Cork, Bones, Nativities & Beyond

Friday, September 27, 2024

Nancy had arranged today’s adventure before departing the U.S., a visit to the town of Evora with a stop at a cork production facility along the way. While preparing to leave, Jane and I enjoyed a nice morning view of Lisbon from our room window and then a buffet breakfast in the Dom Pedro Hotel restaurant. At about 8:30, we joined Nancy and John outside the hotel where we met our personal guide, Pedro, and then boarded a large van covered with a crazy black and white op art design.

Pedro drove south through Lisbon’s morning traffic and evenuatly we crossed the Ponte 25 de Abril (April 25th Bridge, named for the date of the Carnation Revolution), a large suspension bridge spanning the Tagus River. On the far left river bank, we passed a huge Christ statue reminescent of the well-known one in Rio de Janeiro. Gradually, the suburbs faded away and we were traveling through open countryside. Pedro narrated during the 1.5 hour-long (about 80-mile) journey, however, he spoke very softly and didn’t use the van’s microphone system, so I could hear almost nothing he said from the rear seat. But, John, who was sitting in the front seat, had a nice conversation with our guide. Nevertheless, it was interesting watching the Portuguese landscape roll by featuring forests of umbrella pines, cork oak plantations, farms, and more.

—— Departing Lisbon ——

Eventually, we disembarked at the cork factory, Corticarte, “Art in Cork”. We viewed huge piles of bark outside the factory as we entered it via an opened garage door. After a brief wait gawking at cork products inside, we joined an English-speaking group on a tour led by one of the sons of the owner, David. We started the tour outdoors beside a corkbark oak (Quercus suber) where our guide discussed how the trees are cultivated and the cork is manually harvested. The first harvest is after the tree is at least 25-years-old and subsequent harvests occur in nine-year intervals. 

—— Arriving at the Cork Factory ——

—— Cork Factory Tour – Outdoors ——

The tour continued inside the factory where we were shown the various stages of cork processing including a huge press. We were educated on the quality of cork and its influence on sourcing for various products (the first and second harvests are not suitable for stoppers). David presented the material in an engaging manner employing a dry sense of humor and delivering lines with the timing of a seasoned stand-up comic.  

—— Cork Factory Tour – Indoors ——

After the presenation, we inspected various products that were on display and then walked through the fascinating gift shop stocked full of unusual cork merchandise. Jane purchased four cork place mats and Nancy bought a cork purse. 

——  Cork Factory Products ——

Of all the cork factories in all of the countryside in all of Portugal, she walked into ours. Paula did, that is, our wonderful Basque Region guide, just as we were departing. After a brief but joyous reunion, we boarded Pedro’s loco van and departed for Evora stopping briefly near the factory for photos of a statue honoring cork bark harvesters.

—— Departing the Cork Factory —— 

Pedro drove us to Evora where we parked near the Church of Saint Francis (Igreja de Sao Francisco). We started by touring the Chapel of Bones (Cappella dos Ossos) beside the church’s former Franciscan monastery. To enter the chapel, we passed under a creepy spine-tingling inscription “Nos ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos” meaning “We bones are here waiting for yours.” Shiver. Inside, bones and skulls from an estimated 5,000 cadavers had been employed in contructing the interior. Monks of the 15th and 16th centuries created this Gothic-style chapel with its morbid design features from cadavers exhumed from the city’s overflowing cemeteries. It seems to me that there could have been a less demented and more respectful solution. Despite its ghastliness, this somber environment gripped us in a dark captivation. The morose surrounding of ancient human remains from long-forgotten souls had a decidedly depressive effect on our previously merry mood. Finally, we exited and were relieved to escape the chapel’s melancholy.

—— Chapel of Bones ——

We transitioned from the centuries-old Chapel of Bones to the recently restored modern museum center (Nucleo Museologico), formerly the monks’ dormitory. While entering the museum, we encountered a huge Nativity scene with Evora as the setting for Bethelem, foreshadowing displays to come. The museum was interesting and housed a collection of mostly religous 15th through18th century artwork from the monastery and church including devotional objects, relics, vestments, and an impressive Franciscan geneology chart.

