Finally found the one grump in Portugal

With Dennis at the wheel and Cynthia, the Navigator at the helm we headed out of Évora for Estremoz. It was a beautiful bright sunny day and the road was good with very little traffic. We passed pastures with grazing cattle and large pens of sheep waiting to be sheared. We drove right into town through a one car tunnel. You had to have faith when the light turned green that you wouldn’t meet another car in the middle, maybe a foreigner who didn’t understand how traffic lights work.  First stop, the Tourist Information Office and then up to the castle and the walled city.

Once inside, We walked around, admiring the views and then visited the museum.

The museum is a unique and fascinating place. No languages, other than Portuguese but we could recognize the names and dates of the founder, the woodcarver with his collection, the cork artist and his collection.  It was a bit more difficult with the carved bone spoons and wood spoons. There was a large collection of Bonica de Estremoz  (clay figures) which dated back to the 17th Century.  And there was a water closet.

Next Dennis began his climb up to the top of the tower where he got some fabulous photos.

Jim, Pat, and I went to the bar to wait with vinho branco.  Our Portuguese is getting really good. We can say Obrigada/o (thank you, fem/mas) and vinho Branco (white wine) and can probably make vinho tinto understood.  Dennis joined us and so did Elise who is the chef at the restaurant. She was delightful and she had many more words in English than we had in Portuguese. She has lived all over the world, including three countries in Africa, Italy, Spain and now she’s back home.
After our chat, we went back into the center of the walled city to drive back down into the new town to have lunch.

What did we find? The only grumpy, unsmiling person in all of Portugal! Unfortunately she was to be our waitress. We were given menus, bread and olives. A couple came in after us followed by a single diner.  They were given menus, drink orders were placed, their drinks were delivered, their food order was taken.  All the while we tired to catch Grumpy’s eye with smiles. Finally she came over, no, no Vinho Branco. So we tried to order, she turned around and left the room. We talked among ourselves for a moment  and decided to leave.  Dennis left €3 for the bread and olives. We weren’t sure what happened.  I’m not sure if we’re Ugly Americans or if she really is the only grumpy Portuguese in the world.

We stopped in a bakery to ask about a restaurant and the smiling clerk told us to go Cafe Rossi which was just across the street. Our waitress was all smiles and full of kindness and patience for our fumbling questions. The food was delicious and we took home a box of desserts for later, or maybe for breakfast.

On to the winery.

A 1200 year old olive tree 

Inspecting the vines

And what did we find here? A generous and smiling winery staff.  We should have had an appointment but we didn’t and our lady still gave us a tasting and would not charge us for it. We left with several bottles and the hope of finding it soon At home as they have just started exporting to to the USA.
The Gospel According to Dennis:
The toughest thing we have to deal with is getting used to the eating schedule of the Portuguese and Europeans, in general.  In the evening most restaurants don’t open until 7 PM.  Some are closed on Mondays, others are closed on Wednesdays. Even if we start eating at 7:30, by the time we finish, it’s 8:30 - 9:00 PM. We do lots of walking so if we’re back in our apartment by 10:00, we’re pooped and ready to hit the sack.  I don’t know about you but I don’t sleep well on a full stomach.  I know, I know, you’re saying, “Dude! Why don’t you eat less?” But the food and wine taste soooo good.  You’re probably also thinking many people in the world don’t get enough to eat and you? You get too much to eat, Fatty! C’mon, you can afford to miss a meal or two...just saying.

Well, this is a fine kettle of fish!

The last couple of days we’ve had our usual misadventures: A dolphin watch minus the dolphins; a stop at our favorite restaurant to say good bye but they beat us to it—they were closed; a rental car that couldn’t hold our backpacks, let alone the suitcases (and we packed light). I leave it to Dennis to fill in the details.

The Gospel According to Dennis:
Saturday was the day when we set aside 1 1/2 hours to go dolphin watching—kinda...we walked down to the docks so we would arrive around 11 AM, 15 minutes before departure.  After meeting with Captain Martin and his one man crew, we set off in a rubberized raft of sorts.

The raft has a powerful outboard motor. The seats are really more of a padded log that you straddle like a saddle and hold onto the bar in front of you like a saddle horn.  Get the picture?  We traveled the coastline at about 30 miles per hour and then headed 8 miles out to sea to find those elusive sea creatures.

