The trip from Logos to Evora took 3 different trains. The first one, an hour long from Lagos to Tunes, was on a ‘local’ train. Nothing fancy. An aside: When we took a day trip from Lagos to Portimao and back, the bus ride cost us 4 Euro each, while the train was only 2 each.
Anyway, at Tunes we transferred to a regional train that had originated in Faro, the SE corner of Portugal, and would terminate in Oporto (Port), in the NW corner of the country. We had assigned seats in a specific car, and though we tried to find our car (#6) before be boarded, we failed, and boarded car #2. Set up pretty much like the inside of an airplane – nicer seats, narrow aisle- we schlepped forward (?) to car 6. We found an empty luggage rack and our seats and shortly thereafter the food & beverage cart came up the aisle. There was also a dining car. The free WiFi was kind of slow, so we watched the scenery slowly change as we headed north. The MPH was as high as 130. Two hours later in Tunes we caught our final ride – a train coming from Lisboa (Lisbon) and terminating in Evora. In assigned seats we watched the country side turn more into rich farmland than the dryer, pine tree rich area to the south. Total time of the trip was 4.5 hours, getting us into Evora at a respectable 6:30.
The .8 of a mile from train station to our room was very walkable. I do get a bit stressed over the sidewalks and streets – all cobbled – no smooth concrete. We just take it slow and hope the luggage wheels hang in there for the final few legs.
Our room in Evora is in a little 9 room modern hotel above a trinket shop (Ale-Hop) right smack in the center of town. (Ale-Hop is a chain store, and has nothing to do with beer – most puzzling.) The hotel is different in that there is a common kitchen for everyone’s use, as well as a patio and kids play area. No meals includes, but they’ve done a nice job reconfiguring an old building into a modern facility. People watching was prime.
Evora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, population around 55k. The 1200 meter long wall surrounding the town was originally built in the 2-4th centuries AD, with a major rebuild/finish in the 10th century. It’s a nice walk around the perimeter. About 12 streets go through the wall, though originally there were only 4 gates. Though we didn’t get the chance to explore it, the surrounding countryside looks absolutely beautiful.
From the looks of it, this fella’s been pushing up daisies for quite a while. (He’s a piece of stone sculpture – creepy to come upon.)
This last Sunday (the 29th) Portugal ‘sprang forward”, so we’re back in sync with the U.S. – 5 hours different from East coast, 8 from the West. (Portugal is one hour different from the rest of western Europe.) – tick tock! Laura
