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 Cromlech of Xerez

Due to its geographic location, the hilltop of Monsaraz and nearby areas have been occupied since pre-historic times. We spent the first night next to the megalithic circle of Cromlech of Xerez and were treated to a phenomenal sunset.

Castro Monsaraz

The hilltop where the main settlement is located was a fortification, or castro, before Roman occupation. It was later successively occupied by the Visigoths, Arabs, Mozarabs, Jews, and after the Reconquista, Christians loyal to Afonso Henriques.

Monsaraz castle and village.

In the 8th century, Monsaraz fell under the dominion of Arab forces that occupied the Iberian Peninsula. The name Monsaraz originates from the word Xarez or Xerez, the Iberian transliteration of its Arabic name Saris or Sharis for the Gum Rockrose, a plant that still prospers in poor, dry, acidic slate-based soil surrounding Monsaraz.

Of course you knew all that, right? We did too. Isn’t Google wonderful? What we didn’t know as we drove up the cobblestone streets towards the castle that unlike many other medieval towns we had visited, Monsaraz had apparently seen the value of visiting tourists and had created a beautiful flat parking area just outside the walled city especially for large vehicles like motorhomes. Just a 3-minute walk from the town center, we could explore the many cute gift shops selling locally produced pottery & weavings and inviting little cafés & restaurants. What a good idea!

Walking around we discovered that it was not only an amazing historic village but also a very friendly one. Unique to other castles in Portugal, the entrance was free and there was even a bullring.

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 things called corks. I had always wondered what exactly the story was about corks. I only knew that the majority of them came from Portugal, so here we were in the town of Azaruja in the Alentejo region of southern Portugal, one of many centers of cork harvesting.

Learning about Cork 

As we drove into town, the main drag was lined with cork processing plants. It was evening so we pulled into in the center of town and camped next to the bullring. It was a quiet friendly village atmosphere. Our cork education would begin in the morning.

Just checking here. Looks like there will enough cork for another year.

The Cortiçarte-Arte em Cortiça, Lda. Company was one of the largest processing plants and even had a store selling cork products. This was amazing. We had no idea of the number of things that can be made with cork. Decorative items, lamps, purses, shoes, hot pads, clothing, even items like aprons and umbrellas. Who would ever guess? Some of the material felt like silk!

The open forests of cork trees in the Alentejo region and further south leave no sign of being depleted. Each tree gets an initial cutting where the bark is peeled off, sometime between June and August. A new layer of cork bark grows and no damage is done to the tree. The tree is marked and will remain for nine years before the cork bark can be harvested again.

Processing Cork

At the processing plant the cork is washed in hot water to kill bacteria and other microbes. It is then sorted for use. Selections of cork are shipped to other plants in northern Portugal near Porto. There is little waste. Cork unusable for decorative items or wine & other stoppers is ground and pressed into cork-based material used for floors and building products.

Yes, many wineries are starting to use synthetic material and even, (shudder), screw caps, but you can rest assured, the next time you open that bottle of Old Vine Zinfandel and smell the real cork, there is more where that came from, despite the rumors from respected wineries who may have found synthetic corks cheaper to use.

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, we figured it might be a quiet place for the night.

The Menhir of Almendres

The Menhir (standing stones) of Almendres are some of most ancient monuments of humankind. Archaeological research has shown that they occurred throughout the Neolithic period, somewhere between the 6th and 4th millennia BC. By comparison, this makes them about 2000 to 4000 years older than Stonehenge in England.

A second feature or phenomenon of the area are the Dolmens whose function was clearly funerary, but there is ongoing discussion of how they were shaped and lifted into place.

Invoking the same amount of amazement we felt when visiting the Sacsayhuaman ruins above Cusco, Peru, one must wonder how these stones were shaped and moved without the use of the wheel or steel tools. The second question remains in discussion. Why? Some seem to correspond to the elementary astronomic alignment of the sunrise on the summer solstice. Was that just a coincidence?

