Friday, March 15, 2002, 09:20 am
Weather: high clouds, sprinkling rain
Location: Evora town square coffee shop

I have a bit of a sore throat this morning, as if I´m coming down with something, and I know exactly why. After doing some shopping and walking around downtown Lisbon yesterday I was ready to leave, so I picked up my pack and headed over to Barreiro. I got there a good two hours before my train was scheduled to depart, and sat for most of that time on a bench by the side of track 3 with a cold wind blowing off the water all around me. I guess I should have put up with the secondhand smoke in the waiting room after all.

The trip to Evora was fast and comfortable, with a quick change of trains at Casa Branca onto a local, just one car behind an engine, for the last half hour of the trip. Then I had the pleasure of tussling with the railway agent for the privilege of a reservation on the train back, which I´ll take at the end of the day on my way to Madrid.

I walked up a slight grade into Evora, past a national guard base, and arrived in cool wet weather at about 5:30. After checking into the guest house, a nap, and a quick but excellent dinner at a local restaurant, I called it a day.

This morning I again woke early, but in the interests of nursing my cold took my time to get up and move out. As a result I have the pleasure to be sharing the coffee shop with a group of about 15 with their faces painted blue, red and orange. I can only guess that these are probably party hacks drumming up support for the Portugese election on Sunday. (Interestingly, I read yesterday that the election is being watched carefully across Europe as Portugal may be a bellweather for elections in other countries. The incumbent left-of-centre parties are under pressure from the right, which may shift the E.U.´s policy direction over time.)

Well, it´s pouring rain outside again now, so I´ll linger over my coffee a few more minutes before heading to the town´s museum and the Temple of Diana, a roman ruin still preserved in the middle of the town. Don´t want to catch a cold out in that rain...
posted by Tom at 9:20 AM | link |