Buying property in Portugal: buyer beware!

historic street in Tomar — The narrow streets of Tomar’s historic district give a beautiful view of the Templar castle.

Moving to Portugal has suddenly become top of mind for Americans fearful of the new political climate. And why not? Portugal is a safe country with pleasant weather, friendly people and a low cost of living. What could be better?

Some of the best known websites to use for finding property in Portugal are Idealista and this list compliled here: https://www.portugalist.com/portugal-property-websites/.

Making the move involves a whole string of complex bureaucratic steps which I have covered in other blog posts. Once you have committed to relocating to Portugal, you will inevitably have to consider whether to rent or buy a place to live. Buying property in Portugal is a very different process from in the United States.

A key difference is that they do not have a Multiple Listing System. So, if you want to buy a property you may have to decide whether to stick with one realtor or work with several. A friend of mine said she ended up working with about ten different realtors so she could look at the places she had found in her online searches. According to her, this was because the realtors typically would not share information with each other.

When I wanted to sell my house in the country two years ago, the realtor told me I could list my place with more than one agency, but he offered to charge me a lower commission if I would give him an “exclusive” contract. However, when I came to sign the contract, there was a sub-clause that said they would charge me a higher percentage commission if another real estate agency brought them a buyer. I wasn’t happy about that.

No disclosures, no inspections

When I sold my house in the US, I had to fill out a multi-page document listing details about the construction, water supply and any problematic details. I also had to have a home inspector go over my place with a fine tooth comb looking for deficiencies.

So, I was surprised to learn that it is not customary in Portugal to require the seller to disclose problems that they have experienced with the property. I heard a neighbor tell me gleefully that she had sold a home and didn’t let the buyers know that the roof beams were riddled with woodworm.

It is also not common to require inspections. So it can be very much a case of buyer beware!

The town of Tomar, central Portugal, has become a sought-after destination. But property prices have soared in recent years.

Hire a lawyer

It is however, normal in Portugal to hire a lawyer to help with the purchase process. The lawyer can research the deed and other details to ensure that all the buildings on the property; including any sheds, barns or garages, are legal. I have heard of many cases where foreigners were eager to buy a place only to find that part of the house had been converted or an extension added without obtaining the legal permission from the local authorities. If you buy a place which has illegal additions you may have to rectify the situation before you can sell it later on. Some neighbors of mine were told they had to hire an architect and submit a plan for approval. It was expensive and time-consuming.

The lawyer will also advise you about the various taxes and fees; such as transfer tax, land registry fees and stamp duty, required as part of the purchase process. These items can add several thousand to the cost of a property, so it is important to figure them into your budget.

Unexpected surprises

Even with a lawyer’s help, I had an unpleasant surprise The property I bought in the historic center of Tomar had previously been an Air BnB (Alojamento Local, commonly referred to as AL). As a business property it was subject to higher trash and sanitation which are included in the water bill. I had been in my place for a year when I received a water bill that was double what I’d been charged the previous month.

I went to the water company (Tejo Ambiente in my area) and they explained that it was still registered as an AL. I protested that I owned it as a private residence for more than a year. No dice.

Turns out, the previous owner had neglected to cancel the registration. It took me seven months of complaining to the previous owner and my lawyer to get the situation rectified. And each month my water bill was double what it should have been.

Before you go house-hunting

Ask yourself some questions. It is important to clarify what you are looking for. Do you want to live in a city close to stores and restaurants? If so, can you live in a high-rise building and walk or use public transportation? Do you prefer the country? If so, do you want to be in a village or a more isolated setting? How much land do you want? In Portugal you are responsible for clearing the land close to your dwelling to prevent fire risk. Failing to clear the land can result in fines.

Once you have found your dream home and negotiated a price, you will have to pay a deposit, or “promessa“ this is typically ten percent of the price of the home. The contract signed for the promessa typically allows around 60 days to complete the sale. And then it’s home sweet home! Good luck.

A “river beach” or “Praia fluvial” on the Rio Mondego near Coimbra. River beaches are popular all over Portugal.

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A solar project stirs suspicion in my latest Digger Doyle Mystery

The Solar Deception, “A thoughtful and engaging mystery that blends politics, journalism and social issues into a compelling story.”

There is nothing quite so exciting for an author as the moment when you get a printed copy of the book you have written in your hot little hands. I had this experience again recently when a copy of the latest title in my Digger Doyle Mystery series, The Solar Deception arrived in Portugal courtesy of KDP and Amazon Spain.

