April, 2007: Spain and Portugal - Part III

Sagres, Evora and Back to Madrid

Sagres Beaches and our Anniversary

David and Karalee spent five days in Sagres. We drove both north and east along the coast exploring various beaches. To the north, we found the beaches shrouded in fog. The fog made the air moist and the temperature cool. This did not seem to deter the keen surfers who like to ride the big Atlantic rollers as they approach the beach.

Nearer Sagres, we found the sky blue, the air temperature warm, and the beaches welcoming. Afternoons were spent lying in the sun and reading books. On Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Karalee and David celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. We drove to Praia de Salema for lunch, then back to Lagos to shop for more pottery. In the evening, we have dinner at Vila Velha, a restaurant located in a house right next to the pension where we were staying.

Fog over Praia do Amado

Karalee at Praia do Castelejo near Vila do Bispo

Cabo de Sao Vicente

Rock formations at Sao Vicente

Praia de Beliche (near Cabo de Sao Vicente)

Rock formations at Praia de Beliche

David and Karalee the morning of their 25th anniversary

Shopping for pottery

Salema

Salema is a fishing village and tourist resort located to the east of Sagres. It has lovely beach side restaurants, which we found filled in equal parts with locals and tourists. We enjoyed our twenty-fifth anniversary lunch at one of those restaurants.

Beach walkway

Fishing boat

Evora

After celebrating our anniversary, we left Sagres and drove north on the A2 motorway. The motorway was wide, straight, and well maintained. We made good time and by early afternoon we were approaching the medieval town of Evora. It took us three tries to navigate the twisty medieval streets, but eventually we found our hotel. We stayed two nights and explored the old walled town on foot.

Roman Ruins

Views looking to the west

Architecture details of the buildings

Se (Evora's Cathedral)

Altar in Se

Houses built within the Roman aqueduct

Igreja de Misericordia

Largo da Porta de Moura

Back to Madrid

From Evora, we drove east and crossed back into Spain. We navigated the ring road system and congested traffic, only getting lost once, as we found our hotel near the Madrid airport. The last two nights of our trip were in Madrid. We took an entire day to visit the excellent Museo del Prado, Madrid's top museum. It is filled with artwork, including many examples of works by three of Spain's top artists: Velazquez, Goya, and El Greco.

Interesting haircut for a dog

Karalee on the narrow streets near Museo del Prado

Fountain next to Museo del Prado

David on the subway returning to our hotel