and often are not located very centrally.  I checked online, and this one has rooms and suites between 150-220E. 

The local cathedral dates from the early 1100’s and is built like a fortress, early Gothic with thick walls and little windows.  There was something going on inside, so we didn’t enter.

 

 

 

 

 

Our group, 43 strong, created quite a mob scene when we all moved en masse while listening to the guide through our earphones.  More than once we found ourselves blocking traffic as patient drivers waited for us to clear.  Hope we weren’t “ugly Americans.”  I guess since they depend upon tourism so much, the locals aren’t all that perturbed.  Did I mention earlier that they make just about everything out of cork?  This store was just a sample.

Praça do Giraldo is the main square of Evora, and it is hard to believe that this calm and pleasant setting was the scene for some of the region’s most violent historical events. The square was the focal point for the murderous 16th century Spanish Inquisitions and more significantly the location of the 1484 execution of the Duke of Braganza, the leading nobleman of his time and a pretender to the throne who was undone by his conspiratorial correspondence with Isabella. Today it’s a popular place for tourists to sit at the open air cafes and restaurants and embrace the relaxing ambience.  We, however, just moved on through, one of the drawbacks of being on “tour time.”

After seeing a couple more edifices, we were on our own for a couple of hours.  Loni and I started wandering and found a lovely park.  When I look at these places I despair at the wretched condition of most of our own parks.

After wandering about, it was time for lunch and we again tried to find something out of the main tourist areas.  We didn’t quite succeed, since that’s where most of the restaurants are.  We found Docas Gourmet, which had picture menus (always a plus!) and where for 33.70E for the two of us we had the usual bottled waters and olives, then started with a delicious octopus salad;  Loni then had a pasta salad with ham, carrots almonds, onions and raisins; I had octopus in a rice broth.  I loved the tender, beautifully done octopus.

Back on the bus, we headed further south to the ancient, walled city of Monaraz. 

Perched on the top of a hill, this small town is a “jewel in the crown” of the Alentejo, Portugal’s south. It is a small walled group of dwellings that carefully preserve most of their original charm by retaining the old exteriors and the original quaint slated streets (which, by the way, aren’t the most comfortable things to walk on).

In the above shot, you can see the church towers peeking above the roofs.  Here’s the church looking back this way.

This lane we’re looking down in the above pics is the principal street of the town.  There are very few shops, even fewer restaurants.  The place is eerily quiet.  This group managed to find one of the few eating spots, and what a great vista while you’re sipping your brew.

The 150 or so inhabitants of the town are said to take particular pride in maintaining its somewhat medieval atmosphere, with its few narrow streets that are in parts are quite steep as they fall away to the defending walls.

The town itself allegedly was originally fortified by the Knights Templar after it had been recovered from the Moors in 1167.  At one end of the town is the 13th Century castle.

From the castle walls are panoramic views over the plains of the Alentejo, the waters of the Alqueva Dam, and stretching towards the Spanish border.

The courtyard of the Keep of the Castle has been adapted for use as an occasional bullring.

Here’s the main entry/exit gate, which leads out to the view in the 2nd pic below.

Through the gate, which is at the opposite end of the village (from the castle), there is a beautiful view of the remaining fortress walls, part of the town, and the vast countryside.  It really was quite lovely to be on this bump in the plains with 360 degree views, and kudos to Collette for guiding us to this remote gem.

Our last stop of the day was the Santa Vitoria Winery where we had a tour of the facilities and some tasting.  My taster is worth nothing these days, so I relied on Loni’s verdict of “pleasant, but nothing remarkable.”  Well, that’s ok, as they were really inexpensive.  Loni’s at right in the big pic.

With the right lighting and sky, the winery itself is quite attractive.  The chick ain’t bad either.

The winery and vineyards are part of a larger 3,000 acre project that includes our hotel for the night, the Villa Gale Clube de Campo.  No high rise here, but rather a gorgeous resort of one story buildings set in the vineyards in the middle of nowhere.  I really love taking pictures at the right time of day!

Yeah, I think I’m gonna like staying here . . . until tomorrow morning.  Cue portentous music.