The plot

“Investigative reporter Elizabeth “Digger” Doyle, is now working for state government in New Mexico. When her boss sends her to a press conference for a high-profile solar energy project, the details seem suspicious. Digger suspects it’s a cover-up — but for what?

Following a trail of money, deception, and political betrayal from the ancient ruins of Chaco Canyon to the halls of power in Santa Fe, Digger stumbles onto a conspiracy capable of destroying careers—and silencing anyone who gets too close. As the danger escalates, she and her wife become targets in a ruthless game where the truth could cost them everything.”

The book was inspired by my real-life reporting for the Albuquerque Journal, covering a solar project. Despite being announced with great fanfare, I discovered the project didn’t have solid financial backers and it never materialized. Rich material for a fictionalized mystery!

Looking for reviewers

I originally published this book a couple of years ago under the title “The Sunshine Solution”. But readers commented that the title and the cover sounded too upbeat and positive to be a mystery. So I put my thinking cap on and with the help of my book designer, Sara DeHaan, came up with this new title and cover. If you see the new cover in a book store, I think it definitely says “Mystery”.

Now that the new title is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble , and other outlets in the US and Waterstones in the UK, I am eagerly seeking reviews from readers.

So, to make it easy, you can download a free Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the ebook from BookSirens by clicking the link below the image.

https://booksirens.com/bundle/lgbt-fiction-arcs-you-ll-love-august-2026-batch/TQFFHJB

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Summertime and the living is … hot!

A giant ice cream cone statue beckons at an outdoor cafe in Tomar on an August weekend when the thermometer hit 32c (89F).

It’s been a long hot summer everywhere in Europe and Portugal in August is sizzling. Temperatures started climbing at the end of May. since then, successive heatwaves have swept over Europe. The mercury regularly rose to more than 35c (96F) for several days in June. In one week central Portugal experienced temperatures of more than 40 C, (104F) for several days.

Now we are in August, everything is dry and Spain and France have seen huge wildfires. Luckily, Portugal has so far escaped any major blazes. The heat has not stopped the tourists.

In Tomar, the small town where I live, the streets are thronged with visitors. You hear lots of languages; English; Dutch, German, Spanish and French.

Big names recognize Tomar

In fact, Tomar recently hit the headlines when Conde Nast Traveller named the town one of the top 10 hidden gems in Europe. On Aug. 2, the Washington Post carried an article with the headline, “Rick Steves Escapes the Tourist Crowds with a Stop in Portugal’s Tomar.” The well-known travel writer called the town “quaint, old and … largely untouristed.”

Local residents would disagree with that last word.

Portugal has seen huge increases in tourism in recent years. Between 15 million and 18 million tourists visited the country in 2024, according to the most recent figures available. In August alone, there were 2.3 million tourists, a 5.3 percent, year-over-year increase, according to Reuters.

In Tomar, tourists are enjoying the town’s restaurants, where they sit outside in the narrow streets. Children play in the parks and paddle canoes down the river Nabão.

Visitors enjoy lunch outside a restaurant on a narrow street in Tomar’s historic district.

Why the influx of French visitors in August?

Well, August is the main vacation month in France. People in the know say never visit France in August because everything slows to a crawl. That’s because anybody who can, goes on vacation to the beach, the mountains or to another country, like Portugal. Thousands of French people flock to Portugal, many of them coming to visit family.

In the 1950s and 1960s, times were hard in Portugal. The country was poor, in the grip of a decades-long dictatorship and embroiled in wars in its former African colonies of Angola and Mozambique. Thousands of Portuguese emigrated to nearby France for work. In the post-World War II years France desperately needed more workers to help rebuild.

Now, the sons and daughters and grandchildren of those Portuguese return to visit their ancestral homes and families all over Portugal.

And of course, summertime is the season to hit the beach. Portugal has some of the most beautiful, and popular beaches in Europe.

The Praia de Galé on the Alentejo coast is a hidden gem with magnificent rock formations and few people.

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Tomar’s famous festival draws multinational neighborhoods together

During the centuries old tradition of the “Festa dos Tabuleiros” or “Festival of the Trays, young women parade through the streets of Tomar. They wear white and carry “trays” stacked with loaves of bread and flowers, topped with a dove, to symbolize the Holy Spirit.

