For the most part, we are following a very popular itinerary for our trip to Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve. For a change of pace, we decided to visit a small town in the middle of Portugal. So, we hopped in the car and drove from Porto to the medieval town of Evora.
Evora is our kind of town!
What an amazingly charming, beautiful city. Cobblestone streets. Open air cafes. Ancient sights. Amazing architecture. Love it!
We parked our car in an underground lot near our hotel, dropped off our bags, and decided to start exploring. Our first stop was the Capella dos Ossos - Chapel of Bones. This is a small chapel located adjacent to St. Francis church. The walls are completely decorated in human bones. It is estimated that the Franciscan monks who built this chapel exhumed over 5000 bodies. It is fascinating and creepy at the same time.
Evora is a walking city. Lots of short, curvy streets opening up to plazas. Some very cool architecture in the city, and of course, lots of churches.
After a long drive from Porto, and a bit of exploring, we decided to sit back in the main square and enjoy a cold beer. While there, a singing group from the local University began to entertain, and we later saw them in other spots around the city singing traditional folk songs.
Across the square was a huge stage set up for tonight's concert. Today is an important day, celebrating the Carnation Revolution throughout Portugal. Tonight, there is a concert with one of Portugal's best and most famous traditional Fado singer. We were lucky enough to be in the square to listen to the sound check for tonight's concert.
Ready for more exploring of Evora. We strolled the streets, trying to get lost and find different areas. More cool buildings. Some awesome statues. Arched walkways. Meandering streets.
Now, when I say that Evora has some amazing history, I'm not kidding. In the center of the city are very ancient ruins of a Roman temple. And throughout the city is a massive ancient aqueduct.
In addition, there are many sections remaining of the massive wall that encircled the city.
We enjoyed a really nice dinner at a traditional Portuguese restaurant, and made our way to the main square (with thousands of our closest friends) to listen to some traditional Fado music. This music is so uniquely Portuguese, and listening to this melancholic music is almost sad. The locals knew the words to the songs and were singing along. We returned to our nearby hotel, which was close enough that we could continue to hear the music, and the fireworks that finished the show.
The next morning, we explored a bit more of Evora, returning to the Roman Temple for some different views.
Today, we are driving to the Algarve, the coastal region of southern Portugal. Before we depart Evora, we had to visit a mysterious spot, considered an energetic center - the Recinto Megalatico dos Almendres. This is an area of massive rocks placed here thousands of years ago. There is nothing near it, and it is located in what appears to be an open field, surrounded by groves of olive trees. Similar to other sites like Stonehenge, it is supposed to be a place of energy.
We decided to avoid the main highway and drive along some of the smaller roads, heading south to the coast. I am glad we did, as we made it to the village of Portel. From the road, we could see a huge castle on the hill. We immediately turned and drove through this very hilly and charming town. The castle was not open, but we were able to walk around it and take in the scenic views.
In the parking lot near the castle, there were huge orange trees, with oranges strewn about the ground. I couldn't resist picking a couple of oranges.
Having the freedom of a rental car allows such fun and interesting detours. Our drive south took us through rural farmland, and then the very hilly introduction to the Algarve region, where we will be staying and exploring for the next couple days.
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