Portugal 2017: Day 4

After breakfast we met our local guide, Louisa (pictured with Fr. Jim & Gracia), who we followed through the streets of Évora, one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities and another UNESCO-recognized city. The regions whitewashed homes are dramatic against the stone city walls lining the city.

First up, we passed the remains of the Roman Temple, which was being restored so it was hidden behind scaffolding so we walked around the walled city, stopping in the main square. Our guide Louisa kept us in stitches with her contagious laugh and great sense of humor. We were surprised to learn that Louisa, who is originally from Holland, is a Baroness and was recently invited to a dinner with the King and Queen of the Netherlands, because of her status, when they visited the area.

Then we went to Sao Francisco Church, which was recently restored, and filled with intricate alters and home to the Chapel of Bones: A 16th century chapel decorated with bones, skulls, and entire bodies hanging from the wall. The eerie Chapel was built by monks when too many cemeteries of monks in and around Évora were taking up valuable land. Rather than interring the bones behind closed doors, the monks, who were concerned about society’s values at the time, thought it best to put them on display. They thought this would provide Évora, a town noted for its wealth in the early 1600s, with a helpful place to meditate on the transience of material things in the undeniable presence of death. This is made clear by the chilling message above the chapel door: “Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos,” or: “We bones, are here, waiting for yours.”

After being thoroughly creeped out by the Chapel of Bones, which contains some 5,000 corpses, it was time for lunch. Although I cannot say how many travelers were interested in eating much…


The afternoon proved more uplifting after we boarded the bus and paid a visit to the environmentally conscious and sustainable Alentejo Cork Factory, where we learned there is enough cork today in the forests of Portugal to last more than 100 years and saw how the cork oak is processed. We of course also had time to shop in the cork factory shop featuring many hand made items including furniture, shoes, handbags, coasters and more!

In the afternoon we again boarded the coach and headed to the sun-soaked Algarve Region! After checking in to our hotel Pestana Alvor Praia, we reunited for a group dinner in the hotel, finally regaining our appetites after the Chapel of Bones visit.