—— Museum ——

Above the museum, a huge collection of Nativity scenes occupying several gallery rooms was on display. The collection is privately owned by Major-General Fernando Canha da Silva and his wife, Fernanda. Due to space constraints, only 2,600 of the 6,300 pieces of their collection were on display. In the 13th century, St. Francis of Assissi created the first nativity scene in an Italian village and the tradition is now a deeply rooted Franciscan tradition. The Canha da Silva collection began with regional cork and clay nativity scenes but now includes nativities representing over 80 countries. We enjoyed perusing the variety of scenes constructed from a host of materials and ranging from whimsical to serious in nature. While moving between gallery rooms, we crossed an outdoor terrace that afforded us nice views of Evora.

—— Nativity Collection ——

—— Views of Evora ——

After absorbing bones and nativities, we finally entered the Church of St. Francis. The church was built in the 15th & 16th centuries in Gothic style although additional styles have subsequently been integrated. We walked through the impressively vaulted church taking in its many chapels and side altars.

—— Church of St. Francis, Evora —–

After our tour of the church, Pedro drove us to a central plaza where we slipped into the Cafe Arcade for a quick bite, savory and sweet pastries with iced tea. We then walked along one side of the plaza and continued uphill along a narrow shop-lined street where Nancy and Jane popped into various stores on an (unsuccessful) search for the perfect cork purse for Jane (there were hundreds to choose from). The street opened up at the top of the hill as we passed by the Cathedral of Evora. 

—— Our Lunch Venue and Walking around Evora ——

In a hilltop plaza, we encountered the Temple of Diana, a well-preserved 1st-century Roman edifice orginally part of a forum dedicated to emperor Augustus. Most of its 18 Corinthian columns, which orginally surrounded a reflecting pool, were still standing. Here, we again ran into Paula and had a few minutes to mutually extoll the fabulous time we had together in Basque Country. But, too soon she was back to directing her flock and scheduling events on her phone. 

—— Temple of Diana ——

A short distance from the Roman temple, we walked through a park and came upon an overlook of Evora. We relaxed enjoying the views for awhile before Pedro drove up with his stylish van and we boarded for our return trip to Lisbon. 

——Views of Evora ——

On the way back, before crossing the Tagus River, we stopped at the Sanctuary of Christ the King (Santurario Nacional de Cristo Rei). The mammoth statue (92 ft. tall), inaugurated in 1959,  sits upon a 269-ft. pedestal that visitors can access (for a fee) via an elevator where they can enjoy a long-view of the Tagus River, the bridge, Lisbon, and beyond. 

After parking, Pedro led us to an office at the front of the pedestal to purchase tickets. But, the procedure had changed, so I volunteered to walk back to the new ticket facility near the parking lot to purchase tickets. There, I waited in a short line that moved along reasonably fast until the hand-held card scanner broke while the person in front of me was paying. The employees weren’t set up to take cash. Eventually, an official appeared who opened up one of two wall mounted credit card machines and, after some fiddling, closed it, and the attendent proceeded by feeding our cards into that machine and manually dispersing the tickets. 

Meanwhile, the rest of the group had walked around the facilities, visited the indoor chapel, and walked down to the river overlook. We reunited, presented our tickets and after a brief wait, were elevatored up to Christ’s feet on the pedestal overlook. The vistas were spectacular. We spent a long time immersed in the views, slowly absorbing details of the scenery from each to the four directions and then repeating the process. Eventually, we descended and boarded Pedro’s van for the trip back across the river to Lisbon. 

—— Sanctuary of Christ the King & Surrounding Views —— 

Pedro drove us across the river and through downtown Lisbon to Dom Pedro Hotel where we disembarked and then, freshend up in our rooms. At Pedro’s recommendation, we walked a few blocks to A Valenciana, a restaurant famous for its roasted half-chickens, that both Nancy and John ordered. Jane and I ordered pescatarianly, sea bream & veggies and curry prawns, respectively. The four of us shared two bottles of white wine, Casal Videira 2023 (Alvarinho, Louviro and Trajadura). It was a nice dining experience with a local ambience. 

—— Dom Pedro Hotel & A Valenciana Restaurant ——

After a short but enjoyable walk back to the hotel, we met some of the Smithsonian Tour guides manning a table in the lobby. We chatted briefly with them, took photos of the posted tour schedule, and then headed to our respective rooms for an early bedtime after our engaging day of sightseeing.