The day we arrived in Evora, Portugal, we headed into the main square, Praca de Giraldo. We immediately noticed large groups of young people gathered in black capes. We had read that college students in Portugal wear long, black capes year round.
Even though we knew these must be Evora University students, it felt like we were in another time in history, or maybe at a costume party. We felt strangely out of place in our REI shorts and cotton t-shirts.
It turns out that J.K. Rowling, the creator of the Harry Potter series, started her writing while in Portugal. The Portuguese college students, in their long black robes, were her inspiration for the Hogwarts “uniform”.
Chanting & Marching
We watched in fascination as the black caped students chanted, arm in arm. They formed large circles and smaller clusters throughout the square, centered mostly around the large fountain. Their chanting was boisterous and continued to get louder and louder.
Then our attention was pulled to somewhere beyond the square. We could hear loud yells and commotion, but couldn’t be sure where it was coming from. Then a chain of students, connected like a centipede, popped into the square from a side alley. They were wearing outlandish outfits with colorful balloons and feathers stuck to their bodies, yelling, throwing their arms about, and generally calling attention to themselves.
A Shoe On The Head?
The chanting and marching were fun to watch, but when we saw students balancing shoes on their heads all over the square, while other students took their picture, we really started to wonder.
Students were everywhere putting shoes on their heads. Some shoe-heads were posing singularly, usually kneeling down. Others were in large groups creating a pyramid, all while balancing shoes on their heads.
We wondered if this was some sort of political protest or Greek-life shenanigans. I was dying to run around and take tons of pictures, but I was worried about intruding, so only got a few pictures from afar.
I had to solve this mystery, so I sought out some 20-something young women working at a store nearby.
They pondered how to explain it to me in English, and finally said it was something like our fraternities and sororities, but not exactly the same.
Mystery Solved
The store employees explained that there are no separate women & men “Greek-like” organizations in Portugal. The entire college community gather as one in the fall and “bond” by doing silly things and embarrassing the freshman. Apparently this year the upperclassmen decided that making the freshman balance a shoe on their head would be just the indoctrination needed.
Students use Praca de Giraldo as a gathering spot, since Evora University is spread all over the city
The best thing about the Portuguese “non-Greek” system is that, after the fun “getting to know you” phase in the fall, the seniors each match up with a freshman. The seniors then mentor and support their freshman match during their first college year.
I love this idea. It reminds me of an independent school I know a bit about (I’m one of the founders), The Attic Learning Community, near Seattle, Washington, where multi-age mentoring works wonders.
I’m not at all surprised the Portuguese continue to nurture this fine tradition of older students mentoring younger ones. Bravo.
The alarm went off at 6 am, and we caught the 6:45 early morning bus to Lagos, with our ultimate destination being Evora. It was the onlybus leaving Salema that day that worked with our connection, so it was early or nothing. From there we had to make two more connections before finally arriving in Evora.
Rede Express Bus
In all we were traveling for 9 hours, with just a few minutes downtime between connections. It was one long day. Our previous long bus ride a week ago sold sandwiches and freshly brewed espresso. Unfortunately, these buses had no food options, but luckily we had packed the Portuguese equivalent of strawberry Pop Tarts (but much thinner and crunchier). Not our normal food fare, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.
Golden Hills of the Alentejo Region
We were heading north into the arid plains of the Alentejo region. So much of the terrain we passed through looked just like the golden California foothills.
Storks!
As the bus made its way, I was thrilled to recognize something I’d only ever seen in Morocco just last year, storks nests. The nests are always at the highest point to be found, like a high column or chimney. Storks build their massive nests out of sticks. It’s really quite amazing to see and never gets old.
Capela dos Ossos
Once in Evora, we made a point to visit Capela dos Ossos, or The Chapel of Bones. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel entering a chapel where all the walls are covered in real human bones, but I must say it was very impressive, if not a bit jaw dropping (excuse the pun). I’ve been to countless breathtaking churches throughout Europe, but this is one I’ll never forget.
Lots of Skulls
A Pillar of Bones
The history and message of the chapel are profound and powerful. The chapel was the idea of three Franciscan friars. Their goal was to convey the message of temporariness and fragility of human life. This message “We bones that are here, for yours we wait” is prominently etched on the arch above the chapel entrance for all to see.
Another Example of Patterns Out of Bones
The Chapel was built in the late 1500’s with thousands of bones of monks and others excavated from area cemeteries. It was fascinating to carefully study the walls, pillars, ceiling trim, and doorways – all covered with bones in unique ways to form patterns and adorn the chapel.
Pelvis above door with a skull inside
There was even a complete pelvis bone with a skull positioned inside atop the exit doors on either side of the altar. Creative, and yet kind of creepy.
Cemiterio do Mindelo
Speaking of cemeteries, when we walked into town from the bus station to our hotel, I saw a huge, ancient looking cemetery. I made a mental note to go back, if we had time. I love walking through old cemeteries, reading the birth and death years, and reflecting on the people’s lives from long ago.
On our last afternoon we did visit the cemetery and saw rows and rows of family tombs, mainly made of white marble, many from the 1500’s. I’ve never seen so many tombs all lined up on both sides of the pathways, like residential neighborhoods of the deceased.
