Moving On Day

We were sad to leave the wonderful location and accommodation at Monte do Cardal.  The hospitality was so good and we were bid farewell by Ana, one of the owners and told her that we would return for longer next time.

Last September we only saw the nests of the storks but this year we were there right slam in the middle of the baby storks in the nest season.  We drove 20 minutes to Capo Sardao and weren't disappointed!  It was amazing to see the storks so close feeding their young with the mighty Atlantic waves breaking on to the cliffs below.

Then were were on our way to our cross country drive up to the next stop on our road trip which was Monsaraz, a two and a bit hour journey north east.  We stopped off in the pretty town of Odemira for a snack and coffee, it was so hot with the sun reflecting off the pristine white buildings.  It was the hottest part of the day and shops were closing for the two hour break.

The countryside we drove through was beautiful, with many cork and olive trees and every colour of wild flower in many of the fields. First of all the roads were quiet but as we got near the Spanish border it got a bit busier.  After the turn off for Monsaraz it got quiet again and we saw stunning Monsaraz sitting on top of a hill with castle walls around it in the distance, not far to go.

We were staying in a quirky little B & B and our room had an Arabian theme with some unusual little interior design touches.... including a painting of a lady's head with eyes that seemed to follow you around the room no matter where you were...... I covered the picture with a scarf when going to bed....

We had an explore around this peaceful little hilltop village and it was so beautiful, including the views for miles and miles in all directions.  We watched the sun set and then went for something to eat.  It seemed a Tuesday was the day off for most of the establishments but we had a nice meal in one of them that was open for business. Again, as in Odeceixe, there wasn't any Brits but we met a German couple, who were going to stay in our B and B but there wasn't a bidet so she opted for next door to us which did have .....

We were pretty bushed so quite an early night and settled down to sleep but had to get up again and ask Gilberto if he could turn off the weird mood music that he seemed to like.  He was quite happy to shut it off and we drifted off to sleep in the peacefulness of Monsaraz.