Every four years, thousands of tourists descend on the small city of Tomar, in central Portugal, for the colorful and unique Festa dos Tabuleiros, or Festival of Trays. The next festival will be July 3 to 12, 2027.

The weeklong event features processions of young women carrying tall “trays” of bread and flowers through the streets. The tradition dates back to the 14th century after the creation of the Military Order of Christ, a successor to the disbanded Order of the Knights Templar. It was a celebration of the Holy Spirit, but likely based on a pagan ceremony.

Another highlight of the event is the tradition of decorating the streets in the historic center of Tomar. Although there is no formal judging process, streets often display signs claiming they had the best decorations in a specific year.

A street in Tomar’s historic district, or ‘zona historica’ is decorated with tissue paper flowers in a rainbow of colors, hand made by volunteers.

Yearlong community effort

Creating those decorations is a massive volunteer effort that brings people together. I visited Tomar during the last Festa dos Tabuleiros in 2023. I now live in the historic district on a street known locally as “Rua da Sinagoga” because of the medieval synagogue (now a museum) located there.

As I local resident, I have been invited to join the street decorating team for the 2027 Festa dos Tabuleiros. We have had three meetings since June and the “old hands” who have done this many times before, have decided on themes of world peace and abundance. Decorations we have to make will be globes, doves, cornucopias and LOTS of tissue paper flowers.

So far, it has been a fascinating experience. Our street is about half a kilometer long and the first planning meeting drew about 30 people. Since then, we have had two workshops to learn how to make the specific decorations.

A Portuguese couple has opened their large home on the historic street for the workshops. Interestingly, the half-dozen people who showed up for the workshop were foreigners: British, Dutch, Belgian and American.

Residents of my street learning to make decorations for the 2027 Festa.

Using blue paper maché to cover beach balls which will be the globes for our street decorations. We need to make 100 globes for the 2027 Festa.

Doves made from sheets of foam, stuffed and glued together. Our street decorating team will need to make more than 1,000 for the Festa next year.

Wonderful way to meet neighbors

Now that I have attended two workshops, I realize what a wonderful experience this has been in meeting my neighbors. An American man who lives a few doors down from me put it like this.

“I feel like I am becoming more part of my community,” he said.

Plus, I have acquired new skills! I learned how to make the paper maché and tissue paper flowers. I also realize what a lot of work this will be. The Portuguese man who is the unofficial leader of our volunteer group has created a spreadsheet of how many of each item we will have to make between now and next July: more than a hundred globes, more than a thousand doves and … probably about a million tissue paper flowers.

We each have homework: mine is the tissue paper and patterns to cut for the flowers. My friend down the street has materials for the doves, and so on. It’s going to be a busy few months!

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Tomar: a Portuguese town proud of its colorful medieval history

The procession of Templars on horseback is a highlight of Tomar’s annual Festa dos Templarios which celebrates the town’s links with the medieval organization of the Knights Templar.

For three days in July, the small, central Portuguese town of Tomar, comes alive with the festival of the Templars, the Festa dos Templarios. The streets and parks of the town are filled with people in medieval costumes, dancing, juggling, performing archery and demonstrating age-old skills like spinning, weaving and blacksmithing.

The highlight of the festival is a night time, torchlit procession of Templars on horseback. The procession weaves its way down from the castle that dominates the town, through the streets and the main square, to the ancient church of Santa Maria do Olival.

Who were the Templars

The full name of this organization was the “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon”. Founded around 1118, it was a catholic military order of elite warriors, bankers and crusaders. One of their key roles was to protect pilgrims journeying to Jerusalem.

The Templars also helped fight against the Moors who occupied much of Spain and Portugal for about 400 years during the Middle Ages. Sir Gualdim Pais, chosen as the head of the order in Portugal, brought knowledge of defensive architecture gleaned in the Crusades, to the construction of the castle on the hill above the town. Pais is recognized as having officially founded the town of Tomar in 1160.

An image of Gualdim Pais dressed as a Knight Templar, is projected on the wall of the São João Batista in the Praça da Republica of Tomar.

During this year’s festival, held July 9 – 12, a dramatic video presentation about the origins of the Templars and the life of Gualdim Pais, was projected on the front wall of the church of St. John the Baptist, (São João Batista) in the main town square.

The torchlit procession coming down the hill from the castle in July 2025. Torch bearers wear the distinctive white robes with the red Templar cross.

