Portugal April 23 Lisbon to Tavira

Rising at 6:30 am, we hustled out to the train station to catch an 8:00 train, only to find it was full.  Here, you pay for your train fare, and then in a separate transaction, book your actual seats (at no charge).  We had to wait for another train at 10:00 once we learned what seat-booking was all about.

The train station was a fascinating as a piece of architecture.  There were 4 floors featuring shopping, cafes, ticket sales and platforms on succeeding levels.

Ordering coffee created another opportunity to learn about Portuguese culture.  When you order "coffee”, you get expresso in a cup about the size of a shot glass.  This probably has the caffeine equivalent to that of four extra-large Tim Horton coffees in total.   It gave a whole new meaning to “drug culture”.

Our train trip took over 3 hours, but it was quiet since all the trains are electric.  Then a taxi carried us for the next 30 km to our final destination:  Vila Gale Hotel in Talvira.

Our tour leaders took us out for an impromptu tour of Talvia.  Architecture here is a curious mix of eons.  One phase was that of the Moors in the early centuries AD, which involved many tiles and decorative touches.

Then, there was a huge earthquake in 1755, which toppled many buildings and so much was rebuilt on top of what rubble was left.  Current typical Portuguese buildings are those of white stucco with red tile roofs.

There still are remains of mediaeval castles such as Castle Talvira, in the center of town in which we are staying.  An engineering inspection took place while we were there.

A church we visited included Baroque tiling, and typical gold trim on the altar.

Then we crossed a Roman-style bridge across the River Galio which harboured a bunch of tuna-fishing boats.

Then, to confuse everything, there was an excavation of homes with layers from  8^th century BC to 18^th century AD.  Apparently, one can cover 26 centuries of history here without batting an eyelash.

A touch of whimsy:  look at the door knockers!

Finally, a brief note from the naturalist.  Many of the buildings had a complete line of swallow’s nest from one end of the roof to another.  This is high density housing that went on long before the humans started here.

Tomorrow we are off on our first day of walking!  Stay tuned.