Today’s ride south to Monsaraz presents a bit more of a challenge than yesterday’s easy cruise to Estremoz. It’s a bit longer, the winds are at best neutral, and it’s quite a bit hillier. Not long after leaving town we face a moderate climb over a low ridge, a fairly steady four mile ascent that gains about 800’. Not bad, but the first climb of significance since Marvao. Then, 25 miles of easy, beautiful riding through dehesa and vineyards before coming to the final, stiff climb up to the famously beautiful fortified village of Monsaraz, the Pearl of the Alentejo.
The O Gadanha hotel has made upgrades since we were here last. Their WiFi really flies now, and they have a bike room. Last time we just wheeled them into the lobby, I think.
For the next five miles we bike through this steppe-like landscape of scattered oaks. Much like the dehesas in Spain, but with an essential difference.
The first red deer we’ve seen for awhile. This one ran across the field and then stopped when it reached the safety of this patch of brush. She’s got her eye on Rachael as she bikes off.
We arrive at our room mid-afternoon and hang around there for awhile, doing a bit of laundry and waiting for the village streets to thin out a bit as day trippers start to depart. Then, we make a walking circuit of the village, its walls, and its castle. Unless you really linger, it doesn’t take long - it’s a tiny place, and you could probably complete the circuit in fifteen minutes if you wanted to. We don’t, of course; but an hour and a half is just right for us to enjoy a leisurely stroll, stopping to admire the beauty of the place and the views across the Alentejo and east into Spain.
Portugal is filled with amazingly beautiful places, it seems; but Monsaraz really is exceptional. Like Marvao, it’s another ancient hilltop walled village guarding the frontier, its fortifications developed by the Knights Templar. And, like Marvao and Estremoz, it’s a place we visited on our first visit to the Alentejo. For about a week we’re roughly retracing that itinerary in reverse.
And, like Estremoz and Marvao, our memory of this place has grown dim even though it was just six years since we were here last. It’s unsettling seeing these places and realizing how much we’ve forgotten - how could your memory of a place like this ever fade? On the plus side, it means that revisiting it feels as fresh and full of wonderment as the first time through.
I suspect this too will pass, and these memories will dim with the years. I guess we’ll have to just keep wandering, and maybe return again in another five or ten years.
We embarrass ourselves at dinner again tonight, with a pair of reasonably sized starters (a delicious bean and tuna blend, and a tomato salad) followed by enormous entrees. We’re going to have to change something here, obviously. Tomorrow, we’ll try ordering just the entrees and see how that goes.
The view east across Alqueva Lake, the vast reservoir formed by the damming of the Guadiana - it’s the largest artificial lake in Europe. The Spanish border runs down the middle of the reservoir, following the original course of the river. We’ll be biking across that long bridge tomorrow on our way to Moura.