The Templars and their successors draw tourists

The Templars gradually amassed vast lands and wealth. Unfortunately, their wealth proved their undoing. In 1307, King Phillip of France who owed the Order money, had Templars in France arrested, claiming they were guilty of heresy. The arrests occurred on Friday, October 13, which, is why Friday 13th is considered an unlucky day.

Pope Clement IV disbanded the order in 1312. However, the order was reorganized in Portugal as the Order of Christ. Tomar was the headquarters of the order. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a vast convent was built for the order. Prince Henry, known as Henry the Navigator for his association with the voyages of discovery, was governor of the Order of Christ.

The Convento de Cristo still stands, dominating the town. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. The Convento and the castle now draw thousands of tourists to the small town every year.

Part of the chapel linked to the Convento de Cristo in Tomar. The ornate style of architecture is known as Manueline, after King Manuel I.

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Finishing the Camino in Fisterra, the end of the world

A way marker in front of the lighthouse at Fisterra, Spain, shows Km. 0,00, meaning the end of the route for pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago.

The Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage which people walk to reach the cathedral in the city of Santiago de Compostela, in the Spanish province of Galicia. The custom dates to the 9th Century when a shepherd discovered the purported remains of Saint James the Apostle and King Alfonso II of Asturias declared the site sacred.

There are many routes from places all over Europe. I walked the 800-kilometer Camino Frances in 2015. This is the most popular route, stretching 800-kilometers from St. Jean Pied de Port in the French Pyrenees, across northern Spain, to Santiago de Compostela. Many pilgrims stop there, but there is a tradition to continue to the lighthouse in Finisterre, Fisterra in Spanish. In the Middle Ages, that was considered the end of the earth.

Following a dream

The years went by and I walked the Camino route from Porto to Santiago in 2018, but again ended without continuing the final 90 kilometer (55 mile) stage of the journey. But the idea was there.

Through the years, I kept in touch with a Danish friend I met in 2015. I visited Susanne in Copenhagen in 2016, and she has visited me twice since I moved to Portugal.

Each time we talked about returning to Santiago and making the trip to Finisterre. This year we made it happen. We met in Porto and took a bus to Santiago, stayed a night there and began walking the next morning.

Standing in front of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela before we began walking to Finisterre. (Photo: Susanne Ydo).

Unfortunately, our timing coincided with a heatwave affecting much of Europe. The first day we got a late start and ended up walking in the heat of the afternoon. The temperature was around 35C (mid-90sF). Living in Portugal, I had had a little time to acclimatize, but my friend Susanne, fresh from Copenhagen, suffered greatly from the hot humid weather.

In addition to the heat, the path went uphill through forested areas for long stretches. We longed for a fountain, but found none. Luckily, we ran into an American couple who had made a booking at an albergue about 10 kilometers away. We made it to Casa de Boi late in the afternoon and gratefully had a shower, hand washed our clothes, ate a good meal and slept.

Sleep can be elusive on the camino. Pilgrims typically stay in albergues (hostels) and sleep in dormitories. If you are lucky and get in early, you can get a bottom bunk. If you are even luckier, no one close to you will snore loudly. And then there are the early birds who get up at 5 a.m. and rustle their plastic bags as they pack their gear. Ear plugs and an eye mask are essential kit for any pilgrim. Plastic bags are a no no!

The walking is the real adventure. After the first night, we had a 3.5 km steep climb. Then we passed fields of young corn, dairy farms with cattle, giant hay bales and mounds of silage that gave off a … well a distinctive smell. Villages were few and far between. By early afternoon of the second day, we reached the town of Negreira.

Rosalie on the bridge at Ponte de Pontemaceira.

Negreira was a sizable town with several restaurant choices. Susanne recalls the meal we had there, a feast of breaded chicken and crispy french fries, as one of the best meals of the trip. Funny how food tastes so good when you are tired and hungry!

Heat and strange sounds

The heat continued on our third day. Our hopes were dashed when the village of Vilaserio, where we hoped to eat lunch and maybe stay over, proved to have only two cafes and they were closing as we arrived. We had to continue another 8 kilometers to Santa Mariña. All along the way we kept hearing booming sounds. We wondered if someone was shooting, or blasting for a building project.

No, it was all about the Festa de San Juan, or the feast of Saint John, which is celebrated in Spain and many Latin American countries on the night of June 23 into June 24. Bonfires and fireworks are part of the festivities.

