Day 5: Algarve; Évora–hero x 2

I’m not normally a morning person, but we booked the earliest kayaking tour we could find and were lucky we did–though not with a lucky start. We carefully navigated to the address we were given, only to discover they’d moved the launch site to another beach down the coast that required a bit of offroading to reach. Thankfully we still arrived in time, and it was worth the effort. While we couldn’t make it to the most famous algarve, it was a beautiful day on the water and so cool to kayak into sea caves and algarves (the official name when a cave has a hole in the roof). I’d told our guides we were there for Kara’s birthday, and it was at one of these stops that he had the group sing happy birthday–only to discover another girl in the group shared the same birthday. Small world! As the morning went on, the water got rough so we had the “full experience” of getting doused by the waves as we paddled onto a secluded beach, and by the tour’s end our return was more like surfing into shore than kayaking. The winter swells from Africa were arriving, and the seas were so rough that our tour ended up being the last one of the day, and possibly for the season. My arms were thoroughly tired, but it was worth it! The day provided a chance to be heroes, as we drove the birthday twin and her travel buddy, along with their luggage, up from the beach to an Uber pick-up spot for their ride to the airport. A small thing for us, but for them it meant not having to carry their suitcases up a steep road and back into town.

Kayaking into an algarve

Classic algarve: a cave with holes in the ceiling

This rock formation is called the submarine.

Perfect kayaking weather!

One of the formations we kayaked through

Enjoying a beach we reached by kayak

One of the prettiest beaches in Portugal

One last photo before the paddle back

Drying off at a supermarket, we hit the road for Évora. The small city center was full of beautiful buildings, including Roman ruins of a temple, and an usual one: a chapel of bones. Built by Franciscan monks when the town’s cemeteries were filling up, it was fascinating and macabre. They also housed a museum of religious artifacts, but as an interesting balance to the bones they had a display of nativities from around the world. The hilltop Cathedral of Évora was beautiful, and we happened to be on the roof when the bells chimed. Walking the narrow streets of the old city, I got the shopping bug and treated myself to a cork purse, a cork nativity, and olive oil from a nearby vineyard. When in…Évora? 

Chapel of Bones; a sign says "We the bones that are here for yours we are waiting"

A balance to the bones: nativities from around the world. This one shows the town of Évora.

Typical street in the old part of Évora

Remains of a Roman temple in Évora

Detail of the Évora cathedral's door

Detail from the roof of Évora cathedral

Roof of the Évora cathedral

Hallway in the Evora cathedral

Cloister in the Évora cathedral--I loved that every circular window had a different pattern

Évora cathedral chapel

 

Dinner was at a Portuguese restaurant recommended by the hotel called Piparoza, and it was perfect weather to dine outside–which was fortunate because the only seating was in the middle of the street. The local olives and sausages were delicious. 

Enjoying Alejento cuisine

 Back at the hotel, we encountered a new experience: the key cards to our room didn’t work, and there was no staff in the lobby. A few angry guests said they’d waited there for quite some time, and no one was answering the hotel’s phone or app. Deciding it was time to be heroic again (and so we could get into our room), I entered the staff area and kept calling out to find someone. Eventually I found the restaurant’s kitchen upstairs, and an equally surprised dishwasher was able to get a hold of a pair of staff to help out the guests. A girl said it was the battery of the key card reader and proceeded to try repairing it, but was unsuccessful. Good thing we were only there for a night! I wrapped up the day with a quick dip in their pool under a starry sky.