Rome sure got around

Evora to Serpa

Day 7 (cont.) Sunday - June 19
This roundabout decoration on the way out of Evora was very appropriate for our journey and was a good way to start the day.

This grove of trees just out of town was chock full of snowy egrets.

It was already getting pretty warm and we take a shade break where we can find it. Our smell of the day was what we called Portuguese Broom. It is probably a noxious weed here too but it sure had a lovely smell. Our sound of the days was church bells ringing in about every town that we passed by or through.

Beja from a distance with its own Roman wall.

We stopped to get something to drink at a little cafe in the little town of Sao' Matias, about 5 miles from Beja. Her father was very excited to have Margarita talk to us and she was very interested in our bikes. She is 5 years old. We arrived in Beja at 5 and it took us until 6 to find the hotel. It was a really long, hot day so the shower felt heavenly.

Day 8 - Monday - June 20
It took us an hour to find our way out of Beja too. Good thing we have the GPS with us or it would have taken even longer. Heck, we might still be going in circles! This big plant is all about processing olives into oil. It  was surrounded by miles and  miles of olive orchards.

Those are just some of the orchards in the distance.

The Guadiana River. The bridge was so high that it was actually downhill coming off of it. 

This guy was feeding his sheep with a bunch of what looks like bamboo. We've seen it along many roadsides .

Cork after it leaves the tree.

Serpa's Roman wall. This town is much smaller than Beja and we found it much more enjoyable. It is like a minature version of Evora without the cathedral. It was only 20 miles from Beja so we considered this a rest day.

Donna left Doug with the bikes and walked into the old part of town to find the Turismo. It had moved and she couldn't find the new location despite much pointing by helpful shopkeepers.

We had lunch here and the clerk is drawing us a map. We found it on the second try. Every town has a map if you can find the Turismo..........sort of a chicken and egg puzzle since we needed the map to find the office that had the map.

We found the city campground quite easily with the map. However, the office was closed  for another hour, a great excuse for a nap. There was a nice breeze and the doves and other birds made nice music for dozing.

After setting up camp we took a walk around town. These doorknockers caught Donna's eye.

This shop was filled with items made in the local area. Bikes don't leave much room for souvenirs

Turns out that most restaurants are closed on Mondays and the one does dinner on Monday would not open until 7pm so we had even more time to wander.

Our humble abode at 6.50 euros for the night. The shower felt just as fine as the 3 star hotel last night.