 |
| Mertola from the bridge |
Leaving Mertola was a little difficult as it had given me a perfect day. Here I used a different bus company to get to Beja. From St Antonio it was with http://www.rede-expressos.pt which seemed more luxurious, complete with wifi, but I failed to get a connection during the trip. From Mertola the bus company was
http://www.rodalentejo.pt which appears to be the main transport in Alentejo, the name of this part of Portugal. The simple country folk of this area are the butts of lots of Portuguese jokes apparently.
 |
| the plain from Beja |
Beja is one of those places I could have missed without any regrets. Had to stay in a characterless youth hostel on the outskirts of the small historical centre. Standing on the edge of a large agricultural plain, which was looking quite green, I wondered what it would look like in the middle of summer. The land turns a pa
le yellow under the scorching sun, often swelteringly hot at 40 degrees. However, the bus trip was pleasant, stopping off at several tiny villages along the way with a few tantalizing glimpses of sail less windmills, tilting perhaps, straight out of Don Quixote.
 |
| heading to a village |
 |
| the castle at Beja |
 |
| view from castle |
As I have said, old Beja is a small place and it took little over an hour to see almost all the places of interest.
 |
| inside the castle walls |
 |
| marble spiral staircase in the castle |
 |
| the museum at Beja |
 |
| Beja |
Leaving Beja this morning was another of those early starts but made easy due to the close proximity of the bus station and the hostel. Hopefully all my travel plans go as easy as they have so far. Lots to see in Evora and one of the first sights was this ruin of a Roman temple.
No comments:
Post a Comment