Road Trip along the Algarve Coast

Tuesday, June 26, Road Trip along the Algarve Coast

We walk back to our hotel to recharge our phones and collect our clean laundry and take a taxi to Euro Rental Car. Art is miserable and anxious over my arrangement to rent a car for our drive south to the coast and he makes no “bones” about it.  Our intention is to spend the night in Salema and there is no direct public transportation. I reserved a car in advance and when I ask for a map, the woman behind the desk informs me that they have run out of maps. Unbelievable!. The man behind the counter assures us that the GPS will get us there easily and sets the GPS to English with our end destination, Salema. He also prints out Google map directions and we are on our way via countless roundabouts before we access the highway and Art begins to relax. The drive is to take us 3.5 hours and we expect to arrive at the coast around 8:00 P.M. The golden rolling hills are dotted with cork oaks and the countryside looks much like the stretch of California between King City and Santa Barbara. We see a few storks nesting in roosting platforms, telephone pole high along the highway. Our credit card is connected to a prepaid device attached to our windshield that  records the various tolls when we pass through. Every so often, we pass under an arch with multiple recording devices hanging down and our car beeps as another Euro or two are added to our bill. The GPS is excellent and eventually Art concedes that the drive is not so terrible after all.  We stop at designated rest stop to use the facilities and pick up snacks. It is not unlike any U.S.A. freeway rest stop. The countryside becomes steeper and is visually dramatic in the late afternoon light.

Salema Portugal

Salema Town

A peek of the beach

Navigating is a bit more complicated when we near the coast and Art is tiring from the drive and I wish that I could take over but he is to be the only driver on our contract. We head east toward Sagres, the furthest point of Europe and begin looking for the turn off to Salema. Although we make a few wrong turns, we are soon winding down toward the coast and arrive in Salema, a small sea side tourist town and fishing village. Art finds street parking and we walk a block to the village center and at the first hotel, inquire about a room. We are relived that there is availability and take the 3^rd floor, 80 Euro room. Although the hotel boasts 3 stars, the room has seen brighter days but we do have an ocean view and aside from sleeping we will spend little time here. We stow our luggage and head downstairs to explore the town and choose a restaurant for dinner. A soccer game is playing in the hotel bar so our foray outside is slightly delayed but we are soon walking along the peaceful waterfront where we have half a dozen restaurants to choose from. We choose one owned by a German couple where we sit and sip glasses of wine and wait for our meals.  Art orders seafood pasta and I choose a goat cheese salad. Our meals are reasonably good.  After dinner we stroll along the one cobble stone street of the town and return to our hotel for the night.

Wednesday, June 27^th. Sagre, The Furthest Point of Europe and onto Tavira. 

The included breakfast at our hotel is uninspiring. It is a beautiful sunny morning and we walk down to the harbor and turn right along the white sandy beach. The water is crystal clear but Atlantic Ocean cold as we walk along the edge of the gently lapping sea. The ocean is so still that we are tempted to go kayaking but other things are on our day’s agenda and we content ourselves with a peaceful beach walk along this pristine and dramatic beach. Yellow and orange sandstone cliffs rise dramatically above the beach. It is low tide and the slabs of rock that were underwater at high tide are carpeted with a lush green sea moss. The montage of colors; azure blue ocean, white sand, mossy green rocks and yellow and orange cliff faces make this beach one of the most dramatically beautiful ones I have had the privilege of making footprints on. 

Salema Beach

Salema Beach

Art, Salema Beach

Red cliffs and mossy rocks along Salema Beach

We walk to the end of the sandy crescent and retrace our path towards the slowly waking village. Although Salema used to be an active fishing village, there are now only half a dozen old salts still making their living fishing and trapping octopus. We walk towards the other end of the beach and watch a small tractor launch a fishing boat out to sea. Another fishing boat on the sand collects it’s nets with a mechanical clipping churn and I ask if I may take a photo? The weathered fisherman nods and I take a video of them rolling in their nets. Further up the beach rests another fishing boat but when I ask to take a photo the fisherman scowls and shakes his head. 

Octopus traps

Fishermen and their nets

Salema Town

We return to our hotel via the cobble stone shop lined street, check out and drive the 10 kilometers to Sagres, the most southwestern point of Europe. Parking at light house is jammed and souvenir and food wagons line the blustery path to the lighthouse. Nevertheless, the cliff side views are breathtakingly beautiful and we take full advantage of the photo ops before starting our drive back towards Tavira.