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 there aren’t two or more neurotic dogs who sleep all day and bark all night at nothing.

Évora, an UNESCO World Heritage Site

In the morning we drove to the medieval, (I think it was medieval), town of Évora, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. Évora is famous for several things including a Roman temple, the Gothic cathedral, the Palace of Vasco da Gama and the Cadaval Palace built on the ruins of a Moorish Castle.

One look at the narrow cobblestone streets built back when chariots were the normal mode of transportation clearly told us this was no place for our truck. We parked on the outskirts, entered one of the old city gates and walked along the 16^th century aqueduct “of Silver Water” to explore the town.

St. Francis Church’s baroque style and its adjacent Bones Chapel

St. Francis Church from the 15/16^th century contains many chapels decorated in elaborate gold leaf Baroque style and the wide nave is a masterpiece of late Gothic architecture. The details of the blue Azulejo tile pictures always amaze us but what intrigued us more than the church was the adjacent “Bones Chapel”. This chapel was originally built as a place of prayer and meditation for the Franciscans in the XVI century and was constructed using the bones of the graves of the town. The inscription at the entrance reads, “We are the bones that are here. We are waiting for yours”. The interior is completely covered with human bones and skulls which gives it a rather solemn, gloomy or even morbid atmosphere like a crypt. We had seen something like this in Peru many years ago but done in a different style.

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 reached Portugal. It would be hard to imagine a nicer gentleman or a more hospitable family.

Allowing us to stay in his guesthouse, we visited some of the interesting attractions in the area, including the fabulous Bacalhôa winery, museum and palace with their amazing collection of art. On other days, with Soares as our guide, we explored along the coast to see some of Portugal’s beautiful beaches, stopping to taste regional specialties like the creamy Tortas de Azeitão. One morning we arranged a fun meeting with some of the members of the local four-wheel-drive club Soares belongs to. We gathered at a nearby park and invited them to come and see our expedition truck.

During our stay at Soares’s beautiful home, we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know his wonderful family. His wife Rita insisted on treating us to some of her gourmet cooking and we managed to offer them a couple of our favorite dishes from California and Mexico. Soares is an avid four-wheel-drive enthusiast and traveler so he was interested in learning a little of Gary’s experiences on four Camel Trophies. Going over our maps, he showed us some of the places we should visit. As an IT specialist he also spent hours helping Monika sort out our Internet and phone connection problems.

Our brief stay in Azeitão gave us an opportunity to catch up a little bit and get off the road for a few days. The hospitality by Soares and his family was really overwhelming. We can only hope they will visit us in California someday.

As much as we would have loved to continue and see more of southern Portugal, after looking at the overall map of Europe, we realized how far away Turkey was. We still had many countries to visit on the way. Despite our motto: “Don’t take the trip. Let the trip take you”, we knew we had to be in Turkey with time to organize our most difficult leg of the trip and to arrange visas for all the Stans and China.

One of the specialties of Portugal we always wanted to learn more about was the cork region so we pried ourselves away from the coast and headed east. Fall was in the air.

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 dozens of elaborate coaches and carriages, many literally dripping with gold and silver, and mostly designed and built only for a single dignitary or an official event. Beautiful? Wow! But really? How much money can you spend on the wheels of a carriage for a one-time event?

Pastéis de Belém are best eaten warm with a good cup of coffee. They were delicious.

Just down the street of the Carriage Museum was an absolute must-do in Lisbon. Everyone we had talked to since we entered Portugal told us we had to try the famous Pastéis de Belém. These turned out to be very light little flaky cups full of delicious cream custard. The recipe has been in the family since 1837. Best eaten warm with a good cup of coffee, they were wonderful, and we stopped there more than once during our stay in Lisbon.

