Wet Weather Plan

We woke up to a thunderstorm and heavy rain. Breakfast indoors looked as if it could be tricky, following a power cut - Carole lit candles, but fortunately power came back on - so coffee was also back on.

As the day looked iffy, and at our hosts recommendation, we travelled down the road to Portalegre, the big town in these parts. They had suggested the Guy Fino Tapestry Museum, which proved to be just fabulous. It is more an art gallery than a museum, and the skill of the weavers was just amazing. Portalegre was the centre of tapestry production in Portugal, but the industry fell on hard times after the 1974 revolution and the end of the dictatorship, as the commissions for big tapestries for public buildings across Portugal dried up. There are only 3-4 elderly ladies who still retain the skills apparently.

The day turned out to be much better weather wise than we had anticipated, so after a visit to a packed cathedral (something big going on) and a short view of the derelict cork factory (it had been British owned, "Robinsons" emblazoned down the sides of the big brick chimneys) we set off on a short tour of nearby Alegrete and the Sao Mamede ridge before heading "home" (I have not mentioned we are in the Sao mamede National Park)