Due to its geographical position bordering Spain, and the animosity that existed between the two countries down the years, it seems that just about every town and village in the Alentejo has some kind of defensive remnants—and Juromenha right on the banks of the Guadiana River that divides Portugal and Spain is a fine example.
Once an important powerhouse, the fortress at Juromenha looks out across the peaceful river and beyond to the plains of Olivenza in Spain. Today, left in ruins, it is a shadow of it’s former self and when you visit it is hard to believe that it once played such an important role in the on going skirmishes with the Spanish.
Local artist, João Carlos Travassos Pena, from San Bento do Cortiço, is exhibiting some of his more recent pieces of work at the Estremoz tourist office in the town’s main Rossio square.
Running from 3 July to 1 August, the art exhibition Estremoz entitled ‘Horizontes Verticais’, or Vertical Horizons, showcases a series of the artist’s colourful oil-on-canvas paintings and is free to visit.
I own a copy of a lovely coffee table book called ‘As Mais Belas Vilas e Aldeias de Portugal’ (Portugal’s Most Beautiful Towns and Villages), which I bought way back in the 1980s—and even though I have moved country a couple of times in the interim, I still have the book with me.
One of the most intriguing places that always stood out for me was the village of Pavia, in the Alentejo, and it makes sense that it was one of the first places that I wanted to visit when we moved here in 2020.
Whether you believe in taking the Covid jab or not is one thing, but if you do decide to go ahead, in Estremoz it is a pretty simple procedure to follow.
How to get an appointment for your covid jab
If you are already registered with the national health system in Portugal and have your Numero Utente, then you should receive a call from the health authority when your age bracket for vaccination is reached.
As most of Portugal is slowly coming out of lockdown, we decided it was time to venture out and explore the local countryside a little better. It was also our five-year anniversary and a good excuse to dust off Olive, our 1971 VW beetle, and enjoy a little bit of a road trip.
One of the many document-related things that you have to do when you move to Portugal is exchange your driving licence for a Portuguese one.
This is a requirement once you have been granted residence in Portugal and is fairly easy to do online.
The clocks went forward last weekend and we are now officially experiencing our first springtime in Estremoz in the Alto Alentejo.
Some takeaway meals to try during lockdown in Estremoz. Having only arrived to live in Estremoz full time in September 2020, we have found ourselves going in and out of lockdown ever since—and for the past couple of months this has meant the town’s restaurants are only allowed to sell food for takeaway.
Some, sadly decided to close this time round but others kept going, making use of social media to let us know they were up and running—and more importantly, what was on the menu for that day.
Here are a couple that we tried out:
One of the things that I most worried about when moving to Estremoz was finding a good hairdresser, but luckily one thing the town is not short of is hairdressers and beauty salons.
Estremoz has a number of top quality beauty salons and hairdressers, some of which offer both services to their clients.
Growing your own veg in Estremoz can be hard work – the worst bit being weeding! We’ve found that the weeds in the Alentejo are relentless and grow at an astounding pace with the first sign of rain.
You can buy most fruit and veg at the Saturday produce market in Estremoz at really good prices – so it seems a lot of work to prepare the soil, plant the veg, water, weed etc. but on the other hand as my neighbour says: water and sunshine are free.