May 14 day Evora & Monsaraz
Elaine and I travelled together in September 2017 from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I tried to find places that we had not visited before. At the end, we booked a small group guided day tour to Evora and Monsaraz. Located about 130km from east of Lisbon, Evora has a history dating back more than five millennia. The Roman conquered the town in 57 BC and expanded it into a walled city. It is the historic capital of the Alentejo region. Owing to its well-preserved old town centre, and numerous monuments dating from various historical periods, Evora is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along with Liepaja, Lativa, Evora will be the European Capital of Culture in 2027.
Upon arrival in Evora, I wandered on my own into the St Francis Church which was built between the end of the 15th century and the early 16th century in mixed Gothetic-Manueline styles. It contains many chapels decorated Baroque style including the world famous Chapel of Bones which interior walls are fully covered and decorated with human skulls and bones – a reminder of impermanence. Completed by Franciscan friars in 1816, this chapel with an estimated 5,000 corpses were exhumed to decorate the walls. There are many memorable phrases and poems on mortality and impermanence which are similar to Buddhist thoughts. Then we walked through narrow alleys to the upper town square before reaching the Roman Temple next to the Pousada Convento de Evora (which was a convent before). We had an hour to wander around and I walked on my own to the Cathedral. But as I would not have enough time to visit it, I did not bother to pay for a brief visit. Anyway, I enjoyed strolling aimlessly in old towns. We drove for an hour (over 50 km) to reach our second destination.
I find Monsaraz perching on a small hilltop on the right margin of the Guadiana River in the Portuguese Alentejo region, near its border with Spain mesmerizing. It is a most picturesque, monumental and museum village with a magical ambience: made of lime and schist, this historic fortified village is one of the oldest in Portugal. It has always had strong military and religious influences and has been impeccably preserved. Elaine and I had a most delicious lunch with a fantastic view of the river border with Spain before walking along the main street. There are four big doors. The main one – Village Door is protected by two semi-cylindrical towers. I paid a small sum for a ticket to enter a 16th century church. As we had to join a wine tasting tour, I did not have time to visit the castle. Around 3 pm, we had to leave to return to Lisbon. I love this iconic village and would hope to return and stay overnight. Elaine and I were both tired and too full to have dinner. We packed and ready to leave Portugal the next day.
May 15 Lisbon, Portugal – Sevilla, Spain Travel Day
After breakfast, I bid farewell to Elaine who would be returning to Hong Kong via Madrid. I took a 7-hour bus ride to Seville via Faro: the journey was comfortable and cheap (26 euros). I arrived in the bus terminal at Plaza de Armas Sevilla around 6 pm and stayed in a pension within walking distance. After settling down, I went to Flamenco Andalusi at C. Arenal, Casco Antiguo and watched an excellent performance by a dancer accompanied by three musicians for a small audience of around 30 in an intimate setting. Her voice is coarse, emotional and sad. Though I did not know what she was singing, I felt enchanted by her body movements, facial expressions and singing. The performance lasted for an hour and I even took a photo with her. Then I had a most delicious main course of small portion and a nice glass of wine for just over 20 euro. It was incredibly cheap for the quality of the food and wine. I was tired and had a good sleep.
May 16 & 17 Merida
I left my suitcase in Seville and took a bus to Merida. The town was founded in 25 BC under the name Emerita Augusta, by order of Roman emperor Augustus to settle discharged soldiers and to guard a strategic pass and the Guadiana river bridge. It quickly became one of the most important cities in Roman Hispana. In the 4th century, it served as the capital of the Diocese of Hispana. In 713, it was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate and remained under Arab control. It returned to Christian rule in 1230 when Alfonso IX of Leon defeated the Arab ruler. In 1983, Merida became the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura and the archaeological ensemble comprising 22 well-preserved remains ranging from public buildings to private architecture, religious buildings and engineering work, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993.
