Mostly Monsaraz

We took a long, meandering route (pretty standard) to Monsaraz via Reguengos. After a little shopping in Reguengos, we nipped into Spain(!) on our way to Monsaraz. We only went to Spain because it was just really close. So, we crossed the unattended border at the village of São Leonardo (where the road got noticeably worse as we entered Spain) and then turned around and went back to Portugal.

Monsaraz offers some beautiful panoramic views of the countryside, including a large part of the Rio Guadiana basin formed by the Barragem de Alqueva. Having brought some supplies and bought others, we picnicked at the little deserted church directly across from the main complex at Monsaraz. We had the entire area to ourselves and the light rain stopped and the sun emerged just as we started lunch.

A great dinner in Terena tonight at A Lanterna, cooked by Maria, the owner. Stella - our hostess at Casa de Terena - checked (earlier in the day) to make sure that Maria would be making borrego assado tonight. Since she knew that we were coming, she did and we were not disappointed!

The weather rated a solid 2.0 today, despite the early showers.