Evora to Estremoz (34 miles; 84 total)

After all of John's flats, we agreed to wait until the local Decathlon store opened at 10 am to buy more tubes and rim tape. Then we rode to the nearby Intermarche for coffee, breakfast, bananas and peaches.

Most mapping apps have options for cars, bikes, and walking. The car route is often better than the biking route, with better road surfaces, shorter, and fewer hills. Today we took the car route. More traffic, but not bad on a Sunday morning and generally a good shoulder. Essentially, the road paralleled a tollway.

The first restaurant we spotted on arrival had 4 empty seats, 2 and 2. We sat at one table, tried to order a beer, but they had a waiting list. Evicted. We cycled up the street and found another open restaurant with outside seating. At 2:30 pm, most of their items were unavailable, but they had cod. John and I split a large portion for 2 people. The cod was breaded, deep fried, covered in a sauce of sautéed onions and bell peppers, then served on an oval plat, surrounded by a wreath of potato chips. Salty, lots of bones, but good.

Maps.me guided us to this cycle path out of Evora.

Cork Trees. I need to take a photo that is more "color accurate". Recently harvested cork trees are a deep red color that gradually fades as the tree heals and grows more cork/bark. Cork trees in the area are usually scattered like these, not densely planted. Cork trees are an oak variety.

Look carefully and see three layers, indicating that the bark has been pealed three times.

White Towns. In this region of Portugal, many towns are sited on hills and the buildings are whitewashed, presumably to reduce the heat load. 

Sunday Night Dining. Most restaurants feature mid-day meals on Sunday, but some are open in the evening. Interesting building.

Our Estremoz Hotel. We were assigned room 202, and for the first time I recall in Europe, the room was on the 2nd floor. Generally floors on the ground level are "0", and the 2nd level is "1", and so on.

Secure, indoor bike parking at our Estremoz hotel.

Central square fountain across from our hotel.

Marble curb stones, and marble mosaic sidewalks.

Estremoz city gate.

Friendly Portuguese Water Dog. Pure white, most are black or black and white mixed. The owner really wanted me to know this.








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