Endless rows of tombs lined the “streets” of the Cemetery
I’m sure the tombs must be a measure of the wealth and power of a family. It looked to me like each tomb was bigger and more ornate than the next. An end-of life version of keeping up with the Joneses.
Meandering in Evora
S & T
Baby Peacocks
Praca do Giraldo
Moving on to less morbid aspects of Evora, we followed the Rick Steves (travel writer) walk as outlined in his book on Portugal. Evora is the perfect size town for walking. It’s nice and compact. We started at the central square, Praça do Giraldo, about a two minute walk from our hotel.
City Hall
Temple of Diana
Cool Home
We meandered through the hilly cobblestone streets, visiting the ancient Roman Temple of Evora (also called the Temple of Diana), the Cathedral of Evora, City Hall, and a lovely park with the year 1886 spelled out in the black and white tiles at the entry gate. I was especially surprised to see baby peacocks at the park, running around 4-5 adult peacocks.
Cathedral of Evora
Park built in 1886
Awesome Ironwork
The Yellow-Heads
A group of young students, all wearing turquoise shirts and yellow caps, made their way past us with their teacher leading the way, heading for parts unknown. So cute. Steve was also wearing turquoise, but no yellow cap. I guess he only got part of the memo.
Steve thinking about Joining this school outing, since he’s wearing the right color
Google Translate Gone Wrong
We ate lunch in a very small eatery that barely had room for two small tables, way up the road from the central square, away from most tourists.
There was a handwritten white board menu out front. I quickly used google translate to check a few of the offerings, and was horrified when one came up as a dog sandwich. What the heck? With a little more research I figured out the menu item was a hot dog, thank goodness.
There were only locals in the joint, and when we tried to order the proprietor gave me a deer in the headlights look, turned away, and promptly went to the back to fetch his wife, who could manage some English. We ended up ordering baguette sandwiches, but didn’t dare order the hot dog – just in case.
The Orange Sunset
This is really how it looked! No filter or enhancements!
On our last evening in Evora we caught a spectacular sunset. It was by sheer luck that we saw it because of a timing error on our part. The restaurant we walked to for dinner, down a side street off the main square, didn’t open for 10 minutes, so we headed back up the hill to kill some time. We plopped down on the large marble slabs that surround the broad, round fountain. It was then that Steve noticed an intense, orange sunset developing just behind me. Wow, no filter or enhancement needed (or applied) to these sunset photos. So glad we didn’t miss it!
Wins and Losses
Wins
Met a lovely couple from Lexington, Kentucky, one day at lunch. Thanks Ann & Kevin for being liberals from the south. I really appreciate you and enjoyed our chat!
We loved the Ale House Guesthouse in Evora. It had a large, well-equipped, shared kitchen, a bathroom we could maneuver in, and a great location.
Losses
I offered to help a middle-aged couple at a neighboring table translate the menu which was in cursive in Portuguese. The waiter had just explained it to us, but only gave them a cursory explanation.
Things got really awkward right away. I had heard them speaking in English, so thought my input would be welcome. I approached them and asked if they’d like some help with the menu, and the man replied with an extremely tentative and drawn out, “maaaaybeeee?”. Bad start.
I quickly showed them what I knew, then retreated to my table. Not long after, we overheard them fluently conversing with the waiter. As Scoobie Doo would say, “Ruh-Roh”.
On our second day exploring Evora, we passed by the Igreja de São Francisco, a very large and imposing church adjacent to the Chapel of Bones. There were many children scattered about in front of the church working on art pieces. Kids were sitting on the stairs, in the front atrium, and even across the street in the Sao Francisco square.
I asked one young girl if she spoke English (she did), and I proceeded to get the scoop. She was about twelve years old and from Israel. Turns out all the children were competing in the 20th International Youth Art Meeting, Evora 2019. The Art Meeting brings children from all over the world, ages four through twenty, to Evora every year to create art reflecting their vision of the city of Evora.
Thirteen Participating Countries
This year the competition sponsored children from Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Slovenia, India, Israel, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. After the competition, the water colors, paintings, and sketches are sold to finance bringing next years crop of children to Evora to compete.
Ages Four to Twenty
I was surprised to learn that even the youngest children, as young as four year old, compete in the same category as all other ages, up to twenty year old. My Isreali friend assured me that some of the four year old artists are incredibly talented, and easily compete!
She also told me that, besides working on their piece, the artists have classes and go on tours of Evora over the course of the competition, which this year spanned October 8th to the 30th.
I was thrilled that she took the time to share with me. It shows a very special side of Evora not typically experienced by tourists like me. I treasure experiences like this when traveling.
Praca do Giraldo – Even More Artists
Early the next morning, as we walked to get breakfast, I was pleasantly surprised to see more than a dozen more young artists scattered about the picturesque Praca do Giraldo (main square), sketching in the beautiful morning light. I ordered my usual Meia de Leite and Steve his Americano, along with some tasty looking pastries, and we took a seat outside in the square.
The intensity and focus of the artists was admirable. I wish them all the best of luck in the competition, but truly feel that the experience of coming to Evora and meeting other artists from all over the world is the best reward of all.
