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Tomar is a small town on the Nabão River…very pleasant with a park and cafe fronting the river.  It would be a nice stop even without what lis perched on the hill.  From just about everywhere in town you see the Knight's Templar Convento do Christo.  Highlights of the site includes 8 cloisters…or was it 9?, the Manueline Window (see photo) and the central drum in the rotunda of the church (also shown) among the 300-400 years of facility upgrades by various Kings.


Next:  We venture into the Aldeias do Xisto in the hills south of Coimbra.

The area of the town of Óbidos is located on a hilltop, encircled by a fortified wall. Óbidos remains a well-preserved example of medieval architecture; its streets, squares, walls and its castle are a popular tourist destination.  We recommend visiting midweek  in the off season to avoid the incoming bus crowds.  We welcomed the rain as it kept the day visitors to a minimum.  There was a nice moment with an opera singer performing in the Porta da Villa…sorry I can’t share the video.

The painting study was completed looking up to the bell tower of the Igeja de Santa Maria with the trimmed limbs of the trees reaching to the skies.  “Rising Up in Obidos” is on the Works page and Instagram.

Next Up:  Tomar and the Knights’ Templar Convento de Christo.

We have departed the Alentejo region where we have hiked, painted, explored and enjoyed…so I will leave you with this poem which was part of an exhibition of the different regions of Portugal:

No Bico Da Cegonha Desenhada Na Falésia

(In the Beak of a Stork Sketched on a Cliff-Face)

I believe we have a need for days which are unforgettable:  they are what makes us human.  Without them, what are we? - mere automatons who eat to live and have experiences but forget them all.  On this journey in the Alentejo, lasting images emerge once more:  forgotten memories, hidden away.

- Rui Cardosa Martins

Ibericorama days 21-22

After stopping at several smaller Plazas de España, we are back into Portugal at the fortified hilltop town of Marvão…just miles from the Spanish border in the Alto Alentejo region.  Now if you like castle villages…this would be our pick.  The castle is large, well preserved and sits up in the clouds.  The village is also contained within the fortified walls and there are 360 degree views.  

There are several marked hikes in the region, so we took the route down to Portagem to see the Roman bridge (see photo) and to see the speck of white 3000 feet above (our lodging).  The walking path is the original medieval stone road which is still in working order and included some impressive switchback designs laid out with an 8 pointed star.

I was taken by the decorative chimney tops in the village, so this stay's painting study featured one which can be found on the works page and on Instagram.

If you are wondering how long Ibericorama lasts and where else it will take us…here are some quick details of what's to come:

• 90 days…the Schengen max
• after Marvão, Óbidos, Tomar, 4 day hike in the Xisto Villages, Viseu…
• 4 day hike in the Douro Valley
• Porto
• our secret favorite place in Portugal
• then we circle around Spain
• back into the Algarve where we started
• end with two weeks on the Azores

ie, lots to come.

Days 18-20

Our next stop was a trip across the border to Mérida, Spain in the Extremadura region.  On the way, there were stops at the hilltop fortified town of Evoramonte and its castle founded in 1160, and the World Heritage Town of Elvas which is entirely within a fortified star fort.  The town is also flanked by two smaller star forts.  

Our quest was Mérida and its Roman ruins which rivals most cities in Europe.  The City was founded as Augustus Emeritus in 1 BC.  The Anything you want to see from the Roman era is there:

• amphitheatre (small arena)
• teatro
• roman bridge
• acqueducts
• circus maximum
• sections of original Roman road
• temple of diana
• excavated homes
• mosiacs
• Very fine museum of Roman antiquities

If you go to Mérida…you go to immerse yourself in Roman culture and city planning, however the Plaza de España is a fine center of activity and inspiration for my latest painting study (see Works page or instagram).  Well drenched in the Romans, it's time to return to the motherland of Portugal.

First…we had to endure the slog of a travel day, bussing to Lisbon to get a rental car.  Fairly smooth transition as we noticed the stork nest “condos” on the high power line structures on the drive.

Évora is the capital of Portugal's south-central Alentejo region and is about a 90 minute drive east from Lisbon.  Whitewashed houses surround the Cathedral of Évora, a massive Gothic structure begun in the 12th century.  The city features an aqueduct which runs into town and disappears to the street.  Over time, houses have been constructed in the archways.  In the city's historic center stands the ancient Roman Temple of Évora (also called the Temple of Diana).  Here is a link of the gouache study of the Evora Templo Romana:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcYVYM2sMo3/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

(also saved on the Works page)