The end result after bouncing off the “bounding main?”  We saw a handful of sardines, silvery and swimming, not packed in olive oil.  Captain Martin was very apologetic but then admitted that in 4 years of doing this, he’d never seen a dolphin.  😂. ...just kidding!

He actually said he’d take us out gratis for another trip to different spots later in the day.  We thanked him but passed on his kind offer as we had other plans.  Everyone we’ve met here has been kind and courteous.
That night we were planning to go to our local restaurant O Brito to feast and say Tchau (good bye). When we got there, it was closed. Luckily Jim did let them know on Friday how much we loved the restaurant.

Now for a word from our sponsor, Cindy:
On Sunday we got packed up to leave Lagos and head for Faro and Europcar where we had a reservation.  Our driver with Viber Taxi was Isabel’s son Joao.  He had a great sense of humor and told us that he has met Rick Steves many times and Rick is just one of the guys. Our first stop was just outside the airport but soon we were putting the luggage back in the car because it was the wrong rental place. Finally at the right one, we found that the car we rented was too too small for our bags.  We spent about an hour with another Isabel trying to decide what to do next.  We finally decided to cough up the extra money and get a car that would hold us and all of our stuff, was an automatic, and had a GPS. Next came the driving lesson—who knew the GPS doesn’t kick in until you’re going 5 - 6 miles per hour? Or that putting the car in reverse doesn’t show in a rear view camera but starts beeping when you get close to something either in the front or the back. So I got out of the car, Dennis got in my seat and a Europcar driver got into the driver’s seat and took the car and Dennis through its/his paces. Finally, we’re off...

  First stop, lunch...

Lunch at your local bar and gas station. And up the road, meet the Portuguese Highway Patrol.  No problem, Dennis had a Coke.
The GPS got us where we were going but after two hours of two lane mountain roads, I couldn’t stand it anymore. So I got out the trusty Michelin map and said at the next big town if our lady GPS doesn’t get us on the highway, I’m ignoring her and taking over.  She and I both had the same idea and finally we got to Evora.  It should have been a two hour drive. We left the apartment at 11 AM and got to Evora at 5:45 PM.  But we got here, put the car to bed and got Dennis a big glass of wine. He did a great job and deserves a medal but until I can find one, wine will have to do.

Entering Evora

Second car, just behind the green one, all tucked in for the night...

Now to find wine—

Tchau...

 

Johnny Cash may have sung, “I’ve been everywhere, Man,,,but I think the Romans got there first!

Isabel was here at 10 AM, right on time.  We left Lagos and headed out of the city to a pottery that has been in business for at least 50 years making the bowls, dishes, and tiles that the Algarve area is known for. On the way Isabel pulled over to show us a nesting place for storks. They mate for life and their children fly back each year to nest nearby.

Porches Pottery produces hundreds of beautiful handmade items. Keeping in mind, our trek back to Bloomington, we were cautious but did not leave empty handed.

From the pottery workshop we headed to Silves, one of the oldest cities in Portugal.  The Romans called it home from about 400 BC to 400 AD, next came the Moors when it became a capital city. The castle at the top of the hill overlooks the river, still spanned by a Roman bridge and the newer part of the town.

From the castle we walked slowly and carefully down the cobblestones, through the still standing old city wall, past a pillory and square, down, down to a restaurant for lunch accompanied by—come on now, after all these blogs, I don’t really have to spell it out, do I?
We sat outside and enjoyed the banter of our waitress.

After lunch, we continued going down, finally getting to the Roman bridge, crossing it and finding Isabel.

Next we went up, up, up to the top of Monchique at 902 meters or about 2,500 feet. May not seem tall if you’re from the Rocky Mountain states but it made our ears pop.  Amazing views and vegetation, including pink heather and daisy like flowers of brilliant hues—orange, pink, purple, white but of popping rich colors.  

On our way further down the mountain is Monchique water bottling plant and spa with many restored hotels and spas. A beautiful place for pampering.

The Gospel According to Dennis:

Cindy has already written about our day at the pottery shop, the small town of Silves, and our trip to the mountains so I’ll confine my comments to dinner last night at our local restaurant.  We feel we’ve become part of the owner’s family. The restaurant is about 50 yards downhill from our doorstep.  It’s part of a small neighborhood outside of the old walled city of Lagos.