An Horreo: a common sight in Galicia, Asturias and northern Portugal. These structures were traditionally used to store grain. Slits in the side walls allow air to circulate, a layer of stone prevents mice and rats reaching the crop.

Rested and well-fed, (the lentil soup in San Mariña was my favorite), we continued the next day under a gray sky. Sure enough, it began to pour within an hour. I was prepared with my waterproof dry sack inside my backpack and a pack cover on the outside. The travel rain jacket I bought for 10 euros at Decathlon, was not great! Susanne had a huge, lightweight poncho which covered her pack and body. It did the job but was a hassle to put on and flapped madly in the wind.

Susanne posing in a giant pair of bronze boots, yellow poncho flapping.

A fork in the road

A short distance beyond a hamlet called Hospital, the route splits. One road goes northwest to Muxia, the other way leads southwest to Fisterra. We had always planned to go to Fisterra. Some pilgrims do both.

A few kilometers on, we came to a crossroads and there was a giant statue of the Vákner, a mythical creature resembling a werewolf. The first recorded story of the Vákner was written by an Armenian pilgrim in 1492. He claimed he saw it in Marco do Couto in the municipality of Dumbria.

The five-meter-tall statue of the Vákner created by Candido Pazos was erected in 2019.

We got our first view of the ocean the next afternoon as we approached the town of Cee. In Cee, we spent a comfortable night in an albergue where we were able to get a private room!!! The following day we continued onward, knowing that we only had about 30 kms to our final destination. However, given the rainy conditions, a pressing concern was a way to get our hand washed clothes thoroughly dry.

A few kilometers along, we stopped for coffee and soon spotted a campground with a launderette, complete with dryers!!!! Problem solved.

At last, Finisterre

Somewhere in the next few kilometers, we encountered Sam Harris, a retired American pilgrim who had started his journey in St. Jean in April. We continued walking together, enjoying each other´s company.

When we walked into Fisterra, we found an albergue somewhere in a maze of narrow twisting streets. After a welcome shower and a rest, Susanne and I ventured out to enjoy dinner looking out at the beautiful beach and harbor of the town.

From left: beaches on the way to Fisterra, the town harbor, evening in Fisterra

On our final day, we rose at a leisurely hour, enjoyed a breakfast of coffee and churros, the doughnut like strips of fried dough that Spaniards dip in their coffee. Then we set out to walk the final 3.5 kms to the lighthouse. This is the end point, where the way marker shows zero kilometers. You look out from here to the vastness of the sea and the rugged Costa da Morte (coast of death) coastline.

This 90-km journey felt harder than I expected, but I am glad I completed the full Camino journey that began in 2015.

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A piper playing a Gaita, a Galician version of bagpipes, by the Fisterra lighthouse.

At last, Fulfilling the Camino dream to reach Finisterre

Walking on the Camino is a deeply personal experience and it changes your outlook on life in many ways. Even if you walk many times, you always learn something.

On June 21, I will begin the completion of a long-held dream — to finish the last portion of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage by walking from the city of Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre, the symbolic endpoint. The Romans called this spot on the rugged Atlantic coastline “finis terrae”, the end of the earth.

Eleven years ago, I set out on an adventure, to walk the Camino. This is an ancient pilgrimage that follows many routes, ending at Santiago de Compostela, in the Spanish province of Galicia. Tradition holds that the bones of the apostle James, are buried in the cathedral in Santiago. After all, San Tiago is a version of Saint James. Since the Middle Ages, people have made pilgrimages to the cathedral from points all over Europe.

In 2015, my partner and I walked the 800-kilometer Camino Frances route, from St. Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees, through northern Spain. We began May 22 and walked for 37 days, arriving on June 27.

Three years later, I walked part of the Portuguese camino, from the city of Porto to Santiago de Compostela.

Yearning to re-experience the challenge and the camaraderie, I returned to Spain in 2022, to walk for a week with some friends I met while walking in 2015.

Andrea, left, is a pilgrim I met in 2015 and I walked with her again from Pamplona to Logroño in September 2022.

Enduring Camino Friendship

Making new friends is an important part of the Camino experience. In 2015, I met Susanne Ydo, from Copenhagen. We walked together,along with other new friends, for about two weeks, from Leon to Santiago. Susanne and I have stayed in touch ever since. I visited her in Denmark in 2016, and she has come to visit me twice since I moved to Portugal in 2019.

For the last few years, we have talked about walking the last portion of the camino, out to Finisterre. Each time we thought we would do it, life got in the way. That happens, but oh well. The dream was still there.

