Trixie Traveler in Portugal: From Elvàs to Vila Viçosa

We start the day with a walking tour of Elvàs with our leader "big" Luis. (Since two of our leaders have the name Luis, we call the tall one " Big Luis" and the smaller one " Little Luis.") Luis obviously loves his country and wants to share it with us. He is from this region. We stop at various points and he tells us about Portuguese history. Our final stop is the castle where most walk on the ramparts but I stay below and take the opportuniypty to do a little sketching.

We only have 30km to do today so we don't get started until 11:00. By now, it is getting warm and the route is hilly plus this is the first real day of cycling so it seems challenging. There are constant rolling hills. Philipp rides sweep today. The landscape is dry, rocky barren fields dotted by live oak trees and some olive trees. Philipp tells us that if you plant an olive tree with a pit, the tree doesn't make normal,olives. We see some of these trees along the way. You have to use a branch from the tree and plant it to get normal olives. We have lunch in Vila Viçosa near our hotel. Our hotel tonight is one of the Portuguese posadas run by the government. It used to be a convent for nuns. It is beautiful and spacious.

We get in just in time to change our shoes and meet at 3:45 for a tour of a marble museum. We stand in the hot sun in the huge square in front of the hotel while Luis tells us about the area. It is a bit of a walk to,the museum. My leg is really hurting, I am hot and tired. I wish I had skipped the marble tour. The little tour is interesting though and we learn a lot about marble. This region of Portugal,has the largest deposit of marble in the world! Vila Viçosa, Borba, and Estremoz are internationally known for,it's fine to medium marble of several colors - cream, white, pink, grey, black and streaked with any combination of these colors. The pink marble (Rosa Aurora and Estremoz Pink) is especially valued. The mine near here is no longer operational. When we get back, I flop down for a nap while Dave goes to the pool which has very cold water.

Marble is used for everything around here, cobblestones, doorways, stairways, fences, walls, etc. Portuguese marble is harder than Italian marble so best for buildings whereas the softer Italian marble is best for sculpture. Portugal is the second largest exporter of marble, surpassed only by Italy (Carrara marble).

We have a delicious dinner in the dining room of our hotel. The room is elegant with a beautiful painted ceiling. The food is delicious. As usual, it is too much but at least it is served family style so we can take what we want.