View from the Sagres lighthouse

Cliffs of Sagres

Studio Bongard at the Sagres lighthouse

Bongard fish sculpture

Art now has the hang of roundabouts and we are soon on the toll highway and the two hour drive to Tavira is easy. Although most of the drive is inland, we stop in Lagos for a marvelous fish lunch. 

The Algarve coastline

Lagos harbor

Fish restaurant in Lagos

We arrive in picturesque Tavira about 2:00 P.M, find street side parking and set off to the tourist office to find a room for the night. The day is insufferably hot and the woman at the IT tourist office is far from charming. She suggests a 4 star hotel and our inquiry about a few simpler hotels suggested in the Rick Steves guide book seems to displease her. She scrawls a few suggestions on a city map and we are off to investigate our options. All are close by but the first guest house is fully booked as well as one of the Rick Steves recommendation. We walk 10 minutes along the riverfront and come to the Marina Hotel which has a double river view room available for 80 Euros a night including breakfast. The room is lovely with a vintage tile bathroom and a balcony overlooking the river.

Tavira, a city built on two sides of the river

Our river front hotel

The view from our hotel balcony

We begin the Rick Steves Old City walk, stopping first in a Café so Art can watch a few minutes of the World Cup and to refresh with a sparkling orange drink and an espresso. The red tile roofs and secluded gardens of Tavira are lovely and we follow Rick’s suggested walk in the stifling heat of the afternoon. 

Rooftop view of Tavira

Tavira garden

The riverfront drive open to vehicles

Later tonight there will be music!

We come to a small plaza and I see the curtained entrance to a Fado Theatre, a recommended 30 minute experience that includes a 10 minute movie of the history of Fado and a 20 minute performance. We have fortuitously arrived 5 minutes before the 5:15 P.M. show and we pay the 8 Euros each and enter the theatre. (Art is not enthused and the guide book has the price listed at 5.5 Euros, not 8 so Art wears his pained expression throughout the tedious performance.) His sour mood does not lessen until we are back outside even with the post performance shot of port, included in the ticket price.  This is one of the few times where I feel that Rick Steves may have gotten it wrong and I am relieved the show is just 30 minutes long.

Fado Historia

Inside the Fado Historia

Tile rooftops of Avira

We return to our car and Art navigates the narrow streets to our hotel where we will have free parking until 9:00 A.M. tomorrow morning. Quick showers and our air conditioned room soon revive us and we head out to enjoy the evening. We sit for drinks at an outdoor café and as Art watches a few minutes of a soccer game, I find contentment in people watching and enjoying a glass of crisp Portuguese wine. It is still daylight when we cross the pedestrian bridge to search for a restaurant for dinner.

Pedestrian bridge in Tavira

Afternoon light in the old city

Restaurants and cafes

The outdoor tables at Aquasul Restaurant are full or reserved but we are fortunate that they have a single available table for 2 inside and we slip into our seats gratefully. The tuna Carpaccio with arugula is exceptional as is the chicken curry. We order individual glasses of wine and Art, anxious to sample more of the excellent food orders mushroom ravioli, a mistake of overindulgence. Dinner with 2 glasses of wine each is about 50 Euros or $60 including tax and tip. It is close to midnight by the time we climb the stairs to our hotel room.

Thursday, June 28^th – The Saga of the Rental Car Return - Tavira

Because I am not authorized to drive the rental car, Art must return it today in Faro. Although Faro is only about 30 miles away, we both know that it will take the better part of the morning for him to return it at the Faro airport and catch a bus back to Tavira. Art graciously agrees to do this alone while I stay in town and catch up on writing and some Marty Magic business. Art drives off around 9:30 A.M. and I sit at a simple café near our hotel and write for a couple of hours, sipping on sparkling water to stay hydrated. 

A blissful morning writing at a riverfront cafe. 

It’s another sweltering day and I want to find something cooler to wear. For a seasoned traveler, I have not packed appropriately. The jeans that the hotel laundered in Evora are now too tight to wear comfortably and I want to blame it on the hot water and dryer and not on the extra calories that I have been consuming. This heat calls for a cool dress and set out along the strip of shops adjacent to our hotel and buy a knee length blue cotton dress and a light straw hat. Art texts me to inform me that the rental car return process sucks but that he thinks he is on the right bus back and will arrive in Tavira at 2:25 P.M. I text a reply that I will meet him at the bus station, a short walk from our river front hotel. 