A few months ago, we connected again. (Thank goodness for Internet communications.) We made a plan. Susanne would fly from Copenhagen to Porto and I will take a bus from Tomar to Porto. We will spend one night there, then take another bus to Santiago.

Then begins the adventure. The route is about 90 kilometers (56 miles). According to my research, it may take about four days. But we plan to take it easy and enjoy every minute of the experience. If it takes longer than that, so be it. Buen Camino.

The yellow arrow points the way on all the camino routes.

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Bike touring in Spain: hot, windy and hungry

Our four-day bike tour took us over more than 200 kilometers of gravel roads and paved roads from Badajoz to Montijo, and Alburquerque, in Spain, then to Portalegre and Vila Velha de Rodão in Portugal.

Ever since I heard that the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico was named after a duke in Spain I have wanted to visit the original town which is spelled Alburquerque. Somehow the R was dropped in the New World.

I got my wish last week when I made a four-day bike tour with my brother, Bob, and cycling friend, Graham, through the border region of Spain and Portugal.

The idea for the trip started after I did a wonderful bike adventure in northern Portugal in 2023. Graham, who organized that trip, had heard me talk about the years I lived in Albuquerque, NM. He suggested a route that would take in the Spanish town of Alburquerque in Estremadura, which became a sister city to its namesake in New Mexico in 2003.

Taking the train to Spain

My brother, an enthusiastic cyclist, was interested in the idea. He flew over from where he lives in Ireland to join us. We met just south of where I live in Tomar, and put our bikes on the one-car train that plies between Entroncamento, Portugal, and Badajoz, in Spain.

Unfortunately, our trip coincided with a heatwave. The temperature was around 35 degrees C. (95F) when we set off from Badajoz to pedal the roughly 40 kilometers to the town of Montijo. Fortunately, most of the route was close to an irrigation canal and therefore flat.

The next day we started off before 9 a.m. in cool temperatures for the 58 kilometer ride to Alburquerque. However, we quickly ran into a headwind which stayed with us the whole day. The road stretched out long and lonely. We passed huge fields of wheat, scattered orchards where caramel brown cattle sheltered from the sun under cork oaks. Houses were rare.

There was a lot of empty road between Montijo and Alburquerque on our second day of riding

Villages also are few and far between. We finally stopped in Villar del Rey, where we managed to get coffee and churros, the long slim pieces of fried dough that people often dunk in coffee. Continuing on, we had a long, steep climb up to our destination, the hilltop town of Alburquerque.

We stayed in a comfortable AirBnb and after a refreshing shower and a cold beer, we set off to explore the castle that dominates the town.

It´s not exactly Hollywood, but the sign made it clear that we had arrived!

The Castillo de Luna was built from the 11th to the 15h centuries and is named for Alvaro de Luna, Constable of Castile and Grand Master of the Order of Santiago. It was a short, though steep, walk up from the main plaza where we stayed. Entry is free and you can wander on your own. The views from the walls are magnificent.

From left: cats on the street up to the castle. Interior of the chapel in the castle, a small dining room with heraldic shields on the walls.

Where, oh, where is a restaurant that is open?

It is well known that Spain observes siesta in the afternoon from about 2:30 to 5 p.m. and people eat dinner late, sometimes very late.

When I have visited different parts of Spain in the past, it is usually possible to find a bar that serves tapas (light snacks) from about 7:30 pm. Not so in Alburquerque.

We were VERY hungry after our long cycling slog. So after visiting the castle, we had another beer and asked where we might get dinner. Answer: the restaurants don’t open until 9 p.m. Turned out that the town’s restaurants don’t open at all on a Tuesday night. Thank goodness we found a kebab place to stave off starvation.

From left: Bob and Graham, Graham and Rosalie riding on the road and walking on the deep gravel.

Heading back to Portugal

The third day saw us descend from Alburquerque heading toward the Portuguese border. We made a stop for coffee and churros in La Codosera. It was almost the last Spanish village we cruised through before the border. The town has become famous for a shrine to Nuestra Señora de Chandavila. In 1945, two young girls said they saw a vision of the Virgin Mary on a hillside outside the town. There is now a statue of Nuestra Señora de Chandavila above the town, and a pilgrimage route for the seven sorrows of the virgin.

A few kilometers later, we passed the border village of El Marco and walked across the roughly three-meter-long bridge that claims to be the shortest international bridge in the world.

