Sunday 29th September

Headed west towards Estramoz one of the so called marble towns where they have so much of the stuff it is a local utility item, forget concrete we’ve got marble.

Estramoz, aka marble town

Even the castle's made of marble

Our next destination along the road was Portalegre famous for its 7000 coloured modern take on tapestries, unfortunately this down at heel unwelcoming place with parking difficulties went into the bad idea’s box of places to visit. So we ended up moving on to Marvao a crag top town with a, you guessed it, Moorish castle. If sweeping landscape vistas are your thing then this place is not to be missed. The castle ramparts also have a  free camper stop with a view that is just priceless.  So this is where we spent the night watching the pending storm approaching. N39,556 W7,37667.

Marvao and the approaching storm

Marvao's whitewashed houses

Storm trooper Linda on the battlements, umbrella at the ready

Saturday 28th September

A second look at Evora took us to the Capel dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) just to remind us that no one gets out of here alive. It was made by Franciscan monks in the 17th Century to meditate on the human condition,  the sign over the entrance reads “ We bones await yours”.

Always look on the bright side

Evora beach umbrella

Aquaduct house

Friday 27th September

Rain stopped play today, here we are in the most arid part of Portugal and it’s raining. They went to a great deal of trouble to get water into this town by  building a 8.5km aquaduct lovingly named the Aqueduto da Agua de Prata in the 1530’s.

Aqueduto da Agua de Prata

The planned trip to the megaliths was a washout so plan B took us to Monsaraz a hilltop fortress town set above the surrounding planes and the largest reservoir in Europe. The vast 360 degree panorama from the town encompasses vistas to the horizon. The town is a gem and due to the inclement weather we had the run of the place which otherwise would have been swarming with tourists.

Monsaraz Fortress

Streetscape

The land of point

View with a shade

The castle, the town and views of the Alqueva reservoir in the distance

The bonus of the day is that the ramparts of the town have a superb free camper stop with a million dollar view at N 38.44250. W 7.37944.

Wednesday 25th September

We headed west towards Setubal via the 34km drive through the national Parque da Arrabida stopping  at Portinho along the way, the mountain was obscured by clouds for most of the journey.

Portinho obscured by clouds

Along the road to Setubal

Cactus and Troia Peninsular at the mouth of the Rio Sado

The best thing about Setubal was the road heading out of town to our overnight camp  in the woods on the north side of the national park at Picheleiros.

26th September

Today’s destination was Evora, Portugal’s best preserved medieval town, aka the museum city, yet another UNESCO world heritage site.

Evora main square

Roman remains

Just down the road is Almendres Cromlech one of the many local important Neolithic Dolmen sites. So people have enjoyed living here for quite a while, The Romans, Moors and Visigoths have all left their mark here, however today the Alentejo region is one of the poorest in Europe.

Tues 24 September

A side trip to Wim Wenders’ wild landscape location of Cabo Espichel.

The cliffs

Edgey Linda

Cabo church with pilgrim rooms

Meringue house

Monday 23 September

We headed South towards the Serra da Arrabida  mountain ridge, our destination for the day is Sesimbra. 50 years ago this place was a quiet fishing village complete with south facing beach and azure sea, edged with the dramatic sea cliffs of the Serra.

Beach front

Seagulls follow the trawler

Unfortunately the unspoilt beauty of this scenic place has been changed dramatically by tourism and development on a massive scale, the landscape is now scarred with unfinished concrete skeletons of projects that have been halted by the current economic woes of Portugal.

The good

The bad

and the ugly

However the town is still a very active fishing port which continues to support a close knit local community.  

Isaia’s, very, very good local seafood

Isaia's crew:

The women folk

The Boss

The cook

The fish preparer

Today’s highlight was the unexpected visit of a school of dolphins that swam into the harbour then promptly headed back out to sea.

Dolphins leaving the harbour

Sunday 22nd September

We crossed the Rio Tejo via that look alike golden gate bridge to meet up with Jane and Mike on the Costa da Caparica for a day at the beach.

Surf sisters

Beach hut and glassy waves

More nice waves

Sunday crowds in late September

Saturday 21st September

After a couple of days of relaxation we decided to head to Lisbon via the local bus and train, it proved to be a great day out with a tram ride on the famous No 28 to the top of the hill and a walk back down through the labyrinth of the Alfama lanes for a late lunch at the much acclaimed Pois Cafe.

Lisbon’s Golden gate bridge across the Rio Tejo

Praca do Comercio

The hill climbing Tram 28

Roof top view from Miradouro da Graca

Miradouro de Santa Luzia

Se Cathedral

Pois Cafe

Thursday 19th September

We’ve spent the last couple of days at Praia do Guincho just above Cabo Raso where the coast road turns east away from the Atlantic towards Lisbon. Today was a walkabout in the tourist packed town of Cascais with its palm fringed waterfront and south facing beaches.

Town beach

Fishermen's huts

It was a joyful experience to be bathed in warm sunshine without the cold persistent Atlantic winds that have chilled us for the last week or so. This strip of coast towards Estoril is affectionately known as the Portuguese Riviera now with the eco-cred of 15km of cycle lanes plus free bike hire, how good is that!

Harbourside amble

Campsite diving