Obidos
Today we left in very heavy rain to drive to Obidos. The further we travelled, the clearer it became, and now the sun is shining brightly from a blue sky. We have chosen to avoid the freeways so we can savour the countryside, travelling more slowly and passing through countless pretty little towns. The surroundings have become greener as we moved further north, with wonderful views of rolling countryside and plantations of cork trees, eucalypts, maize, apples, pears, and olives. There were also countless very large Plane Trees along the roadside which are very tall and impressive, forming a shady arch over the roadway.
The leaves of deciduous plants are beginning to change colour for autumn, particularly the elms and grape vines, and other trees such as silver birch are beginning to lose their leaves already.
Have not yet mentioned the large range of objects made from cork (presumably for the tourists). There are the usual place mats and bottle corks, but also handbags, purses, sugar bowls with lids, mens´ hats, slippers, drink holders, toys, etc. It is surprising how the cork can be moulded into shapes to create 3D objects.
A Ham and Cheese sandwich or roll seems to be all one can find for breakfast and lunch when on the road (as today), so we are looking forward to a real meal this evening. Our hotel here in Obidos is probably going to be the best of the trip - the people are really friendly, the room and bathroom are lovely with a private balcony overlooking the outside restaurant and across to the high City Wall. The "main" street is as to be expected only a footpath with pedestrians, although vehicles are allowed if "carrying animals" (at least that is our best attempt at translation) . It has been very easy to access an Internet Cafe in every city so far - not expensive and located only a short walk from each hotel. Hopefully this will continue for the remainder of the trip. Today the Internet is free as a promotion of IT throughout Portugal because the local people find it too expensive. Strange, because at least the tourists should pay to help cover the costs.
This place has a special feel about it, and will let you know more in due course.