Standing with one foot in Spain and one in Portugal on the El Marco bridge, near Arronches.

As soon as we crossed into Portugal we felt the difference. The first sizable village we came to, Mosteiros, had a restaurant where we eagerly consumed the well-known Portuguese dish, “carne de Porco Alentejano”, chunks of pork and clams in a mildly spicy sauce with cubed potatoes. Very tasty!

After another 20 kilometers and a big climb, we reached Portalegre. By that time, I was feeling pretty exhausted and dubious about whether I would make the fourth day. I knew I could catch the train back to Entroncamento from Portalegre. However, my riding companions, Bob and Graham, persuaded me that the final day would be mostly downhill —- except for the big climb at the end!

Sure enough, the final day started cool and fresh with long gentle descents. We stopped by a lake created by a dam and stopped for coffee in the charming town of Nisa.

A long climb, beautiful descent and a surprise

The last climb toward our final destination in Vila Velha de Rodão looked daunting. However, the temperature was cooler and the wind was not against us. We took it slow and steady, stopping for a breather every two or three kilometers. Our reward was a thrilling ride down a long curving road to the bridge over the river Tejo. This is the same river that flows to the sea in Lisbon.

View over the Tejo outside Vila Velha de Rodão. The curving road on the right side of the photo is where we descended from the pass.

We checked into the Vila Portuguesa hotel and walked over to the train station to make sure we could get the train back to Entroncamento the next morning. Then we had a celebratory meal.

Unfortunately, neither the station timetable nor the online Comboios de Portugal app, shared the information that buses had replaced train service through Vila Velha de Rodão in March this year, and the buses did not accept bicycles.

Graham scrambled and his wife Karen drove two hours to rescue Bob and I so that he could get to my home in time to catch his flight back to Ireland the next day.

All in all a great adventure, with a lot of surprises. But that´s travel for you!

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Adventures in a historic Algarve coastal village

This massive fortress once made Cacela Velha a key defense point to defend against pirates on the Algarve coast.

Tales of Romans and Moorish invaders, shellfish and sea views draw me to Caçela Velha, a tiny hamlet perched on a cliff above the eastern Algarve coast, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Portugal’s border with Spain. I have always been a history buff.

Cacela Velha’s origins date back before the Romans, when Phoenician sailors ventured along the coast. After the Romans came the Moors, attracted by the rich soils of the area and plentiful fishing along the coast.

Because of this, the Algarve has a definitely different vibe from other parts of Portugal. I live in a town in central Portugal and I felt the difference as soon as I arrived in nearby Tavira.

A Poet of the Revolution

The maps app on my phone guides me down a road named after for Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, the poet who celebrated Portugal’s 1974 Carnation Revolution from the Salazar dictatorship with the lines that touched my heart, “Esta é a madrugada que eu esperava, o dia inicial inteiro e limpo, onde emergimos da noite e do silencio”, roughly translated it reads, “This is the dawn I longed for, the first day complete and clean, when we emerge from the night and silence”.

I park in the shade of a small olive tree. A bus stops in front of my car to disgorge a group of students of around 10 years old. On the way to the village, I pass a blackboard at the entrance to a restaurant. The message scrawled on it says, ‘W.C. 5 Euros’. Luckily, I don’t need feel the call of nature.

The village is a collection of houses, mostly white and a blue the same color as the Atlantic below. Curious about the name of the road, I stop to ask at the nameless cafe beside the square. The woman who serves me the large back coffee I have learned to call ‘abatinado’, doesn’t know. However, the cafe holds another reference to the dictatorship. On the wall beside the counter, is a yellowed newspaper article from 1988 that mentions a secret meeting in the village between Salazar and the contemporary Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco.

An old newspaper clipping tells of a secret meeting near Cacela Velha between the contemporary Portuguese and Spanish dictators, António de Oliveira Salazar and Francisco Franco.

Funeral Traditions in Portugal

As I walk around the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição that dominates the praça, a large silver Citroen van pulls up. I recognize it as a hearse. Four black-suited men emerge bearing flowers. In the back I can see the brown gleam of a coffin. A notice at the church entrance shows the picture of a 91-year-old man who died in Tavira two days before. Funerals happen quickly in Portugal’s hot climate.

In the corner of the praça stands an old-style public phone box. It serves as a free library and lo and behold, I see a book about the prehistory of the area around the Nabão, the region in central Portugal where I live.

