Day 2 - Évora to Tomar

Sunday, November 10th

Évora to Tomar - the long way!

I was up at 5:00 and finally got back to sleep around 7:00. Unfortunately it was time to get moving shortly after that. The weather looked beautiful, with some sunshine, so we went out walking first before breakfast. First stop was the aqueduct on the edge of town, about two minutes from the hotel.

It was pretty in the morning light. I love how the aqueduct still stands, and the road goes right through it. Those structures were built to last!







We cut through the wall by way of a city gate. Yes, cars also go in and out of this entrance as well. Better look before you enter!

We got a bonus view of the Roman Temple, lit beautifully by the morning rays. Much prettier than last night.





We wanted to see an old fountain in town. We’d been within a block of it last night but hadn’t realized where we were. So, being the OCD travellers that we are, we had to go back to actually see it. So here it is.





It looked much prettier in the morning sunshine, though, than it would have in the rain last night.

In fact, the whole town did. A pretty place. Too bad we can't spend another few days here.

A few shots of the main square, more deserted than yesterday. Love the artistic patterns in black and white cobblestones. Quintessentially Portuguese.

Then we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and checkout.



I extricated the Subaru from the very tight parking spot with the help of multiple 3 (or more) point turns, and we were finally off. After a few tight streets to squeeze through, I was having flashbacks to the Greek Islands, but we finally made it to a main road and set a course to Elvas. We drove away from Évora, passing under the aqueduct one last time.



It took about an hour to get to Elvas, and once there we found parking at the base of the hill on the edge of town, by another very impressive aqueduct. They are everywhere!

We set out climbing, with Elvas Castle as our target. Here we've climbed up a bit and took a breather to enjoy the view of that massive aqueduct.

The road passes through the city walls here too. You have to listen for cars before you walk into the gate, as the entry/exit is pretty tight. Once inside there is plenty of room.

Through the outer gate, now an inner gate complete with a little blue and white chapel on top.







We continued on, climbing ever upwards, towards the castle. Why are these castles always on top of hills?






Finally we made it to the observation deck next to the castle. What a spectacular view!

Elvas is only a few miles from the Spanish border, so in the distance somewhere is Spain.



We weren’t sure if the castle was open on Sunday - the guidebook said yes, but the website suggested that it was on a winter schedule and closed on Sunday. But we decided to wander in anyway, and luckily enough it was open! So more climbing was in order.





The views in every direction were spectacular.

It was also very quiet - there were not many other tourists around on a Sunday morning here. We had the place nearly to ourselves.






After a leisurely walk back to the car, with more picture stops along the walls, and along the aqueduct, we set course for the next stop - another hilltop town called Marvão.





Most of the drive was easy and we made good time. Unfortunately, just a few miles from Marvão, the police had the road blocked and directed all traffic off to the right. There was a parking lot where most of the cars stopped, but that wouldn't get us to Marvão, would it? What to do?

My GPS showed a new, more circuitous route to Marvão, so we followed it. More narrow mountain roads, and soon enough we were pulling up to the outskirts of the city, with only a few hundred meters to go until the parking lot I'd scoped out.



But as we got closer, we noticed that there were cars parked everywhere by the side of the road! We found an empty spot and walked the rest of the way. Soon we entered the city.





Now we discovered why the police had set up a roadblock. The town was overrun because there was some kind of festival! I think they wanted people to park a few miles away and take buses to Marvão. What a pain, and how lucky that we’d managed to avoid it!

Our plan had been to stop for lunch here, but the problem was that all of the restaurants were overflowing, with lines snaking out the doors. So we headed to the castle instead.






It was much less crowded here.









And again,we marveled at the views. Spain, again off in the distance.







What a spectacular location!

But it was quite windy and there was a distinct chill in the air. Thankfully we had our Silversea parkas to keep us warm.

Even though it was getting foggy, it was still an amazing location. Wow. It looks like there are some food market stalls in town.





