By now you must be getting the message that Portugal and Spain have lots of hilltop villages with castles. We are heading south so soon we will be at the beach with the hills at our backs.

Monsaraz is also near where beautiful hand painted pottery is made. We could not resist and bought a nice selection of artful pieces. The design at the top of the page on Marvao is an example of the work. We also saw the tallest menhir in Portugal and a bullring that was built inside castle walls.

We drove to the coast despite knowing all of Spain and Portugal were at the beach. Everything was taken, including rooms the tourism office said were free. Then, a lady spoke to us in English about a room in her friend's home. We loved it, and next morning we took this little train to Barril Beach.