Nowadays, we are all conscious of the harm being done to the environment and the need to change the way we both manufacture and consume. Moving to a more sustainable way of living that is in tune with nature means choosing cleaner, more natural alternatives to plastics—and here in the Alentejo, there is one right under our noses!
We’re always looking for short-drive destinations that are within 100km radius from Estremoz to get away for a few days in our self-built camper—and one of our favourite places to visit is the Rio Tejo (Tagus) that delineates the northern border of the Alentejo region in Portugal. Over the past few years several river beaches (praias fluviais) have been set up along the banks of the river,
So, I thought I was being clever, thought I would avoid undue paperwork…but in the end it just backfired on me—and I ended up having to resit the driving test!
When I lived in Cascais in the 1980s, I changed my UK driving licence to a Portuguese one. Since then, even when living outside the country, I made the decision to stick with my pink triptych ‘carta’ because it had a validity date of 2027.
Since arriving in the Alentejo town of Estremoz, work has been taking place on renovating a building to house the new public library. Located close to the Gadanha fountain, it was finished and opened to the public in July of last year – so we thought we would take a look…
The Romaria a Cavalo, or pilgrimage on horseback, takes place in Estremoz every year on 8th December, which is a national holiday in Portugal celebrating the Immaculate Conception.
A delight for any horse lover, the procession of riders and their animals leaves early in the morning from the main square in Estremoz en route to Vila Viçosa via Arcos and Borba, a trek of around 19 kilometres.
This week the Alentejo, just like most of the country, suffered some really unpleasant weather. We had received warning SMS messages from the authorities alerting us to the heavy rainfall and storms that were on their way, but we still didn’t feel too worried about the impending deluge. We prepared the vegetable garden with soak-away channels, made sure the drains and guttering were free of leaves and debris, got in lots of firewood and settled down for the evening.
Estremoz despite being in the Alentejo region of Portugal is really well connected with the rest of the country, as well as being just an hour to Badajoz, the nearest large city in Spain. So if you feel like taking a cheeky trip to Lisbon for a taste of big city culture, the Estremoz to Lisbon express bus run daily by Rede Expressos is just a two-hour trip away.
The Alentejo region of Portugal is the largest by area in the country, and it stretches all the way north to the River Tagus (Tejo), that flows into the sea at Lisbon. Having heard there were some great river beaches and passadiços (wooden walkways) to explore, we decided to take a trip to Alentejo Alto to see for ourselves. Only an hour and a half’s drive from Estremoz, we trundled off in the ‘bus’ to the municipal campsite at Ortiga, which is a small village that falls under the municipal district of Gavião.
After being in Estremoz for two years now, mainly time spent getting to know the ropes and settling in with Covid 19 thrown into the mix for fun, in September we finally received visitors from our UK family.
It’s hard to believe that the Terras d’Ossa organisation is only two years old when it has accomplished so much in such a short space of time!