We finished up with the castle and decided we’d get some street food from one of the booths. So we grabbed a sausage plate and two glasses of wine for €8, and I ate half of it before remembering to take a picture.





The wine came from a box, and it was a little chilly for a red wine, but it still tasted great for only €1 per glass. That's just crazy.

Since the food was so cheap, we then had coffee and pastry and a churro for good measure. The nice guy selling churros insisted that we wait for one fresh out of the deep fryer, instead of giving us a cold churro that had been sitting around for a while. So tasty! And such a nice view for lunch.



Back down the hill to our waiting car, then since we were making such good time we decided that we should try for Almoural Castle. When we put this crazy day together, we didn’t think we’d have the time to see it, but I consulted Google maps and it looked feasible. So off we went.

However, I soon discovered that I had been right and the rental car guy had given me incorrect information about toll roads in Portugal. We encountered a toll road with no ticket or payment option, and I passed under a few of the electronic cameras. This may not be fun; guess I will have to see what I can figure out. Otherwise the fines might put a dent in the vacation budget!




We made it to the castle a little before 4:00 and found a tour bus just ahead of us was commandeering the boat. So we had time for a few pictures.






This looks like a cool place to visit! So we got on the next boat and enjoyed the tour. It’s a quick ride out to the island where the castle is built.






This castle is built on a small island in the Tagus River. It was renovated in the 1100s by the Portuguese Order of the Knights Templar.








The rain got steadier but never too heavy. The river views from the castle were amazing.







The walk around the inner wall is not for the timid. No guardrail, old slippery irregular rocks for footing, and kind of narrow.

Here you can see the parking lot on the river bank, and the boat launch. It's 5 minutes or less by boat to the castle. The castle entry is free but the boat ride costs €4 per person. Well worth it.




So despite the light rain it was a fun excursion. We were back on shore a little before 5:00 and set off for Tomar. I took a non-toll route to avoid further trouble with electronic tolls. It was more direct but not very fast.

It was starting to get dark as we arrived in town, but we found the hotel without any problem and parked, checked in, and decided to relax for a few while we planned the night’s activities.

We found a restaurant which we thought might be good, and asked the front desk who gave us a few other suggestions as well.

The restaurant which we wanted seemed empty when we walked in, but they told us that nothing was available as they were fully booked. That seemed odd, but that’s the story, so we looked for a Plan B.

We settled on an Italian place that the hotel had recommended, which surprised Chris, because I really don’t like the American version of Italian food, and we almost never eat at Italian restaurants. But this was very nice.







After a delicious Caprese salad and Bruschetta to start,















we had veal medallions in a peppercorn sauce served with asparagus risotto, and a really nice piece of lasagna. And a local red, of course.













The lasagne was made right – no huge pieces of bland ricotta, but baked in a bechamel sauce with a touch of tomatoes. After a few days of eating ham and sausage, it was nice to try something different.




We dragged our full bellies back to the room for a glass of Port and a nice hot bath after a long two days of driving. The hotel had given us this cute little half bottle as a welcome gift.





Tomorrow should be a little easier. But then I remembered the electronic toll problem. I knew that if I didn't figure out how to pay the tolls from today, they'd eventually track the license plate to Hertz, who would eventually bill me (including a fine, probably).

So back to the internet, to the page I'd looked at before the trip, to read about payment options. I remembered something about being able to pay within a few days if you stopped in at a post office, which sounded annoying, but what could I do? But then I read about prepaid toll cards, and that you could buy them up until midnight of the day you had already travelled, and apply them retroactively to your travel that day. Could I do that?

So it was now 11:30 and the race against the clock was on! Luckily I'd snapped a picture of my license plate, so no trips to the parking lot. I bought a €20 prepaid toll ticket, then linked it to my license plate number and "activated" the combination. It took about 15 minutes to figure that all out. Then I made an account on the toll system's website so I could keep track of whether this actually worked or not. We'll see - now, time to get some sleep!