Catching the tram or bus into downtown, we could see a whole new side of the city. Praça do Comércio, the main plaza, was impressive and it led to a web of narrow streets and alleys lined with stores and little cafés and bars. Even from downtown we could see the ramparts of the Castelo de São Jorge. Dating from the Visigothic times, St. George’s Castle had some wonderful views of the city, as well as being a World Heritage site.

Friends invited us to a Fado dinner performance. The soul gripping Fado music is the soul of Portugal.

Once downtown, one of the best and most exciting ways to get around are the old trolleys that wind their way through some streets so narrow even a car cannot pass. It was on one of these trolleys where we let our guard down. Packed into an elbow-to-elbow crowd, standing room only, we later realized we had been set up. As the trolley car (Line 28) rumbled, pitched and twisted through the narrow streets, the pushing and shoving passengers easily distracted us.

After transferring my wallet to my front pocket where it should’ve been, I glanced down to see that Monika’s backpack was open and her wallet hanging out. It could’ve been worse. We lost about €50. Right after that she took a picture of the sign, “BEWARE of Pickpockets”. Too late but a lesson learned. According to a fellow camper who was a local policeman, Trolley Line 28 is especially notorious for getting ripped off.

Beware especially on the crowded Tram Line 28!

That evening we joined Portuguese friends who had invited us to the Clube de Fado, an excellent restaurant where we were treated to an exquisite Fado performance. Fado is an important part of the Portuguese hearts, especially in Lisbon. It’s impossible to describe except to say that it is a combination of folk music, blues, soul, and wonderful music played on a unique Portuguese guitar.

Not allowing our experience with the notorious pickpockets to taint our visit, after a few more days of sightseeing we stopped briefly at the huge monument of Christ overlooking the river and the city before heading south.

Leaving Cabo da Roca, we headed west to Lisbon, the Capital of Portugal. With a population of 580,000, this City has endured numerous Kings & Rulers battling it out over whose God or Prophet or Savior was the best. The kings were raking in the gold and other treasures from the many Portuguese colonies around the world and building fortresses, castles, and churches. Then there were dictators doing the same. There is a rich history to be explored, and we can’t possibly show you everything in a short blog.

The occasional tourist boat took us back a few hundred years.

Following the advice of other campers, we found an ideal site near the Ferry Terminal of Belém. It was safe, well lit, and close to more than half of the must-see attractions in Lisbon. Within walking distance of our campsite on the River Tejo, we were able to visit the Monastery of Jerónimos, the Tower of Belém and the Discoveries Monument all in one day. Both the Monastery and Belém Tower are World Heritage Sites, and the Discoveries Monument is something we couldn’t miss since it was literally just down the street from where we lived.

We did spend a few pleasant mornings sitting on our riverfront porch sipping coffee, or maybe in the evenings a little Port we had brought with us from that city. The occasional tourist boat took us back a few hundred years and in the distance, one might be convinced that we were looking at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Hopefully some of these pictures give you a little impression of this wonderful city.

So here we are at the most western point in continental Europe and in fact, the most western point of the Eurasian landmass. If you have been following our blogs for the last few months, you know that we have shipped our expedition camper and truck, The Turtle V, to Europe, and we have wandered down through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, a little of Northern Spain, and finally, to Portugal. Now that we have finally reached Cabo da Roca, our intended adventure, The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey, has begun. Everything before was just a warm up. The bugs and little problems of long-distance travel are slowly working themselves out.

We are ready for our New Adventure

The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey along the Silk Road

Our next stop will be Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. We realize that we can’t see everything that’s important, interesting or beautiful in every country, but we have some ideas of where we want to visit. As we head south and east following the coast of the Atlantic and then the Mediterranean Sea we will be sharing a little of our adventure. As much as we can, though we often have no control, we will be following John Steinbeck’s advice which has led us on adventures for the last 40 years: “Don’t take the trip.” he said, “Let the trip take you”. We must remind ourselves that the Essence of Adventure is not knowing how it’s going to come out.