I spent two days in this lovely well-preserved Roman town of significant historical importance. I bought a day pass (16 euro) that provides entry to eight attractions. At the end I was too tired and only visited five namely Roman theatre (a capacity for 6,000) and Amphitheatre, Temple of Diana, Casa del Mitreo, and Alcazaba dating 835 CE (Arab Citadel – the oldest surviving Moorish fortress in Spain with an outstanding Moorish cistern). I walked around the small town and visited for free the National Museum of Roman Arts. Many attractions are free: the impressive 800m-long Roman bridge built in the 1st century BC over the Guadiana, the 15m-high Trajan’s Arch, Portico del Foro, Visigoth Museum, and Plaza de Espana. As I could not walk long distance these days, I took a tourist train with explanations and saw the San Lazaro Aqueduct and Milagros Aqueduct (stretching for almost 1000m) from a distance.
May 18 & 19 Caceres
The bus from Merida to Caceres took less than an hour. It is a World Heritage Site with well-preserved remains and buildings from its Prehistoric and medieval times, the Roman and Moorish occupation and the golden age of Jewish culture in Spain (till its expulsion from Spain in 1492). The bus terminal is far from the old city and I had to take a taxi (over 30 euro) to get to NH Collection Hotel Palacio de Oquendo dating back to the 16th century whichh is located near one of the entrances to the walled city.
On Sunday, I had a sumptuous lunch at Borona Bistro serving traditional Extremaduran cuisine. My visit to Caceres was one of the highlights of the whole journey. During my luxurious two nights’ stay in this monumental city, I strolled leisurely in the walled city climbing the city wall, soaking in the atmosphere at sunset, after dark and early in the morning by wandering aimlessly and looking up at the soaring towers of surrounding buildings and the intact city walls from the 16th century. There are some 25 cathedrals, churches, convents and monasteries; some 30 palaces and stately houses; four museums and nine castles.
What I enjoyed most was the ambience, a retreat feel inside the walled city with few tourists, and an eternal atmosphere created by solid and timeless stone architecture, narrow alleys and cobbled streets. I sat several times of the day in the Plaza Mayor with full views of the Bujaco tower and the Pulpitos tower and the Herb tower and the Town Hall, in the Plaza de Santa Maria and Plaza de San Mateo.
I wandered around the intimate Jewish quarters twice to look at the houses covering with flourishing flowers and green plants. I walked up the Bujaco tower and along the wall to the Pulpitos tower. I paid to visit the Santa Maria Cathedral and San Francisco Javier Church (18th century church with a baroque facade rising above the Plaza de San Jorge) and climbed their spiral staircases to reach the top to see the mesmerizing skyline with turrets, spires, gargoyles and storks’ nests. But I could not visit the Church of San Mateo (with the highest spot of the city at 458m), and the Museum of Caceres (which is closed on Mondays).
May 20 – 22 Seville
Seville, the capital and the largest city of Andalusia, is the fourth largest city in Spain. Its old town with an area of 4 sq km contains a World Heritage Site comprising three building complex namely the Alcazar palace complex, the Cathedral, and the General Archive of the Indies. My original plan was to visit two World Heritage Sites i.e. Seville and the Donana National Park. I would travel around Seville using a 24-hour sight-seeing bus pass with 14 stops beginning at the Colon, going through the Plaza de Espana, crossing the river to Triana and World Expo site before crossing the river to see the Torres de Los Perdigones and Macarena (with old city walls) and before returning to the Plaza Duque and ending at Plaza de Armes.
May 20. I took a direct bus back to Seville and stayed in another pension next to the Plaza de Armes. I spent the afternoon visiting the Museum of Fine Arts that contains important art collections with numerous master pieces by Murillo and Zurbaran. Established in 1835 in the former Convent of La Merced, the museum stands behind the Gardens of Murillo.
After the museum, I watched the 5:30pm show “Pasion” at Teatro Flamenco Sevilla at C.Cuna. The theatre is fairly large with 16 rows of seats (possibly with over 250-300 seats). I was late and was arranged to sit in the front row (so that I would not disturb others)! What a treat! I watched four pairs of dancers performing with passions and colourful costume. A lead dancer was male who is slim and handsome! It was a totally different experience (I planned to watch another performance in Triana the following day. But when I arrived at the venue, I discovered there was no show that evening).
After the performance, I strolled aimlessly in the old town. Soon I found myself at the buzzling Plaza de San Salvador. I went into the Church of San Salvador, the second largest church in Seville. Originally converted from the city’s oldest mosque, it was rebuilt in Baorque form in the 17th century. I also visited the Church of Magdalena before dinner.
