After saying goodbye to Rach and Paul we drive to Olhao about 45 mins away.  Its now 7:30 pm so we couldn’t drive too far so its just an overnight pit stop.  Quiet evening before setting off next day to a very rural campsite near Evora Monte in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The Alentejo is a vast southern province, poor and sparsely populated and covering one third of Portugal.

Today is our 30th wedding anniversary! After a longish drive and shopping we celebrate by having a BBQ on site by anti-mossi candlelight, accompanied by fizz and a few beers. Our music is a herd of bell wearing sheep that never sleep and once the sun goes down we enjoy the fabulous night sky awash with stars…just lovely.

Next day we visit the village of Evora Monte. After parking Luci at the bottom we hike up to the top of a steep hill to visit the medieval walled village and castle. Views are 360 degrees and amazing from the roof of the overly restored castle. Pay a quick visit to the village cemetery before strolling back down the hill.  Enjoy a well earned beer in the village square and the most tasty chicken, salad and chips in one of the two village restaurants, whilst watching world cup football. End the day with another evening accompanied by bells and stars.

Start a little earlier today to drive the 45mins to Evora. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and the Moorish walled city has an huge aqueduct, a roman temple, lovely cathedral, lots of churches including the Church of St Francis that has an unusual Chapel of Bones with the inscription over the door….”We bones lie here waiting for yours” ! We spend a few hours here enjoying the architecture and especially enjoy wandering around on the cathedral roof.  Spend our 3rd and final night on the campsite with another tasty BBQ and the stars. We are sad to leave.