As we stand above the 100-meter-high, (320 ft) cliffs in front of the Cabo da Roca monument, (N 38°46’880″, W 9°29’809″), the weather is perfect. It is an exciting day! The date is September 10, 2013. (You can see we’re little behind in our blogs.) Ahead of us, many countries and thousands of miles away lies Beijing, China, the end of the Silk Road, but probably not the end of The Trans-Eurasian Odyssey. We do hope you’ll join us.

Just as we were leaving Óbidos a few days earlier, Monika briefly met Patrick Cipriano, a young Portuguese who had been born in Switzerland. He was a tour guide and stopped his van, telling his clients he just had to take a picture of our truck.

Patrick Cipriano is the proud owner of a Portuguese 4X4 UMM. He was excited to see our truck.

After our restless night in Sintra, he found us again and spontaneously invited us to his parents’ house, just a small detour on the way to Cabo da Roca, our next destination. We accepted and followed him in his Portuguese 4X4 UMM. It turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to spend some time with a Portuguese family. When we arrived Patrick’s mother, Gracinda, was already preparing dinner. Monika took time to wander through the large garden, vineyard and orchard with Patrick’s father, Avelino.

Patrick was busy with tourists the next day so Avelino and Gracinda were gracious enough to take us to the National Palace in nearby Mafra. The so-called Palace is a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace/monastery. It was built during the reign of King João (John) V (1707–1750). The vast complex is among the most sumptuous Baroque buildings in Portugal and one of the biggest buildings constructed in Europe in the 18th century.

When the flow of gold from the Portuguese colony of Brazil started to arrive in Lisbon in abundance, the King continued to enlarge the plans for the palace. He appointed a German goldsmith, Johann Friedrich Ludwig, as his architect. Ludwig had studied architecture in Rome and knew contemporary Italian art. King John V’s immense wealth allowed him to be a generous patron of arts.

The National Palace in Mafra is a monumental Baroque and Italianized Neoclassical palace/monastery. It was built during the reign of King John V (1707–1750), one of the biggest buildings constructed in Europe in the 18th century.

As we walked through the maze of rooms and halls, the size and complexity was on an equal to St Paul’s Cathedral in London. The facade is 220 meters long (722 ft.). Covering over 40 000 m², (430,556 sq ft), the whole complex is one of the largest palaces in the world, with about 1,200 rooms, more than 4,700 doors and windows, and 156 stairways. The building also includes a major library, with about 40,000 rare books. The basilica is decorated with numerous Italian statues of incredible detail and includes six historical pipe organs and two carillons, composed of 92 bells.

Construction lasted 13 years and mobilized a vast army of workers from the entire country (a daily average of 15,000 but at the end climbing to 30,000 and a maximum of 45,000), under the command of António Ludovice, the son of the architect. In addition 7,000 soldiers were assigned to preserve order at the construction site. There was even a hospital for the sick or wounded workers. A total of 1,383 workers died during the construction. No mention is made of how they ate, slept or went to the bathroom??

One must be amazed by the fact that this spectacular structure was designed and built without the use of a computer. Perhaps more amazing, the National Palace in Mafra is not among the many World Heritage Sites in Portugal.

Later we walked around the resort beach town of Ericeira and stopped for an expresso at one of the many cafés.

Our visit with the Ciprianos gave us a much-needed quiet place to park for a couple of days.

Waking up in Sintra we looked out the window to find out there was an antique motorcycle show in progress. Since Gary used to ride a motorcycle, (Kawasaki 350 Avenger and Honda 750), we couldn’t resist taking a few pictures. The Motorcycle Club of Sintra is the oldest in Portugal, and this is their 29th annual show & rally. How many of these beauties can you remember?

29º PASSEIO MOTAS ANTIGAS

7 DE SETEMBRO 2013

Mais um grande êxito do Moto Clube de Sintra

http://www.motoclubedesintra.com

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