After getting back from cold, rainy Ireland in mid January the most important job we had was to prune the trees and the vines. They hadn't been done for a few years and so desperately needed it, and we needed to do it while it was still winter and nothing was growing!
That took a few weeks, I didn't really take many photos as I was too busy pruning! Anyway more of the quinta will appear later in the blog, for now let's catch up with the road trip we did down to the Algarve for some winter sun!
In mid February we decided to go and have a month in the south before the spring started springing! There would be lots to do on the quinta in the spring and we were desperate to get in the sea!
Our first stop was the town of Tomar. Tomar was created inside the walls of the Convento de Cristo, constructed under the orders of Gualdim de Pais, the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar of Portugal in the late 12th century.
Tomar was the last Templar town to be commissioned for construction and one of Portugal's historical jewels. The town was especially important in the 15th century when it was a center of Portuguese overseas expansion under Henry the Navigator, the Grand Master of the Order of Christ, successor organization to the Knights Templar in Portugal.
Tomar lies in the most fertile region of Portugal, and one of the most fertile in the whole of the Iberian Peninsula: the Ribatejo ("by the river Tagus") meadows. It is located in the district of Santarém. The predominant landscape is agricultural, consisting of olive, pine and fig trees.
Tomar is also the capital of the Médio Tejo (Mid-Tagus river) region. The Nabão River cuts across what was the ancient city of Nabantia: its inhabitants are called Nabantinos.
Festa dos Tabuleiros (Trays Festival), an ancient tradition in Tomar, is the most important festival celebrated in the city, attracting people from all over the world. The festival is held every four years, the last being held in June and July 2015. The local population parades in pairs with the girls carrying tabuleiros on their heads. The tabuleiro is made of 30 stacked pieces of bread, either in 6 rows of 5 or 5 rows of 6, decorated with flowers. At the top of the tabuleiro is a crown which normally contains either a white dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit, or the esfera armilar (armillary sphere), a symbol of the historical Portuguese maritime expansion.
If you are looking for something to do on a winter's day, something a bit different to the rest of the west coast of Portugal try Cais Palafitico Carrasqueira.
The Carrasqueira stilt pier is one of the most visited places in the county. This masterpiece of popular architecture, built in the 50s and 60s, is unique in Europe and is built on irregular wooden pegs, apparently fragile, which serve as a dock for the fishing boats that dock there. The pier continues to fulfill the mission for which it was built: to allow fishermen access to boats, even during low tide.
A great place for photography particularly at sunrise and sunset when the tide is in. We were there for sunset but the tide was out, take a look online at some of the stunning photographs people have taken there!
There are opportunities there to buy seafood direct from the fishermen and it is perfectly ok to park there for a night.
On the west coast after you have got past the capital and the hustle and bustle but before you get to Sines and proper Alentejo country there is a beautiful tidal lagoon called Lagoa de Santo André.
Here is a protected area and you can see the many different birds that feed and live around here.
As well as the lagoon there is a beautiful sandy beach stretching for miles and some nice walkways through the dunes
There are also bars and restaurants in the village and a car park that is on Google maps as a parking place for campervans. We stayed overnight with 6 other vans with no problem.
Odemira's charm lies in its location on top of a small hill, forming a kind of amphitheatre with its brilliant white houses facing towards the river Mira. The source of the river is in the Serra do Caldeirão, but from this point on it is navigable as far as its mouth at Vila Nova de Milfontes, over a stretch of roughly 30 kilometres, a most beautiful setting for sailing, rowing or canoeing.
This beautiful name is said to have originated from the Arab words wad (meaning river) and Emir, leading to the name Odemira in Portuguese.
Despite being conquered from the Moors by the first Portuguese king D. Afonso Henriques, the town was not granted a charter until 1257, in the reign of D. Afonso III, when it was populated on a definitive basis.
Odemira has not managed to preserve any really important remains from this historic past. Nothing is left, for example, of the castle that once stood at the town's highest point.
I happened to notice on Google maps as I was looking at Odemira, an artisanal choclatier. As a chocolate lover I had to go and check it out!
It is top rated on Google maps and we were not disappointed, even Frank who is not a great chocolate lover really enjoyed this experience!
For €4 you can get a drink and 3 chocolates which we did and of course because they were so nice we bought a few to take home, (which didn't last long!)
A delicious little treat and well worth a visit. There is a top deck above the cafe building with incredible views across the town. Then there is a lovely walk along the river too ❤️
A bit from their website...
Beatriz is Argentinian and a native of Bariloche, one of the most important cities of Patagonia. Renowned as the “Switzerland of Argentina”, Bariloche became famous for the production of handmade chocolate after the arrival of Swiss immigrants at the beginning of the twentieth century.
After coming to Portugal she began to look for a creative outlet which would not only provide a living but fill a gap in the market. With this aim in mind, she began exploring the origins of chocolate and decided to open her own artisanal Chocolaterie in the beautiful village of Odemira.
Today, Chocolates de Beatriz is recognised as a quality brand with clients from all over the world visiting the chocolateries in Odemira and in Faro, the latter opened in 2017.
Beatriz’s idea is very simple: to produce good chocolate at an affordable price.She carefully selects chocolate with character which has a striking and recognisable aroma.The ingredients for the fillings are of the best quality and freshness without any artificial flavourings, fragrances or colours. As a result the chocolates have a shelf life of six to eight weeks, but this doesn’t seem to be a problem for her clients as they tell her the chocolates do not normally remain in the box uneaten for more than six to eight days!
We arrived in the Algarve nearly a year to the day that we had left! More on that in the next post.
Thanks for looking :)
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