We did spend the good part of a day traveling to the Megolithic stone complexes around the outskirts of town, and were amused that we were exploring pagan rituals of the 5th millennium BC on Good Friday.  The most popular is the Almendres Cromlech which features about 100 standing stones and is older than Stonehenge.  (Maybe you saw my earlier post of the World of Stonehenge exhibit at the British Museum during the Ibericorama prelude?)  Almendres was interesting, but maybe is much like Stonehenge was in the days before the stones were made off limits to the tourists…. with children climbing the stones and families taking group photos on the stones.  We were much more taken by the smaller group at Cromlech Vale Maria do Meio.  We had the site to ourselves with a short visit by an Australian couple and a local fisherman hopping the fence to catch his black bass dinner.  Here is the Instagram post of the gouache study of the Standing Stones at Vale Maria do Meio:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CccUPmnMGC2/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

(Also saved on the Works page)

Note:  For those of you wondering about “gouache”…it is opaque watercolors.  I had worked sparingly with them before this trip.  I am primarily an oil painter, but the gouache lets me travel with a much smaller kit.  I am still trying to manage the fast drying nature of the paints..especially in the sun and wind.  Any questions about my kit or the gouache..you can email me at [email protected]  Or comment on this blog post.

Rota Vicentina

Stage 12

Moinhos to Santiago do Cacém

13 miles

https://rotavicentina.com/en/

We arrived in Santiago do Cacém and made the climb up to the Igreja Matriz de Santiago do Cacém and the Castelo….our Rota Vicentina finish line.  Visions of the scenery and painting inspirations swirl in our heads.  What just happened?

Well over 220 kilometers

Sand…sand…and more sand

Uncounted varieties of wildflowers

Nesting storks

Windmills

Uninhabited beaches

The sound of Cuckoo birds

Cork trees

Cows, sheeps, goats

Barking dogs on leashes

Unleashed barking dogs

Smell of the sea

Fresh air

Meeting people from many countries

Lighthouses

Fishermen

Elegant ruins

Farmers

sweet villages

Great weather

The sound of silence

How did we get to be so lucky?

The journey continues.

Everybody needs a day off…and the weather and my weary tibialis anterior dictated as much.  In keeping with the theme of making an opportunity out of disappointment, we were “forced” to spend some extra time at our next lodging www.moinhosdopaneiro.com  Florbela is the proprietor and the setting includes two 1850 windmills (moinhos).  One is the library and the other is “the gym.”  So with some extra time and two windmills as my muses, I took the opportunity to paint the windmills, from inside the other windmill due to the inclement  weather.  Two of the results are shown here and on my instagram page.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcOBcs_s5hR/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcQVd2tsG1v/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The next morning with the sun out I completed a third which is now on instagram.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcTbOrUrWoN/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

You could say that I was in the Flow with the Moinhos.

 

Rua Vicentina 

Stage 10 - 11 miles

Porto Covo to Cercal do Alentejo

There is always something new to look forward to.  I had no expectations for this stage after the coastal kaleidoscope, but was awarded with our first hike through cork oak habitat.  Other worldly and mysteriously beautiful.  One of the oases on the stage is Herdade da Matinha Country House & Restaurant..where we had lunch and met the friendly owner.  (www.herdadeedamatinha.com). Then we continued through more cork forests before arriving in the quiet village of Cercal do Alentejo.

Stage 9 on the Rota Vicentina

Vila Nova de Milfontes to Porto Covo

13 miles

Our friend Pete asked if we were getting into a rhythm and a flow of our days here. We've gotten into a routine…as much as the trail and sand will allow.  Stage 9 was our last on the Fisherman's Trail which has pampered us with such amazing views of the Atlantic coastline.  It has allowed us to hear the flow of the ocean and the crashing waves on a continuing basis during our hiking.  Our penance for that gift of flow has been the drudgery of walking in sand….but we would do it again for those views.  I've also been listening to art podcasts which will sink in as the trips continues.  One to mention was the Savvy Painter's episode on “Flow”….it's that state of mind that artists get into during painting where time and place seem to disappear…Janet calls it my painter's brain…I've been lucky enough to experience this meditative state..and now I have a name for it and suggestions to harness it thanks to the podcast.  So today, we veer inland for our final 3 legs on the Historic Trail.  Maybe we will experience different flows.

Stage 8 - Almograve to Vila Nova de Milfontes

11 miles

• Today was a bit easier…mostly flat, but still sandy.
• The headlands are getting shorter as we go north…a sign that we are getting closer to the Tejo River in Lisbon.
• We had hoped to take the ferry boat across the Mira River, but it had electrical problems, so we hiked an additional 3 miles to the bridge and into Vila Nova.

We have waited long enough…time to try some Cataplana.  Today…dinner was at Tasca do Celso which seems very popular with the locals.  The cataplana is both the name of a typical seafood dish as well as a Portuguese item of cookware used to make the dish and a method of cooking using it.  I believe Tasca do Celso’s version included som eel and manta ray!

