Staying on the West coast of Portugal we head to a Camperstop set in a secluded bay south of Nazaire where we stayed a couple of days, wandering around the nearby village or heading out on our bikes to explore. Having spent quite a lot of time in Spain we find Portugal very different even though they are such close neighbours. The Portuguese people are very much quieter (although still plenty of barking dogs!) they are also warmer and kinder, although its a rather rundown country there are plenty of historic monuments and places to visit. Our next city being a fine example - Evora, an inland city enroute back towards Spain had some really interesting monuments,
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| The Roman temple not far from the cathedral Evora |
the most striking being the remains of a Roman temple of Diana right in the middle of the historic centre. The nearby Gothic cathedral rises majestically from the highest point in the city its fairytale windows giving a rather surreal feeling to the facade. The town's main square was filled with cafes and bars and a great place to people watch. Wandering around the narrow cobbled streets we came across the chapel of bones - decorated from floor to ceiling with skulls and over 5000 bones, the inscription on entering reads "We, the bones that are here await yours"
Hopefully not yet.....
With a free Aire quite close to the city centre Evora was wel worth a visit.
Our next stop was a medieval hilltop town of Monsaraz , dominated by its crumbling castle, time has stood still for this fortified town rich in history since prehistoric times, its strategic position making it much fought for over the centuries.
Our final destination in Portugal before crossing back into Spain was the village of Luz (translation:light) a village that was rebuilt when the area was flooded to create a reservoir. We visited the rather quant little museum of the village which gave an insight into what it was like to have to leave your home to make way for progress. The whole village was relocated and every resident was given a new house in the newly built replica settlement, even the cemetery was relocated!
Leaving Luz we headed back to Spain towards Seville and another Via Verde or 2
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Evora cathedral
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Bad hair day at Monsaraz
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