Secluded cafe along the river

Boat docking in Avira

Understandably, he is not in the best of moods when he returns but after recharging at our hotel, we set out to enjoy the late afternoon in Tavira. We stop briefly in the cool of an Irish pub to watch a few minutes of the World Cup and then wanter onto an upscale riverfront café for cool drinks and tidbits of calamari. Everything is very affordable, making cafe and bar hopping fun and financially painless.  A house wine costs about 2 Euros ($2.50) and the premium wines about twice that amount. Tax and tip are included in the prices so by California standards, café hopping is extremely affordable and delightful in this picturesque town of whitewashed buildings and narrow cobblestone streets. As the afternoon turns to evening, street musicians and performers stake their territory on the bridge and in the plazas.

A balmy Tavira evening

We choose an inviting rooftop restaurant for dinner but the meal is disappointing although the semi sweet white wine with the chameleon on the label is excellent. It is after 10:00 P.M. as we walk back towards our hotel and we hear dance music. There is music in the Zocalo near our hotel. Art fast walks his pack and my purse back to our room and returns shortly, hand outstretched and pulls me onto the square where we join the other dancers. Although Polka is not our dance, we find quite a few songs that we can dance to in the welcome cool of the evening. We are beginning to understand the afternoon ‘siesta.’ Business are open between 10:00 A.M. – 1:30 -2:00 P.M. They then close for several hours, opening again at 4:00 P.M. or 5:00 P.M. and remaining open until 9:00 P.M. or 10:00 P.M. Restaurants, bars and cafes are open until midnight. Young children play and dance with their parents late into the evening. It is simply too hot in the mid-day to do much more than ‘siesta.’

Stone Circles and the Chapel of Bones

Monday, June 25th - Lisbon to Evora

The train station we depart to Evora from is out by the Zoological Gardens and Art wishes to take the metro. Although the metro stop is not far and our luggage is minimal, it is still an effort to maneuver rolling suitcases over cobblestone streets and down into the depths of the metro. Art takes the brunt of it and eventually we pop up at the metro stop nearest to the train station. We are unnecessarily early and our train is somewhat delayed but by 5:30, we are onboard and on our way to Evora. Although we have assigned seats, our car is only half full and the passengers are taking the seating assignments loosely until a few stops along, an entire troupe of girl scouts board and we watch the harried leader find their assigned seats to contain her brood. Their appearance requires most of us onboard make way for them and to scurry into assigned seats.

We arrive in Evora slightly after 6:30 P.M. and take a taxi the short distance to our hotel just inside the old city walls. The taxi metering is different in Evora than in Lisbon but in spite of the higher rate, our 10 minute ride to our hotel is less than 6 Euros. Our hotel, the Albergaria do Calvarios is a beautiful property and almost too upscale for my tastes. We are graciously welcomed and offered drinks in their outdoor courtyard café bar but Art is anxious to watch the soccer game and does not want to do so in the enclosed bubble of our hotel. Our room is elegant and spacious with a view overlooking the red tile roofs of the old city. The modern marble bath has a bidet, which in addition for its intended purpose, I will appreciate for washing and soaking my tired feet after  a long day of walking cobble stone streets. There is no time to waste now however and after depositing our luggage we race along the old city streets to the town square in search of an outdoor café showing tonight’s World Cup game. 

Inside the Evora City Walls

Roof top view from our hotel window.

Courtyard of the Albergaria do Calvarios Hotel

Back street cafe, Evora

Evora city square

The center square cafes have no T.V. screen and we are directed to a side street where several overflowing cafes are showing the game. Although we stand for some minutes and ask about adding a table near the back, there is no seating. We find a sterile indoor café showing the game and each order a drink. Not being a sports fan, I position myself, back to the game and write this blog. At half time, Art wanders out to make reservations for dinner after the game however can’t find the intended restaurant in the maze of narrow back streets. It must be 9:30 when the game ends and we set out in search (again) for the Tasquinha do Oliveira Restaurant, highly recommended in Rick Steve’s guide book. The handsome but casually dressed Matridis is standing outside and when we ask if we can eat there tonight he replies, “I don’t know; are you hungry?” He explains that we don’t get to choose, that dinner is a set price of 25 Euros each and that it will include salad and starters, a main course with side dishes and include dessert. Wine is additional. We accept his challenge and are seated at the end of a table for 6. We already know that this restaurant is not for vegetarians and want to experience the local cuisine. As it turns out, had Art been able to find this restaurant during half time, the table for 6 was booked but the party didn’t show, so we are fortunate. 

