Évora, Tomar and Nazaré
"Wakey, wakey, my darlings." Our tour leader Fatima would alert us as our bus approached our next destination. She was absolutely delightful, filled with knowledge of Portuguese history and a passion for her country, her hometown of Tomar, her favorite futebol team and especially her granddaughter.
Hilary and tourmate Jill (right) were filled with excitement over our upcoming stop at the Chapel of Bones at the Royal Church of St. Franics in Évora (below).
The Cathedral of Évora (left and above).
We stopped for a quick group lunch in Évora (above) before heading off on our own to peruse shops where beautiful painted ceramics were plentiful (right), and then visited the Roman Temple, which was built around the first century AD (below).
We bid farewell to Lisbon and headed 85 miles east to Évora. We stopped at the Cathedral of Évora, one of the largest and oldest medieval cathedrals in Portugal, then visited the eerie Chapel of Bones, built in the 16th century by Franciscan friars. It is estimated that the chapel contains the remains of 5,000 people. Did we mention it was eerie? We also visited the Roman Temple in Évora, believed to have been built in the 1st century AD. The historic center of Évora, of which the Temple is part, is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That evening, Fatima facilitated a fun “meet and greet” game for the group to get to know one another and provided a lovely wine and cheese spread at the hotel.
We headed to Tomar with no idea what a fantastic two days Fatima had in store for us. We stopped on the way at the family-owned Rovisco Garcia Farm and Estate to learn how cork is harvested from trees and then feasted on an incredible lunch prepared for us while we tasted their amazing wines and olive oils. The homemade fish soup and chocolate cake were out of this world.
Later that afternoon, we toured the quaint town of Tomar, walking along the The Nabão River, and visiting the oldest synagogue in Portugal, the 15th century Synagogue of Tomar. Then we wandered over to the Praça da República and watched performers gather for a colorful parade through town.
In the morning, we headed to the Knights Templar Castle and Convent of Christ complex built in the 12th century. Fatima gave us a fascinating history lesson on the Knights Templar who created what is often cited as the first multinational banking system. The church is spectacular and we visited some of the 8 cloisters.
We continued our journey and headed to the coastal fishing village of Nazaré, known for having some of the biggest surfed waves in the world. Before we arrived in Nazaré, we stopped to marvel at the Pegoes Aqueduct, built in the 17th century to provide water to the Convent of Christ.
Nazaré is a somewhat touristy, but pretty, town, and we took a short walk on the beach and had a lovely seafood lunch at a restaurant overlooking the ocean. We returned to our hotel in Tomar and joined Barb and Jill, another couple on the tour, to enjoy a glass of wine on the patio. We were soon joined by Kevin and Hey-Jin, who were also tourmates, and shared an excellent charcuterie board and more wine. We had great conversations and really got to know one another over the course of the evening. Unplanned meetings with our fellow tourmates turned out to be one of the unexpected joys of our trip.
After an early evening wine and cheese get-together at our Évora hotel, a few of us went in search of gelato. We never felt uncomfortable walking any of the streets at night at anytime during the trip, something we did frequently, guided by Google Maps.
Rovisco Garcia
Farm and Estate
Possibly the best surprise of the whole trip was the visit to the Rovisco Farm and Estate where we learned how cork is harvested from trees and enjoyed an amazing lunch with wines from the estate.
Portugal is the world's largest supplier of cork, which is harvested from the outer bark of the cork oak tree. Stripping the bark from the tree once every 9 or 10 years allows the tree to regenerate its bark. After the bark is removed, the year of its removal is painted on the tree as a reminder of the last harvest.
Lunch at the estate was magnificent, with the estate wines and the homemade fish soup clear standouts.
Tomar
Tomar is the hometown of our beloved Fairy Guidemother Fatima and she couldn't wait to show it off to us.
We needed to walk off our sumptuous lunch so we crossed the Nabão River (right), and walked along the streets of Tomar until we got to the Praça da República, the historic hub of the city, where performers had started to gather before parading through the streets as part of a festival of arts (below).
Breakfast (above) at each of our hotels was delicious and timed appropriately for our departure each day. It was a great opportunity to sit and chat with our tourmates. Fatima was kind enough to round us up and shoot a groupshot at the Castle of the Knights Templar (right).
Before entering the Knights Templar Castle and Convent of Christ, (above and left), Fatima gave us a fascinating lesson on the history of the Knights Templar and their function as one of the first multinational banking systems.
After our visit to the Knights Templar Castle ended, we headed to Nazaré (below), home of the 100 foot wave, but first we stopped to admire the engineering that created the Pegoes Aqueduct (left), built in the 17th century to provide water to the Convent of Christ.
Nazaré
Nazaré is a popular seaside destination for people looking to enjoy the beach, seafood and the Atlantic Ocean. Surfers from all over the world seek out the massive waves that can occur between November and February. The World Surf League (yes, it exists) holds their annual Nazaré Big Wave Challenge during big wave season. The Surfing Deer scuplture (right) is a tribute to both ancient legends and modern surf culture.
Our day ends back at our hotel in Tomar (above left). We enjoyed conversation and laughter on the patio, along with some delicious Portuguese wine and charcuterie board with our tourmates Barb, Jill, Hey-Jin and Kevin. Each night, the next day's schedule was posted in the hotel lobby (above right). It was great way for us to fully understand what to expect and allowed us to prepare properly.
Click the pastel de nata to continue the journey.