Spectacularly sited on a hill, with a very challenging drive to the pousada, Marvão was a choice for a protective castle, though the hill is sometimes shrouded in fog and enemies might have found this an opportune time to attack. Pousada Santa Maria was created from old houses and a foundry (which contained our room) across the way. Common rooms and the dining room have spectacular views across the plain. A castle wall surrounds the town; we walked along most of the wall during our two-night stay.

    Staying out of the car for a day to recover from the drive up, we walked about 10 km down from the top to Portagem, a small town below, which has a Roman bridge, municipal swimming pool and recreation area, then followed a circuit around farm fields at the base of the hill, and finally climbed back up to Marvão. A local farmer, taking hay to his horse and donkey, directed us along the route and allowed us to cross his field as a short cut. However, afterward we may have missed a turn for another short cut and instead walked further along roads. The final ascent into Marvão was a challenge, as the sun had broken through the clouds and the temperature had risen.

    We had dinner and breakfast at the pousada with a German couple who were following a similar route in the Alentejo, though they were to travel throughout the country for 3 weeks. The second evening, we had a quiet, traditional Alentejo dinner at Hotel El Rei Dom Manuel, run by a husband, wife, and daughter.

   Though concerned about the descent by car, it was much easier than anticipated, certainly easier than the drive up, when the car’s transmission was somewhat challenged.