We saved the closest town for our last day trip in the Alentejo before we head south. Monsaraz sits on top of a hill and it was occupied by the Muslims and the Spanish numerous times over the years before it was restored to Portugese rule in 1640. The town was shored up tactically after that and it became another impregnable citadel. Nowadays, it is occupied primarily by old people and its income comes from tourism. Monsaraz has a very pleasant atmosphere with fabulous views of the surrounding grape and olive farms. Monsaraz and Marvao both rank up there in our must see places. As usual, we arrived just in time for the mid-day siesta so we headed over to "Cafe Lumumba" for lunch. No sooner were we in the door when the place became inundated with locals. After struggling a little with the menu, we enjoyed a hearty lunch of olives, cheese, bread and lamb stew - way more than we would ever eat at home.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Sao Pedro do Corval to check out the local pottery. Although Lynda was reluctant to purchase anything breakable that we were going to have to carry around with us, Craig was insistent and we purchased a colourful fruit bowl for our kitchen. We'll see how it fares over the next few weeks.
As we were driving home, we came across a goat herder and his flock in an adjacent field. Craig stopped to take some photos and we were able to see the herder and his five dogs transfer the goats from one side of the road to the other. It was a very amazing sight to see, how efficiently the dogs controlled the crossing. The herder really did very little except voice a few commands and take care of the gates. It reminded us of a similar experience in Australia with sheep.
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