A big travelling day: into the Alentejo

Today involves lots of travel from Coimbra southwards to Castelo de Vide; I have had some degree of anxiety in planning this part of the trip as many websites said public transport to Castelo de Vide was not possible - so I set myself the task to prove them wrong. Of course.

Up early and back up to the Universidad - but via a different route from yesterday. The sun was rising and I was aiming for rhe botanic gardens again but realised as I got closer that it was likely not to be open - and in fact that was the case - not until 9 am.

I continued on - the river was my next goal - downhill all the way. I found a long set of stairs at one point (Escadas do Quinchorro) - all 112 of them (mind you there are about 50 up to our room!).

I feel more comfortable walking around here on my own than I did in Porto - and it is more interesting.

At the bottom is a large park alongside the river and looking towards the bridge I could see the pilgrims already on their way early - the Caminho do Fátima: all 142 kms of it from Lisbon.

There are roosters as symbols everywhere here - on tea-towels and other tourist paraphernalia.The folk tale of the rooster of Barcelos, tells the story of a dead rooster's miraculous intervention in proving the innocence of a man who had been falsely convicted and sentenced to death. The dictator Antonio Salazar, who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968, was big on traditions and nationalism and declared the rooster an official symbol of Portugal.

Bought an arrufada for lunch - it is meant to be typical for here. I have no idea what they will taste like.

When I got back to our accommodation, I collected MF and we had a nice walk around town before leaving including an interesting experience at the farmacia: a queuing system at the door for a one-to-one consultation with the pharmacist; all high-tech with robots for selecting products off the shelf.

Returned to our room - 50 steps (or is that 49??), stopping by the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha where the impromptu fado took place yesterday evening. Lovely tile work.

Walked 1.8 kms to the station for our midday train - pretty straightforward which is good considering we are lugging luggage (is that why it is called that?).

Have clocked 7.8 kms already (for me).

We have REALLY enjoyed Coimbra - one could EASILY spend at least 2 days here. Lovely!!

Train to Entroncamento arrives about 15 minutes late; stops at ‘Granja do Ulmeiro Alfarelos’ - what a name! We hurtle along - it is an IC train which will end its journey in Lisbon. It is PACKED! Glad we had booked!!

Transferred to next train for Portalegre - single carriage only. Two hours. MF nods off.

It is all rural - and very dry. This is the Alentejo region. We pass eucalypts, olives, cork. Did you know that Portugal produces about half the world output of commercial cork; and that once a tree is about 25 years old it can be harvested for its ‘virgin cork’ and then every 9 years after (Portuguese law prohibits stripping the trees more than once every 9 years in order to protect the species). The number painted on indicates the last number of the year last harvested.

Had our arrufada for ’lunch’ on the train - a big soft sweet bun.

Long delay at Torre das Vargens - a train came in from the other direction - single track only; left here about 20 mins late. There is a minivan at Portalegre that is a shuttle service to the city itself which is 10 kms away - don’t ask me why… the driver nearly kills us when he almost collides with another vehicle coming the other way.

Then a tiny weeny bus up to Castelo de Vide at 15:00. It is hot - well up in the 20s.

We have arrived! Mr Google delivered us in a straightforward manner to our accommodation - this is a gorgeous place: tiny, lovely evening. We are staying at Casa da Judiaria in the Jewish quarter where the Jewish population lived until the Inquisition (16th century).

After unpacking, we walk down along steep, narrow, cobblestoned streets lined with pots of (mainly) geraniums - so colourful!

Then a drink at the Craft Beer House. The main street is alive with people having a drink at the half dozen or so bars/cafes.

Dinner - a bottle of red, tomato soup (delicious!) and a couple of share plates (tapas) - lovely meal. They bag up the leftover wine for us to take away.

The castle is lit up with lights and beckons (not so much for MF). The sun is setting. Absolutely beautiful and you can see across to the next town Marvão on the next hilltop in the distance. 

Walked:  12 kms.