Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th November, Montemor to Evora – 42km

We had to get an early start today as we had some serios sight-seeing to get through. We bought water at a local store and then ate breakfast at a café, with two huge “doorsteps” of toast. We shopped at our favourite Portuguese supermarket, Pingo Doce, on outskirts of town and then continued over the plain, which became inceasingly undulating. There was little wind and it was easy riding, paralleling the motorway for much of the route.

A few kilometers from Evora we took a detour, to Guadaloup and then onto a sandy rough track for about 4 kilometers uphill. Karen had insisted on seeing the Almedres stone circle, but was suffering from a painful knee. Despite this she soldiered on under these difficult conditions. The circle comprised some 100+ rounded boulders and differed substantially from the more well defined, squared off type rocks that make up many of the stone circles that we had seen in Scotland. From the circle we had a lovely view of Evora in the distance, but the haze prevented worthwhile photographs. We sat in the sunshine and ate lunch.

From there, we pedalled back down the track, realising only then how much we had climbed in the first place. We rejoined the main road and headed into Evora.

The initial view of Evora is disappointing,until you reach the city walls, which surround the old town. Cycling into town is hard, up cobbled streets. We used the Rough Guide to find economical accommodation, run by a lovely old lady, which we checked into for a couple of nights.

The following day we explored the town visiting the Cathedral.......

.... and the bizarre & macabre chapel of bones, adjoin the church of San Francisco.

We decided against eating in the tres expensive Pousada and settled for sitting in the square in front of the Roman Temple......

......watching a classic car rally drive through the town, with an eclectic mix of old vehicles. One of them didn't quite make it up the hill.....

We also took a walk to the municipal gardens where there is a reconstruction of the buildings where Vasco de Gama is said to have received his commission to find a sea route to India.

The final, fascinating, point of note was the Roman aqueduct where the local populace had built houses within its arches and which are still lived in today.

Evora is an enchanting town and well worth a visit.