Appetizers at Tasquinha do Oliveira Restaurant

Main course of roasted pork neck and potato

We ask the waiter his suggestions for wine and he brings us each ample pours of white wine to pair with the starters followed by glasses of red to accompany the main course. Bring it on! For starters, a perfectly dressed, fresh greens, tomato and tuna Carpaccio salad arrives. Hearty bread and crackers arrive momentarily accompanied by an antipasto platter of cheese fondue, an assortment of cheeses, slices of sausage and salami and three remarkable dipping sauces.  What sits before us is more than an ample meal and this is just the beginning. Everything is exceptional and we pace ourselves. A much younger couple is seated at the opposite end of our table for 6. They are from Florida and this is their first night of their honeymoon; each having arrived in Evora from different destinations earlier in the day. The main course is roasted pork neck, roasted potatoes and a spinach soufflé. I rarely eat meat but the melt in your mouth pork is delicious and the savory soufflé is rich and fluffy. We can make only a small dent in the main course and unfortunately,  because of our travel schedule we will not be able to take the leftovers home. We converse with the Floridian newlyweds while waiting for the dessert course to arrive. A mint, lemon and oregano sorbet cleans our palate followed by a sampling of chocolate desserts. The bill is 60 Euros, tip and tax included. The meal is an extraordinary experience.

Tuesday, June 26, Evora’s Megalithic Sites and the Chapel of Bones.

The included breakfast in our hotel is marvelous but after last night’s feast, I try to choose wisely. The fresh fruit salad is wonderful, as is the egg frittata. An array of out of the ordinary pastries tempts from the buffet but I resist their call and help myself to seconds on the fruit and sip the strong cappuccino. We pass a bag of dirty laundry to reception that will be washed during our archeological excursion to the stone circles.  Mario arrives at 10:00 A.M. and another couple also staying at this hotel and surprisingly from Lost Gatos, California are on our small tour of 6. We climb into the comfortable mini bus with Mario and a driver and pick up a couple from Macau in the center of town.

View of the Megalithic Stone Circle

Megalithic Stones

Explanation of the Stones

Art taking shade in the sweltering Evora heat

Marty and the Stones

Mario has his masters in archeology and is articulate, personable and extremely knowledgeable. Our first stop on the Megalithic tour is an amazing stone circle site. Unlike Stonehenge, there are no velvet ropes to separate us from the magic of this extraordinary site. This is wonderful for us but terrible for the preservation of the site.

Our next stop requires a trek through farmer’s fields where hemlock, Queen Ann’s lace and thistles grow wild. I am struck by the beauty of the wild flowers and interested to see hemlock first hand and to learn the visual difference in identifying hemlock versus Queen Ann’s Lace. Cattle graze in the surrounding fields and the acorns from the plentiful cork oaks are processed and used as feed for the livestock. We come to a lone standing megalithic stone, part of the stone circle we visited earlier but downhill from the cluster of stones and to the West. There is another similar stone in the same position downhill and to the East that we do not have time to visit.

Cork Oak Trees

Thistle

Single Megalithic Stone

Flat topped Queen Ann's Lace

Our final stop is the site of a burial mound. We drive along a dirt road past groves of cork oaks and park, walking a short uphill path to the burial site. Mario explains that this site has been carelessly excavated with explosives prior to understanding the importance of such a discovery. A circle of huge slabs of stone form a cave like crypt where 12 -15 bodies were buried. These monumental stones were then topped by a larger slab that has been slid away and lies cracked at the top of the site. This cap stone is about 20 feet across. The site was previously covered by dirt to form an invisible mound in the rolling landscape.

Burial Crypt 

Inside the burial crypt

Inadequate cover of the site.

Broken capstone from the Crypt

Mario drops us off in the town center of Evora. We pay him the 25 Euros each for the remarkable tour and although tipping is not expected in Portugal Art passes him 5 Euros, saying “because we are Americans.” 

Roman Temple of Diana

It is 1:00 P.M. and we quickly choose a sidewalk café and order tuna salads to somewhat compensate for last night’s over indulgence. We walk to the Roman Temple of Diana, visit the Roman Cathedral and climb to it’s roof top for a view of Evora. 

Roof top of the Roman Cathedral

Roof top of the Roman Cathedral

Art ontop of the roof

Roof top of the Roman Cathedral

The Cathedral Cloisters

The interior of the Cathedral

The highlight of Evora proper is a visit the Chapel of Bones. It was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan Friar who wanted those who visited to contemplate that life is transitory.  The Chapel is remarkably macabre and beautiful. 

Panorama of the Chapel of Bones - Evora Portugal

The walls and pillars of the interior are lined with human bones. Skulls decorate the archways and leg bones form the columns. Every inch of the interior is paved with bones. 

Mummified bones

Illuminated skulls and bones

Single wall of bones in the Chapel of Bones

Skull and femur columns

Skull and bone walls

Skulls decorate the arched ceilings