Alentejo, an excellent Portuguese region for walking - part 1/2
The Alentejo conveys the serenity of an old place where tranquility lives.
When walking in these plain lands we
understand that the landscape is what the view does not reach and is also where
life focuses under the shade of a sweltering Sun protector “chaparro” –
chaparro is how the local people call the young cork trees.
But who only knows the Alentejo cereal
grow plains does not know the diversity of this region that, like its country, excels
in diversity.
The Alentejo is also synonymous of water
concentrated in large lakes and fluent rivers. But the cereal fields are,
without a doubt, what our memory better keeps alive when we crossed these vast
plains.
This region hides its treasures.
We often drive many kilometres in
which everything that we find is the repeated plain. However, suddenly the
whole landscape changes as is the case of the “Minas de São Domingos” (São
Domingos Mines) where its business card is a huge pond that the locals call
Tapada Grande.
This region only reveals its
treasures to whom is dedicated to look beyond what the eyes can see without
effort.
The golden plains caressed by breezes
forms waves who wander through the cornfields and make us astounding. These
waves bring with them a strong sweet odor that is difficult to forget.
Foreigners in these lands hear people
talking about the “monte” (hill) and confuse this typical house with an
elevation on the ground. The locals laugh about this naivety.
In this quest for knowledge of the
local culture borne the love for a land where men with powerful voice sing
together the "cante alentejano”, the traditional music sung by male choir.
We hear about mountains, rivers and
coastal areas where the Alentejo takes other forms and our gaze jumps to the
Costa Vincentina, by the Atlantic Ocean. On this trip we are attracted by river
that stands out on the map, is the River Mira that in a more lively extension
connects this village with Vila Nova de Milfontes on a fluvial route that I dream
in put in place.
Vila Nova de Milfontes is reference of
Alentejo with regard to coastal tourism. A town that lived from the fishing
activity on the old days but that its natural beauty and the excellent conditions
for summer place increasingly attracted bathers.
In this journey through the map our
look back to the interior. Yes, it is true that we jump from one side to the
other, but is the more human side of the heart the more emotional side leading
this trip.
I will stop now because for the next
post we will have to open a time portal and jump to roman times.
Join me for a walk in Alentejo.
David Monteiro
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