The Country that Discovered the World Could not Discover the Toilet Seat?

 It was time to journey from the Algarve, cimbing gradually up through the Portuguese interior on our way to Porto. Our destination today was the ancient city of Évora in the Alentejo region.

Freeways and even B-roads are very good here, though you must be prepared for tolls on the major ones. I guess this is how they can afford to keep them in such good condition. They seemed underused, however, so I am not sure if the typical Portuguese driver drives on them! I can imagine they thumb their noses at paying to drive somewhere. There are plenty of small highways and backroads if you know where you are going and time is not an issue. 

And no one except North American tourists pays any attention to speed limits, especially on the motorways. Even while we were going above the posted limit (110 kph) people were tearing past us at what seemed like 200+kph, riding our tail and weaving in and out of traffic. They're seriously insane!

We were now in The Alentejo, the largest region of Portugal, and were immediately impressed by rolling hills, mile after mile of vineyards, and golden plains of cereal crops. This is the breadbasket of Portugal, a UNESCO Protected Biosphere Reserve, and it reminded us of our prairie days, only with hills. The sun was shining as usual and made everything seem to glow against the blue sky.

We began to notice plenty of cork trees all over the landscape; some had had their bark  harvested and were obviously in a stage of new growth. Many looked decades old, kind of gnarly like ancient apple trees with thick trunks and bare branches. Cork is harvested every 9 years; it is completely sustainable and has hundreds of uses beyond your favourite bottle of wine. We all know of its popularity as flooring but it has all kinds of industrial uses including by NASA as insulation in the space shuttle. There are cork products in specialty stores and souvenir shops all over Portugal. And didn't Ferdinand sit under a cork tree in the famous children's story?

Along with the usual olive orchards and miles of vineyards there were also fields of blueberry bushes, which I did not expect to see, and our first sighting of grazing cattle.

If you are of my generation, when someone mentions Portuguese wine you might immediately think of Mateus Rosé - many a windowsill and bookshelf in residence were decorated with those iconic bottles with the oval body and long neck.  Fortunately Portugal produces hundreds of other very fine wines from several different regions, and we were lucky to taste some really good examples, including from Alentejo.

Our favourite guidebooks are the Lonely Planet series as they always offer great side trips and hidden gems that others don't. Today as a "don't miss" they recommended a stop at the rural village of Entradas just off the highway and down a short road in the wheat fields. It's an actual working agricultural hamlet, with a few streets leading to a small square with church, cafe and primary school. It was a tidy little place, with buildings all freshly whitewashed and well-kept. Around the cafe there was a group of moms with strollers chatting over coffee. We had a little walk around to soak up the atmosphere before moving on.

More fields, olive and cork trees and we were soon in Évora, one of Portugal's most beautifully preserved small towns.

 Unaffected by the 1755 earthquake due to it's location, Évora has retained it's classical look. Inside the original city walls you will find a beautiful Medieval cathedral and an amazingly intact Roman temple. 

But the most fascinating (and gruesome) sight for me was the 17th century Capela dos Ossos, or Chapel of Bones, constructed by three monks and made entirely of the bones and skulls of 5000 people to help alleviate overcrowding in local cemeteries. It was creepy but fascinating (not so much for my husband who couldn't wait to leave).

We were treated to a very boring tour of the town highlights by a local guide - I wonder if he noticed our eyes glazing over as he talked?

Our hotel was a stark contrast to the Medieval character of the town. Apparently it was a renovated shopping centre and it was all done in a very modern, Scandinavian style with lots of light wood, concrete floors and a curved wooden staircase à la Frank Gehry. Very weird for the location. We certainly have had a range of accomodation styles.

Now, regarding public toilets. Firstly, they are tricky to find, especially in Lisbon and Porto, where you are better off nipping into a cafe or bar. Secondly most do not have seats. I can completely understand the cleaning issue that a seat presents when you have thousands of customers a day, but you better have good quads because that porcelain is damn cold if you make contact!

Even worse, one location required you to take your toilet paper from a roll located outside the stalls, so if you did not notice on your way to do your business you could be pretty unlucky.

 Travel tip: always carry those purse-sized packs of tissues - and maybe work on some squats ahead of your next trip.