However, I don’t have time to linger. Low tide is the best time to see the famed shellfish that emerge from the sands along the Ria Formosa beneath the town. Low tide is in one hour, according to the tide tables I consulted.

A New Use for Salt

A flight of shallow steps descends to the sand flats. Tourists speaking Dutch and German wade across the shallow waters and sand flats toward the open sea. I spot a lone man bending over the water, remove my socks and shoes and approach him. He is pouring something into the water. When I reach him, I see it is a small container of salt. Tavira is known for its nearby salt pans.

Carlos, who is from nearby Altura, explains that the salt encourages the razor clams to emerge from their holes. He demonstrates, searching for a telltale dimple in the sand, pours the salt and waits. A second later, a ripple of movement, then a slim shape pops out, he snatches it and shows me the “Lingeirão”. “They serve them with rice here,” he says.

Carlos shows me how he uses salt to lure razor clams from the sand. Then he catches a tiny crab. The Ria Formosa sand flats are full of such shellfish.

Suddenly, a small crab, “caranguejo”, appears. He tries to snatch it while it fights him off with his claws. Finally, he grabs it and proudly shows it to me.

I continue further along the sand flat exposed at low tide, eager for a different view of the fortifications from below. The massive slope-sided walls remind me of fortifications I have seen elsewhere on the Portuguese coast, in Peniche and the Berlengas islands where a guide said they were built to repel pirates that roamed the Mediterranean and Altlantic coast.

Crabs leave golf-ball sized clumps of sand where they have dug holes in the sand flats of the Ria Formosa which are exposed a low tide.

Suddenly I spot a host of tiny sand balls scattered in front of me. Curious, I squat to peer more closely at them and see a palm-sized crab appear from a hole. All at once, the ground in front of me is moving with dozens of crabs. The balls are the detritus of sand formed by the crabs when they dug their holes.

I head back up a sandy path toward the village. A cat meets me on the way. There are always cats in Portugal.

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Plans for cycling tour in Portugal and Spain

Riding in Portugal’s hilly countryside is a challenge.

Back in September 2023, I did a wonderful cycling trip in northern Portugal. My friend and cycling buddy, Graham, organized the trip to take in the towns of Viana do Castelo, Valença, Monção, Arcos de Valdevez, and Ponte de Lima. It was such a success that he proposed another tour, this time from Portugal to Spain. Having heard me talk about living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he proposed visiting the city of Alburquerque, Spain. Great idea, I thought.

Sadly, life got in the way; 2024 and 2025 slipped by without the chance to make that trip. Now, however, the time is nigh! My brother, Bob, also a cycling enthusiast, is flying over from Ireland at the end of May to join us. We will meet Graham in the town of Entroncamento, south of Tomar, where I live. There, we will load our bikes on the train and travel to Badajoz. The train journey to the city just across the Portuguese/Spanish border takes just under three hours. From there, we will ride 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the city of Merida, famous for its extensive Roman ruins.

Merida is famous for its extensive Roman ruins.

After a night in Merida, Graham’s proposed route will take us about 80 kilometers (49 miles) to the city of Alburquerque. The distance does not seem too overwhelming, but unfortunately, the ride will involve about 900 meters (roughly 3,000 feet) of climbing. This is intimidating, and we hope we will have a friendly tailwind to help us along.

All the years I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I frequently heard that the city was originally spelled with an “r”. The story goes that in 1706, the 10th Duke of Alburquerque, Don Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva Enrique, (they had long names in those days), was the viceroy of New Spain (Mexico). In April of that year, the colonial governor of New Mexico, Don Francisco Cuervo y Valdez, founded a farming settlement in New Mexico and named it in honor of the viceroy.

Some Albuquerque (NM) residents may remember the celebrations held in 2006 to mark the 300th anniversary of the city’s founding.

The original Spanish city is a hilltop town of about 5,000 inhabitants, about 15 miles from the border with Portugal. It is famous for its castle and its importance as a center for the cork industry.

From there, we will head back to Portugal and spend a night in the town of Portalegre.

The town of Portalegre played a key role in the defense of Portugal in the Middle Ages.

On our final day, we will travel 62 kilometers (38 miles) to Vila Velha de Rodão, where we will catch a train back to Entroncamento. Each day will involve a lot of climbing, but I am getting fit and hope that frequent coffee stops will make it all go smoothly. After all, any day on a bicycle beats a day in the office.

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