See the Instagram post of Steve’s gouache study in Vila Nova de Milfontes

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcIH5trsa12/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=

Day 9 - Stage 7 of the Rota Vicentina

Zambujeira do Mar to Almograve

13.7 miles

This stage was all about White Storks storks nesting out on the coastal cliffs in very strategic hard to reach peaks.  Portugal has the distinction of harbouring the only known White Storks that nest at sea. This behaviour is a relatively recent adaptation, but it is an expanding one and from its beginnings on the west coast in the lower Alentejo it has now spread southwards and around onto the southern coast of the Algarve.  You can read more about them here:  

https://www.birdinginportugal.com/herons-storks-ibises/white-stork-ciconia-ciconia

Stage 6 of the Rota Vicentina

Odeceixe to Zambujeira do Mar.

12-13 miles

• Spoiled with more beautiful coastline
• A discouraging detour around a farm to avoid some eroded cliffs.
• A welcomed entry into the whitewashed beachside Zambujeira do Mar.

We anticipated a wonderful sunset and it did not disappoint.  I worked on a painting study at the Capela which is shown in the Instagram link.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CcCtuMsMijW/?utm_medium=share_sheet

Rota Vicentina

Stage 5 - Aljezur to Odeceixe, 16 miles 

The start and end on this leg include two villages that are very enticing to stay an extra day.  Aljezur was founded in the 10th century and was a Moorish settlement until the Christian reconquest in 1249.  The castle and church sit high on the hill with the river, Ribera de Aljezur at its base.  The newer section of town is across the valley on an adjacent hill with a causeway connection.  The village maintains the land between the two for farming to this day, (see top photo).

Odeceixe is the most northern village on our route in the Algarve district.   It is about 500 feet wide and one mile long as it spills down to the Ribera de Seixe.  There is an operating windmill overlooking the old town of twisting narrow lanes. (Bottom photo) 

Also note:  We discovered that there is also a walking trail that runs West to East in southern Portugal called the Via Algarvariana…and the western end is in Aljezur….and it uses the same way markers as the Rota Vicentina Historic Way.  (Yes..it can be problematic)

Next is the Alentejo Region for the next two weeks.

Stage 4 of the Rota Vicentina - Arrifana to Aljezur

As in life, we have several paths to choose.  In our current case, should we choose the Historical Way, the Fisherman's Trail, our guidebook's route, or as Alvarado would say, Uncle Google?  Today we had all those options as this stage was not so straight and direct.  Normally, I would seek the most efficient route…but we've been given the luxury of time and leisure and (thankfully) Janet continues to remind me to let go of the hyper information in my pocket.  It's all part of that transitional process from the business work to what lies beyond and this trip is also about the art that circles in my head.  So today we followed the markers of the Fisherman's route.  Certainly not the most direct, but the one with the most beauty. More revelations ahead.

Day 3 on the Rota Vicentina

Stage 3 (S to N) Carrapateria to Arrifana…the longest leg…14 miles.

Stage 3 included a beautiful, but very trying first 4.5 miles through sand dunes, sand trails and the beach at Praia da Bordeira.  If you like very long sandy beaches that are pristine and only a handful of people, this is your beach.  The wildflowers are out and they obviously love the sandy loam.  Wish we could linger, but on we go.

Note:  The relatively small Mediterranean climate regions are home to a massive 20 percent of the planet's plant species.

Day 2 on the Rota Vicentina - Vila do Bispo to Carrapateria

The Rota includes two routes, the Historic Way and the Fisherman's Trail.  We are hiking the latter.  You will see fishermen along the route as well as beautiful beaches and surfers.  The first third of the trail was through pine forests on the way to the coast.  Then descends into three beaches.  This stage included a difficult climb down and up from the most southern of the three beaches on this route, Praia da Peña Furada…so be forewarned.  

Painting study was completed at the Igreja da Carrapateria.  This can be seen on my Instagram.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb4Rsy4shVD/?utm_medium=share_sheet

April 1, 2020
Hiking the Rota Vicentina
Rota Vicentina.com
Farol do Cabo de São Vicente to Vila do Bispo

The calm retreat, the silent shade,

With prayer and praise agree;

And seem, by Thy sweet bounty made,

For those who follow Thee…

    - William Cowper

We are walking the Rota from South to North. ( It is signed in both directions.)  The first two-thirds of Day one hugs the coastline with spectacular views.  Immediately from the lighthouse you encounter a difficult bouldered path, but luckily this did not last very long.  The final third is through farmland as you veer east into Vila do Bispo.

Today’s painting study of one of the windmill structures in Vila do Bispo can be found on Instagram.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb0SGbMMfUe/?utm_medium=share_sheet