Five Feet, Nine Inches Above Ground

Sunday January 25, 2026

Yes, I’m currently “at home” in Estoi still banging on about my trip to Évora! It was well worth the journey and I plan to return. There is so much to explore including the nearby neolithic sites Almendes Cromlech and Almendes Menhir. Learning a little about the history of Évora gave me a whole different perspective on Portuguese society and life. But I digress! Tuesday January 20 dawned cool and misty and I was happy to be on the road to Beja in a quest for the elusive castle I had missed earlier. It was a lovely drive through winding roads, over small bridges crossing burgeoning streams. There has been plenty of rain! The city was charming but I’m a country boy at heart.

Sure enough, there it was! The well preserved castle of Beja. Arrived just in time for the noon day closing. That didn’t deter me as I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of climbing a small winding stairway inside an old tower! The battlements were open as was the entry way to the tower and that was sufficient for me.

It was a quiet day in Beja and I decided to have a little walk about and see the parts I had missed on Sunday.

I never tire of the buildings in Portugal clad in a variety of tiles. Their colours and geometry present such a wonderful feast for the eyes.

This combination of old and new caught my eye:

Further on, as I headed back to the car park I came across a small courtyard behind a convent where the remains of an interesting nativity display were available.

On the way, I was accompanied by a young lad of about ten or twelve weighted down with an enormous guitar case. As he walked along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road he was singing a lovely song to himself. I didn’t photograph of video him as I don’t like to do that sort of thing without permission. It was, however, the perfect accompaniment to the end of my day in Beja. Time to hit the road again.

And all of a sudden, the landscape became very familiar and I was back in my winter home in Estoi. Thank you for travelling with me!