The Rain in Portugal Falls Mainly on the Plain

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Bom dia,

Another early morning as I packed up and caught the train from Coimbra to Evora. This would be my longest train journey in Portugal, 3.5 hours, but that was only because I would have to wait for almost an hour as I transferred trains.

Unfortunately, the rain started as I was leaving Coimbra, and it continued with me into Evora and the Alentejo plain in the southeast of Portugal. It was a very pretty arrival in Evora, seeing the city rise up from the surrounding cork oak trees on the otherwise flat plain. I was going to wait the rain out, but when I was told it was the first rain the city had seen in six months, I figured it would probably last all day so I decided to head out and do my best to ignore the inclement weather.

Evora is a medieval city which is still surrounded by it's 14th century walls, making the city a rabbit's warren of narrow, cobbled streets and looming, white-washed buildings. It was pretty, but would have been prettier without the rain. There are Neolithic monuments located near Evora that I wanted to visit, but all tours were booked up to them unfortunately so I decided to wander around the old town. My first stop, not surprisingly, was the Rota dos Vinhos. It is an information centre that is designed to teach people about the grapes, soils, and different wine producing regions of the Alentejo. The centre was very interesting, and of course, I had to sample the local wines. It would be rude not to. After I finished sampling, I went to look at the fortifications surrounding the city. The walls very were tall and imposing, and the aqueduct into the city was gorgeous. It was not as pretty as the one in Segovia, but it was still very photogenic. The city was founded by the Romans, and there are a few Roman ruins scattered about. Some, such as the Roman Temple are very easy to find. It's in the middle of a square and is very well-preserved as it was walled up and used as a slaughterhouse during the 19th century. Others, such as the Roman Baths, are more difficult. I spent 45 minutes wandering around near where bother maps I had indicated they would be located, but to no avail. Finally, I walked into the public library after I saw two people with big cameras walking out. After some sleuthing, I found the baths hidden behind a wall in the back corner of the atrium. They were not the best-advertised Roman site I've ever been to, but they were virtually deserted as a result. Shortly after I left the Baths, the rain started up again. and I dashed off to what I thought was the museum. It turns out that in my haste, I had actually run into the cathedral. Not wanting to get any wetter, as it was a downpour by this point in time, I ran inside and paid to see everything as that would give me the most amount of time to wait out the rain. The first part part of the cathedral it was suggested I visit was the tower for the view. I don't really know what I was expecting, but I headed up the tower to enjoy the views. Of the city. And the surrounding countryside. From the rooftop. In the rain. The only difference from the rain on the ground and the rain on the roof of the cathedral was that it was blowing at my face, rather than down on me, because I was more exposed to the wind up there. The views, from what I could tell when I wasn't being blown towards the side of the roof, were excellent. When I escaped back inside the building, I wandered around the peaceful cloisters and the rest of the cathedral. I started to get increasingly fed up with the rain and I thought more wine would be the answer so I headed to Vinoteca Porta de Moura, which is housed in a gorgeous 16th century building with vaulted ceilings. The owner brought over the first wine, which I wasn't a fan of, and then brought over a blend of Touriga Nacional and Beja, which was delicious. He then added a charcuterie plate with three types of meat, and the goat, sheep, and cow cheese, the latter of which was from the Azores. He then re-filled my glass because I had not finished the charcuterie plate. It was a great meal, and a very relaxing way to end the rainy day.



The sun was shining again when I woke up. Now becoming a bit desperate, I looked at all the message boards in the hostel and found one tour to the megaliths that I had not contacted yet. It turned out that Carla, the archaeologist who runs the tours, was available and showed up within 10 minutes to I was able to get a private, guided tour to the megaliths for less money than the other tours would have cost! As we drove out of the city, Carla began to tell me about the region and how rumour has it that megaliths were once visible from each other across Europe. We arrived at the first site, the Cromeleque de Almendres, which was a roughly circular arrangement of stones, some of which had designs carved into them. The sun was shining on them, so the pictures came out relatively well. The stones were mined many kilometres away, and dragged to the present site thousands of years ago. En route, Carla told me about the cork oak trees that are throughout the area. The vast majority of wine corks in the world come from Portugal. Every nine year, they are harvested from the outer layer of bark on trees and then turned into wine corks, as well as myriad other products. It is a very time-consuming job, and one of the higher paying agricultural jobs in Portugal. I was also told about marmalad, the original fruit used to make marmalade. It wasn't oranges; we've all been duped! A marmalad is a mix between a lemon and an orange, with a slightly bitter taste. It was not my favourite, but there is something satisfying about eating fruit that is picked directly off a tree. The second megalithic site was the Menir de Almendres, which was a tall stone standing in the middle of a field. It was less impressive than the first site, but was still interesting. It actually reminded me of Asterix and Obelix comics from when I was a child.

We then returned to the city and I visited the relaxing Jardim Publico, and the Ingreja de São Francisco. The church is an interesting collection of modern and medieval architecture, but the most interesting part was the Capello de Osos, or Chapel of Bones. The walls, columns, and floor of the Chapel are made of bones that were dug of from the crypt. They contrast with a beautifully painted ceiling and an extravagant alter. The concept behind the juxtaposition is to demonstrate that death is all around you, but if you keep your eyes firmly placed on God, you will be rewarded and go to heaven. The Chapel was much more evocative than the one it Kutna Hora, Czech Republic, which seemed more like an art project than anything else. As it was still sunny, I went back to the Jardim Publico and relaxed in the park because I knew with Lisbon up next, I would need all the energy I could!



Things I learned in Evora:

- The Alentejo is flat, mercifully so!

- Everything can be made from cork: bags, books, pens, clothes, bottles, floors, walls...

- Apparently, one can hold up a wall with a collection of femurs. Who knew?

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