May 21. I joined a full day trip (12 hours) to the Donana National Park, a World Heritage Site. Occupying the right bank of the Guadalquivir river at its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean, the Park covers an area of 543 sq km, of which 135 sq km are a protected area. The park itself and surrounding protected buffer zone amount to over 1,300 sq km in the provinces of Huelva, Sevilla and Cadiz. It is notable for the great diversity of its biotopes and different ecosystems: lagoons, marshlands, pine groves, aloe veras, fixed and mobile dunes, cliffs, scrub woodland, maquis and 30km of unspoilt white beaches. It is one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region and is the wintering site for more than 500,000 water fowl each year.
I met four tourists on the bus and we had a young and enthusiastic guide-driver. We spent time driving through pine forests and saw hares, black kites and hundreds of flamingos in a pond. While the two young people from Belgium went for horse-riding, our guide took us bird-watching nearby where we saw Ibis and Grey Heron. After picking up the riders, we proceeded to the famous white village of El Rocio which has a wild West feel: there is no paved road and children are taught to ride a horse at a young age. It was hot and I had a plate of fresh sardines and a pint of beer for lunch.
Then we had a lovely short hike on a boardwalk through the woodland before reaching Palacio Acebron, a beautiful stately 19th– century building which is now a museum under restoration! Our final stop was Matalascanas, known for its unique blend of natural beauty with semi-fossil dunes and cultural heritage. The beautiful shore is made of fine grain light golden sand with a green leafy belt with pine tree, juniper, rockrose, crowberry, lavender etc.
I had a wonderful day driving through pine forests, watching Black Kites hoovering around, wild horses galloping, flamingos in an expansive lagoon, Egrets and Grey Herons in a bush, walking in the forest and having a relaxing time at El Rocio.
When I was back in Seville, I hopped off near Triana so that I could stroll the picturesque river bank. Then I activated the 24-hour bus pass to take a ride with commentary on the history of areas and the monumental buildings in particular the group related to the Expo ‘29 (Plaza Espana and Americas, Pavilion of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina Guatemala Peru etc.). Because of my hip problem, I had to find ways to explore a place within my disability and found the sightseeing bus a good way to look around!
May 22. As my flight to Bordeaux would be leaving after 7 pm, I had almost a full day in Seville. My original plan was to visit the Alcazar Palace and the Cathedral. The palace is a former site of the Islamic-era citedal which contruction began in the 10th century and later developed into a palace complex from the 11th –to 13th century under Islamic rulers. It is a preeminent example of Mudejar style in the Iberian Peninsula including sections with Gothic and Renaissance elements. The Cathedral which construction began after 1401 and finished in 1506, is considered the largest Gothic cathedral in the world and one of the largest cathedrals in the world. World Heritage Properties in Seville. It contains a number of important tombs including one of the two claimed burial places of Christopher Columbus. The Palace and the Cathedral together with the General Archive of the Indies (the repository of valuable archival documents relating to the Spanish Empire in the Americas and the Philippines up to 1760), are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As I had not purchased tickets online well in advance, I was unable to visit the Palace and Cathedral. Instead, I had time to stroll leisurely along the river, enjoy the purple jacaranda lining the boulevards and squares, stop in a local cafe for coffee and breakfast, and wandering aimlessly through the narrow alleys. The buildings and architectures including the Palace, the Cathedral, Plaza de Toros, the Theatre, the University, are colourful and beautiful. I joined a free walking tour with some 20 tourists at noon to visit the impressive and iconic Plaza de Espana, the monumental square. Our guide walked so quickly that I could not catch up. Eventually I decided to walk at my own pace and hopped back on the sightseeing bus at 1 pm to continue with my carefree bus tour.
I hopped off at Plaza Duque and had a light vegetarian lunch in a local eatery where there was no tourist! It was hot and I had no more energy to explore the old town after lunch. Instead, I headed back to Hostal Joshof to pick up my suitcase and took a taxi to the airport (30 euro). I could have taken the airport bus for 5 euro if I could walk 200m with a 20-kg suitcase to the nearest bus stop. But I was getting too old and weak. It was a short flight of an hour and a half. I arrived in Bordeaux France after 9:30pm.