The day broke with full cloud cover but at least it wasn’t
raining. We wanted to have another look at Monsaraz in the daylight so we
walked up the steps and through one of the gates. Shops had opened to welcome
the day’s tourists and we spent a little time browsing but our main aim was to
walk around the edge of the town and visit the castle, which was open last
night but it was too dark to see anything. The castle is Mediaeval and is
absolutely tiny. In 1830 was converted into a bullring and must be one of the
most unusual ones in Portugal. Rows of seats were added against the walls and
the spectacle can also be viewed from atop the walls where there is also a
great view over the rest of the town. The aire occupies part of the 17th
century fortifications added outside the walls.
It was time to move on and our first task was to visit some
prehistoric monuments mentioned in the ‘Active Seniors’ booklet, which also
provided GPS coordinates to find them! The first was the Cromlech of Xerez,
described in our ancient Rough Guide as being between Monsaraz and the River
Guadiana. I was a little concerned by this as that is where the reservoir now
stands. Sure enough, the land was flooded but the monument was moved and
re-erected. The monument consists of a 4m high menhir surrounded by 50 smaller
stones, most unusually in a square rather than a circle. All the stones are
thought to represent phalluses and the site is considered to have been used for
fertility rites, which is why it is strange that they decided to re-erect the
monument next to a convent! There may also be an astronomical aspect to the
stones as the diagonals seem to be aligned with N - S, and E – W and some
larger outside stones when aligned with the central menhir could point to the
sunrise and sunset. The next port of call was the Menhir of Belhoa, which was
not so impressive, having been broken in the past and a section lost. The
Menhir of Outeiro, however, was well worth the visit being over 5.6m high and
30cm in diameter, definitely phallic, and to quote our Reguengos de Monsaraz
Tour Guide (€2 from Monsaraz tourist office), “considered the most impressive
isolated menhir of the Iberian Peninsular and also one of the most notable in
Europe”.
We had seen lots of vines on this trip but we were now in
the heart of the Alentejo wine area and we past vineyard after vineyard on our
way to Elvas. Many of these vineyards can be visited but, most of them only
from Monday to Friday so, reluctantly, we drove passed.
Having passed more castles, we stopped at the heavily
fortified Elvas with its amazing late 15th – early 17th
century Amoreira Aqueduct built to supply the fort. We parked in the shadow of
the aqueduct that towered above us and I climbed up to the 17th
century star-shaped fort, the last in a series of forts on that hill. Here the
aqueduct entered the fort close to the Esquina gate. The fort is a very
impressive structure with outer and inner gates separated by a deep moat and
even the gates were built with long curved tunnels to provide additional
defence.
The journey from Elvas to Marvao was through higher land,
the vineyards being replaced by cork oaks, olives and scrub. After passing
Portalegre (another castle), the scenery became prettier and we climbed to the
aire set next to a convent and below the walled town of Marvao. The view from
here is stunning and this aire, like the one in Monsaraz, is one of the starred
aires in the Vicarious Books book.
We enjoyed a dinner of pasta with chorizo, mushroom and
tomato sauce and looked out of the van windscreen to the twinkling lights of
distant towns in Portugal and Spain.
Photos: A bullfighter in the ring – yes, they do have lady
bullfighters although this one would run a mile if she saw a bull; This is a
view of the walled town from the bullring (castle) wall and shows just how
small the town is; The Cromlech of Xerez with the convent behind; The
impressive Menhir of Outeiro stands proudly by Henrietta; The Amoreira Aqueduct
at Elvas.
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