Vroom Droom Adventures

  We were able to get out for our first little adventure further from our house sit near to Portalegre, Portugal. We took a two day adventure out to the Atlantic coast. The first night we stayed in the popular city of Tomar. The older part of Tomar is replete with reminders of its history having to do with the secretive and powerful religious order of the Templar Knights. Aquaduct by the convent above Tomar  The beautiful Nabao River runs through Tomar and there is a free municipal camper park area nearby. Everything still being basically closed, we took a gorgeous walk up and around a large walled park the Mata Nacional dos Sete Montes   which wraps up into the hills behind the Convento de Christo.  Convento de Christo On our way back through the center of the older part of Tomar, we saw first hand how about half the stores have reopened this week. They are permitted to sell from the door. Open businesses had the doors propped open with a table and the requisite bot...

 We interviewed with Jason Moore, host of Zero to Travel Podcast   last week! Jason has had more than 7,000,000 downloads and his podcast has provided us with great travel tips and inspiration. If you are interested in checking out our interview, here are some links:  https://www.podcastaddict.com/episode/120467915 Spotify https://open.spotify.com/ episode/ 4QJ2kOSm1Gk76CRGO4hxH3?si= 5IDzENtgSPaJsCvDP55gDA Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/ podcast/travel-during- pandemic-is-it-worth-it-w- herman-elizabeth/id778339885? i=1000513227706 Stitcher https://www.stitcher.com/show/ 41168/episode/82427084 Yesterday we had our first social event in Portugal and enjoyed a lovely lunch with four other people who live in this area. A very kind lady who moved here from the Netherlands and married a Portuguese man was the hostess. It was strange to feel so normal, eating a meal outside in the shade.  The view from today's bicycle ride up Sierra Sao Mamede We bicycle...

 Portugal remains closed for travel, which has given us time to continue working out some details for our future planning. A big decision has been made in that I have decided not to return from this year of sabbatical leave to teach next year. I have loved being an educator, but am looking forward to exploring other interests and having the opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family. Hopefully the pandemic will cooperate and fade more into the background as the vaccine is rolled out globally. Below are some photos from within an 18 km radius of where we are house sitting. There are rumors Portugal may open as early as next week and we are chomping at the bit to explore more of this wonderful country and share highlights with you. This is a stone shelter we came across while bicycling in the area last week A beautiful building in Reguengo - closest village (pop. 230 in 2011) Platanus (mid 1800's) in the center of Portalegre with red Communist party flags in the backgr...

 From the house at night we can see the lights of Marvao on the top of a 960 meter quartzite peak across the expansive valley. Bursting with curiosity, we rode our mountain bikes the 18 km distance to take a closer look. It was a gorgeous ride, but very steep and involved a lot of climbing (and some on foot bike pushing) to get to the top. The reward of visiting the town of Marvao was so worth the effort. Within the many walls are cobbled narrow, tangled, twisting streets. There is a reason almost every street is one way in the village! It is easy to understand why a fortress would be situated in this location as you can see so far in every direction from up there and the Spanish border is only 15 km away. The original castle dates back to the 8th century and was founded by an Islamic knight. For 5 centuries it remained an Islamic stronghold until it was conquered by King Alfonso I during the 1160s. The remains today are largely of a medieval era castle (1300's). Portagem (the clos...

  We are settled in at our new house sitting situation in Portugal, which strangely enough has both Herman and me dreaming of Zambia, Africa some nights. Maybe it is because the previous owners moved here from Kenya and were avid gardeners, planting several trees and bushes native to African soils. Possibly it is due to the fact that the current owners are located in Zambia and some of their art evokes memories.  The Parque Natural Serra de São Mamede is located in the province of Alentejo, known for it's vineyards. Unlike much of the flatter, rolling plains of Alentejo, this area boasts higher mountains. From the property we can see the walled city of  Marvão and the peak of Serra de São Mamede at 1025 meters above sea level (of course Herman has already run to the top of this peak and back!). This area boasts rich and diversified vegetation due to the way the mountains trap moisture. There are also deer, Iberian lynxes, Iberian wolves,  wild boar and badg...