Morena, Beja, Portugal
Rita treated us to a lovely breakfast this morning before we left Evora. She had it all set up when we came out of our apartment this morning. Fruit salad, yoghurt, pancakes, honey, bread, jam, ham and cheese. Delicious! It kept us going for most of the day.
We didn’t have far to go today but the roads weren’t good, so we kept a slow and steady speed for most of the morning. The locals didn’t find the roads as daunting as us so most of them left us in their wake. That was fine, we weren’t in any hurry. We did wish that some of them would stick to their side of the road when they were coming towards us!
We detoured to see the hilltop town of Monsaraz this morning. It’s another white village with the terracotta roofs that is protected by a castle. There are so many here in Portugal. It’s amazing! This one was remarkably almost tourist free. Admittedly a lot of the shops hadn’t opened as yet so perhaps more people arrived later and we were just lucky enough to avoid them. It was a very pretty village.
We got to Mertola about lunchtime. I contacted our Airbnb lady to see if we could get an early check in and luckily for us she said yes. There were quite detailed directions for finding this place and now I see why. It’s in a tiny village about 5kms from Mertola. There are only about 12 houses in the village. There are no street names and no numbers on the houses. Ours has a sign, thankfully proclaiming its name but the car had to be squeezed between two other houses to reach ours. The village seems to be undergoing a revival. There are a number of recently renovated houses and they all seem to have agreed on the blue and white theme. Our house is the only one made of stone. The rest are stuccoed. It’s very comfortable but the water in the shower is pathetic. There are a couple of signs around the house explaining the current drought so we’ve forgiven them for that.
We went back into Mertola later in the afternoon for a look around. When we told Rita this was our next stop she screwed up her face and said, ‘Why you go there?’ We kind of understand her reaction now. Perhaps we’re being unkind to Mertola. We’re told the River Guadiana is great for watersports and fishing but it was 32° when we got in there and we didn’t last long. Just too hot for us. We bought some supplies at the supermarket and hightailed it back to the comfort of our little country cottage. We discovered some English programs on the TV and we’ve been relaxing with them for the evening.
Ange R
2023-06-15
Looks like a quaint little village.
Karen K
2023-06-15
Beautiful clear blue skies make for wonderful photos. Very picturesque.
Beth
2023-06-16
Another adventure-filled day for you guys, Leanne! I know what you mean re sightseeing and the heat. It's exceptionally hot & humid for this time of the year in Dallas. Loving the air-conditioned museums & galleries. X
Ange K
2023-06-16
The drought is very evident from your photos. Isn't it great when one is in a primarily non- English speaking country and one stumbles on some TV that one can understand 🤣
Suzanne
2023-06-16
A quaint little village, good to have a relaxing day
Karen
2023-06-16
I am so enjoying the photos. With your accompanying blog, i almost feel your experiences. You are awes and I am grateful.
Laurel
2023-06-16
Haven’t read your blog for a while, so a marathon catch up as I lie in my warm bed on a chilly morning. Am very much enjoying your travels. Sounds like you are becoming more confident on their roads. Gorgeous photos.
Marl
2023-06-17
Sounds like a delicious breakfast to get you fuelled for the day!
Liz Davis
2023-06-18
You would have been happy to see the sun go down after the heat of the day. Great photos again!