In the two weeks we’ve been here, I think I’ve eaten there on at least ten occasions.  As mentioned earlier, the food is all home cooked, everything tastes wonderful (especially the puréed/mashed potatoes and gravy). The owner, staff and fellow customers are as welcoming as the people at Sam Malone’s bar, when Norm comes down the stairs at “Cheers.”  Yep—we feel just like Norm...Last night Jim told our hostess and owner, “I’m 84 years old and eaten in many restaurants throughout the world but your restaurant and food are the best.  Your restaurant is my favorite!”  With a broad smile and sparkle in her eye, she took both of Jim’s hands and kissed him on both cheeks.  Wish I could have gotten a picture of that. That’s the best part of traveling—meeting people who are different than us, yet willing to extend a hand or just a smile. Something we all need sometimes.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  

P.S. Before we left, another man claimed that our new best friend was his, not ours. 😂    

If these are lazy days, why do my feet hurt?

Jim says we’ve all lost a half inch in height from pounding the cobblestone pavement. Yesterday we hiked to the beach, missed a turn and ended up going way out of our way to a much further beach—D’Ana. The only way back was up hill and then by the Bombeiros (fire station) we could go down. Going up we ran into a couple who urged us not to give up, they were in our place the day before and were able to tell us how to get back to the town center.  

The beach was spectacular, gorgeous blue-green water, white sail boats, pale skinned humans on the beach hoping to turn into bronzed beauties. The cliffs are striped with yellow, rust, orange, and dotted with lime green and avocado colored shrubs. Our intrepid navigator, Dennis climbed the stairs to the top of the path to see if it would get us out and onto the top of the cliffs. From the top he waved us up. Slowly, one step at a time we made it to the top, entered the patio of the cliff top hotel and had Sagres beers to quench our thirst.

Dennis, the Navigator 

After the climb down to the center of the town we stopped at Mama Mia’s for a “normal“ pizza and a carafe of ... finally back to the apartment and a quiet night of Farkle.

Today we decided to take the Tourist Train but it isn’t running so we took the regular bus to Burgau, a little town up the coast from Lagos. Once there we walked down to the ocean, turned around and found a little tavern with a patio on the ocean. A nice respite from our stressful day and back UP the hill to the bus stop.

At the bus stop with Pat’s new friend Alfonso who wants to sign her up for “Portuguese in an hour,” with a money back guarantee.  

After riding a bit further than necessary we figured out where to get off so that we could pick up a few necessities at Intermarche.  A short walk home, wine time with Chef Dennis making sangria, and down a whole 1/2 block to O Brito our favorite restaurant.

 

We are the only foreigners in the place and we love the atmosphere and the food! And now we are stuffed and too full to write more. Tomorrow the “boys” will be fishing and bring home the bacon (dinner).

The Gospel According to Dennis:
We’re getting very familiar with the town of Lagos. We arrived here on February 1st. We walk into town and no longer get lost. How’s that for progress? Yesterday after breakfast we decided to attempt public transportation—the local bus. We boarded bus #3 in the town square and rode it along the coast south to a pretty little village called Burgau.  The ride took about 50 minutes and the scenery along the coast through other little towns was breath taking. Local residents, including school kids got on and off the bus.  The ride gave us a little feel for what it’s like to live and work in southern Portugal.  As we bumped along, the sky was crystal blue, the Atlantic calm and smooth as marble with a soft breeze, the sun burned brightly and the temperature was comfortable, in the low 70’s.  This is how I like to travel. Some days are planned around an activity like a tour through a winery or a visit to a special spot that is important to the community or possibly a food tour to sample foods Never tried before. But mostly, time is spent leisurely enjoying the area, talking to people about their lives with no planned agenda. Yep, that ‘s how I love to travel.

We bounced and bumped our way back on the bus after enjoying a bottle of wine on the beach in Burgau. We returned to the old walled city of Lagos and home. Today, Jim and I are going bottom fishing with Captain Luis for four hours in the afternoon while Pat and Cindy shop. We’re so confident of catching fish, we’ve bought lemon, garlic, potatoes to bake and butter that Pat will use to  prepare our catch. How’s that for putting the cart before horse? 😉

Yep, my kind of travel—slow, easy, relaxed, a glass of wine or two, meeting and talking and living with old and new friends.  Tomorrow? Well, I’ll let you know tomorrow...