We were nervous staying in a little hostel/hotel with Babes in fear of her crying and keeping others awake (vs having our own apartment) but she was such a trooper! We got out at a decent hour, grabbed some breakfast pastries and hit the road. We had one stop to break up the drive to where we were staying the night next, and it was the Sao Domingo Mines, a ghosttown of what once was one of the biggest mines in the country.
Good news: it was really cool! The ground was still so rich with minerals it was a deep red, and there were signs everywhere to not go in the water that was blood-red from the acidity.
Bad news: I got so much worse. TeleHealth said it's severe if you're sick 7 times a day.... it has now become every half an hour. I may or may not have left my mark at 3 ancient monuments in the next 2 days starting here....
While toying with the right time to visit a hospital, we made it to Evora, checked in, and still had plenty of time (for once) to visit the town before it got dark. Initially, this was just going to be a pit stop on the way to a different location, but we decided to spend the night here and I'm so happy we did, what a charming place!
We grabbed some pastries local to this town in the square below before we went off to grab dinner at a little restaurant that came highly recommended. While we sat at this square, we heard an older couple behind us speaking English.
We then wandered into the restaurant and were the first ones there, so we grabbed a seat at the bar (no tables) in the corner so I won't be in the way when inevitably will need to stand and rock Babes, and in walks this couple and sits at the other side of the bar. Being the only 2 couples in the restaurant, as it wasn't technically officially open yet, the bartender proceeded to translate and explain the menu to both of us at the same time to kill two birds with one stone. This then led us to start chatting and they asked us if we were Canadian based on our mannerisms, lol. Turns out they were from Kingston! Small world indeed (I actually kept thinking I knew them as they looked so similar to my buddy's family whose wedding we MC'ed which is why I even noted them at the earlier cafe. Alas, they were not). We proceeded to talk across the bar even as it filled up with locals late into the evening discussing various travel stories and eating local dishes, well some of us, before it was time to head back.
