As we mentioned in our first blog about Seville, we were fortunate to watch a professional ham-cutting contest. We had tasted this amazing ham during our previous travels in Spain and we always wondered how and where it was produced, since its flavor is so completely different from any other we had ever eaten. Here’s […]

One of the interesting things we could clearly see in Seville was the influence of the Arabic culture that dominated here for centuries before Christianity finally won out. Among the many amazing sites to visit in the city, the Alcázar Palace with its gardens, intricately carved arches, ceilings and beautiful Azulejo tiles leaves little doubt […]

Heading east, we could not miss the magical city of Seville (Sevilla in Spanish). It had a feeling of a walk-around town, though one could easily get lost in the meandering pedestrian alleys and narrow side streets. We did a few times. The Jewish quarter was designed as a maze for protection of its residents […]

Our final stop in Portugal was really more of a surprise. We were just looking for a place to stop for lunch when saw the fortress and church of Mourão on top of the hill inviting us. Turned out the route we chose was a little too narrow to be comfortable so we parked and […]

Following our difficult decision to bypass some of the more beautiful places in southern Portugal and head towards Spain, we were making better time now. There were still a couple locations on our route towards the Spanish border that our friend Soares insisted we must stop and see. The first was Monsaraz. Megalithic Circle of […]

There was a time when good wine came in a gallon jug with a screw cap. Perhaps we can all remember Carlo Rossi, “No wine is sold before its time”, or good old Red Mountain Burgundy. As our tastes and perhaps our budget improved, we graduated to better wines that were preserved with these little […]

Leaving the narrow streets of Évora, we looked on the map for someplace a little quieter to camp and saw that we were near the historic site of the largest single megalithic monument on the Iberian Peninsula, dating back some 7000 years. Located in a relatively remote area away from civilization on a dirt track, […]

Another day, another castle, another church and another ruin. We just can’t seem to pass them up. After a somewhat strange night spent next to a sports complex where kids were practicing soccer until midnight, that’s when the dogs started barking. We are starting to learn that there is virtually no place in Portugal where […]

After a final look at Lisbon from the viewing area at the Christ monument, we headed south to the small community of Azeitão. Soares Periquito had seen my name in Overlander’s Handbook I had contributed to and had been following our blogs for over a year. He had repeatedly invited us to visit when we […]

I guess there’s no rest for the weary tourist. Our campsite on the dock near the Belém Ferry Terminal was only a few blocks from the National Carriage Museum. Our friend, Rod Hall, the notorious Class 4 Off-Road and now Production Class Race Driver, had recommended it. The Carriage Museum was an astounding collection of […]