Évora: Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site so promised us some interesting sight-seeing. But the rain and wind had followed us inland and overnight had increased in intensity - not the best conditions for walking around. To top it off, we walked to where we had been told the bus stop was. But we could only find the one on the side of the road leaving town, not going towards it. While puzzling this over, the bus arrived - early - and sailed past us lea...

The Megalithic Sites: The countryside around Évora is particularly rich in megalithic sites so we went in search of a few of them. The first we found at the end of a long dirt road of rain-filled potholes. The Cromeleque dos Almendres is a group of huge stone circle of around 95 granite monoliths up to a couple of metres high. They sit on a gentle slope surrounded by cork trees. This is the biggest and most important megalithic site on the Iberian Pen...

Beja: We arrived at Beja early enough to walk into town for the afternoon. We had our guide book and list of things to see. But everything was closed...it was Monday and we had forgotten that most things are closed! However we poked our heads into the local church and were waved in by three old women sitting at a table at the entrance. Here we had a treat. The walls were lined with not the usual overwrought baroque decoration but by huge panels of blue ...

Up the Coast and Inland Our coastal stop in the Alentejo province was a little white and blue town called Porto Covo. In high summer this would be a great spot but with the wind and the rain, the Atlantic waves were rough and the beaches looked less than inviting. But we walked around the town, along the beach front and down to the little fishing harbour. The rough weather meant that not one boat was left in the water, having been all pulled up out of the ...

The Algarve: We were looking forward to seeing the Algarve coast, having seen so many beautiful photos and read so much about it as a holiday destination. There are three 'coasts' on the Algarve: the so-called 'leeward coast' east of Faro, the 'windward coast' west of Faro and the 'Atlantic coast' on the western side of the province. East of Faro the beaches are long and often on sandy islands just off the land. West of Faro are the beautiful beaches pu...