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Leaving 8am
Very point form
Will try to catch up tomorrow.
Montseraz
Monolithic sites 2
Evora
Great day .
I'm back.
Midday, not sure what day.
Oh ... Monday.
OK.
People are very excited about football over here!
Portugal beat Croatia 1 nil in extra time last night.
For a second, I was sad because a few days ago I was excited for Croatia ...
(When in Rome and all that ...)
And there were flares shooting off over my head in Dubrovnik.
( They make a very loud noise!!)
But then, I remembered that I barracked for Portugal now so I got excited too!
Everyone else was obviously very excited.
Short drive this morning and a stop for morning tea.
The town Portel had been celebrating the festival of St John.
And there were still remnants of the decorations about.
It was a tiny town, with a fort high up on the hill.
No one was up here really and we walked to a small cafe and I got CHOCOLATE MILK.
Did not realise that I was dying before I had that!
All better now.
It's called 'Ucal' and it's a life saver.
A month without milk.
( All you coffee drinkers, replace 'milk' with 'coffee' in that sentence and you'll know how I felt!!)
The town Square was full of olive trees.
Just looked so country.
Then spoke to the wife of a man painting his chimney.
Lovely street.
Jumping about a bit ...
The movies are not dubbed in Portugal.
So the children watch TV and Movies from English speaking countries so end up reading Portuguese but hearing English so they have an subconscious understanding and a high level of phonetics.
Driving through this area was like driving to North of Victoria.
Very similar land.
Wheat, olive trees, pine trees for pine nuts. Cork trees, vineyards.
We drove up to Montsersz.
High above the countryside with 360 degree views.
This is a very old town with walls and buildings and all the roads made of slate or shale.
The views were spectacular!
They had dammed a large river and have created the large artificial lake.
Water for drinking and irrigation.
They use it to generate electricity and for recreation.
There are lots of islands.
From the Internet:
Perched high over the surrounding countryside, tiny Monsaraz is a charming village with a looming castle at its edge, great views over the Alqueva Dam and olive groves sprinkling the landscape. Its narrow streets are lined with uneven-walled, whitewashed cottages. Today, the village prospers on tourism, with a handful of restaurants, guesthouses and artisan shops. It’s worth coming to taste a slice of traditional Portugal, wander the slumbering streets and sample Alentejan cuisine. It’s at its best as it wakes up in the morning, in the quiet of the evening, or during a wintry dusk.
Settled long before the Moors arrived in the 8th century, Monsaraz was recaptured by the Christians under Giraldo Sem Pavor (Gerald the Fearless) in 1167, and then given to the Knights Templar as thanks for their help. The castle was added in 1310.
It is one of the oldest Portuguese settlements of the southern Portugal, occupied since pre-history, whose examples of permanent habitation include hundreds of megalithic monuments. These include the neolithic remains of: Megalithic Monuments of Herdade de Xerez, Olival da Pega Dolmen (Anta), Bulhoa Menhir, Rocha dos Namorados Menhir and Outeiro Menhir. The hill, on which the main settlement is located, was a pre-historic fortification, or castro, that was the basis of pre-Roman occupation and funerary temples, carved from the local rock
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Beautiful little town, white buildings and stone streets.
Climbed the fort.
Talked to 2 Brits about politics ...
Wonderful time here, loved it.
Apparently, there are 150 megalithic sites in this area.
Huge stones and many stone circles.
We went to see the Xerez, down a dusty, dirt road and it was strange to see the circle with the huge stone in the centre.
Several people hugged the stone as, legend has it, it is the Fertility Stone.
Some funny poses!
Then onto another site with an enormous rock.
This has been there about 2000 years.
It is known as Roche das Namorados: ('The Lovers Rock', 'Fiance's Rock', 'Uterus rock')
Nowadays, the story goes, if you can throw a rock over your shoulder with your non strong arm, and land it on the rock, you will get married.
( I missed.)
Very funny.
Only a 10 minute stop but such great fun.
Speaking of fun ...
Have we ever lucked out with Tiago as the tour director on this trip.
Nothing is boring.
( Should have seen the chicken dance he did down the aisle of the bus when someone asked how to order 'chicken' in Portuguese!)
He's making everything fun.
Manuel, our bus driver is great value.
Always up for a laugh and a chat.
Only 26 of us on the tour.
A lovely bunch.
Some from New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Australia.
Great fun
Xxx
- comments
M 4000 years old? That's incredible. The castle looks like so much fun. Love the pic from inside the grounds. You can just imagine them gathering there for markets or war!
Sue It's all so beautiful, oh by the way Hair looks great!!
.Amanda Phillips Mooo!
.Amanda Phillips Wow, amazing view
.Amanda Phillips Great photo :)
.Amanda Phillips Did you deliberately miss your rock throwing?? :)Great day and great photos.Very beautiful town, such amazing buildings, stone walls and views!
M Morning mum. Bit sad you not marrying your tour guide. You couldn't have aimed that rock a bit better?
Mum Emily ....Hahahaha!So funny!What a great comment!Xxx
Daryl Now THAT"S a castle!