We decided early in the planning to spend our last few days in Portugal in a rural area. We had read so much about the beauty of the Douro Valley we started researching there and went no further. There are many Quintas (rural historic estates) that rent rooms or small houses to tourists. Because it is off season – not wine season, or summer holiday season, the deals were great. We chose a Quinta in Barqueiros, a civil parish about 8 kilometres square and a population of 1900 people that was first referenced in 1228. It is on the banks of the Douro River. The reviews were good and the price was right. I thought we were the only tenants because it was so quiet but we met a French couple staying in another apartment on our second day. Our hosts who own this beautiful Quinta have 3 children and a dog Cocoa and live in the main house. The grow mainly grapes and make and sell wine but they also have orange, lemon, apple, tangerine, plum, cherry, almond, kiwi and olive trees – they sell their own oil oil too. Right now there are oranges, lemons, tangerines and some apples on the trees (I don’t think it’s the season for apples so these must be a diff variety). We are invited to pick from any of them. The plum trees, cherry trees and almond trees are in bloom.
We can only hear church bells and birds, (and the occasional dog barking). We came by a regional train and then taxi to get here – I don’t think we realized how remote we were. ….different remote than Canada – lots of houses, neighbours, a church, just no businesses. 7.2 k to the closest cafe or restaurant at the next neighbouring village. Down the road, a ways away, a mini- mercado that sells necessities out of a yellow house, and every morning a bread truck serving fresh bread and pastries stops outside the gate and blows their horn to call anyone that wants to buy. Our host supplied us with coffee, butter and jam and cheese so we are well set.
The little out building we are staying in is stone but fully renovated and modern. A nice little kitchen, comfy bed, hot shower – but very thick walls – notice the windowsill in the bedroom with the stone sticking out of the wall. There is lots of natural light at the front of the apartment and all the conveniences we would want.
Our plan was to taxi to the train station today and go visit Pinho, maybe go for a boat ride, and visit the cafes. This morning – game time decision – we have decided to stay put…..walk, relax and eat bread and oranges (who am I kidding, and pastries) for 2 more days. We won’t call a taxi till it’s time to leave. We have to book an hour ahead for the cab to get here and the cost is just 9 Euro to get back to the train station (on some pretty interesting roads). We will walk and explore the neighbourhood and enjoy the sunshine.
Chapter 2 for those that are interested and want to continue with my blather.
We did laundry (we are getting very used to this style of doing laundry) and then went for a walk to the neighborhood store. When we arrived the door had keys hanging from the lock but it appeared no one was there. We were unsure of protocol so we started to walk away and a Portuguese woman came running down the road talking a mile a minute and waving her arms. (We have not heard one English word since we arrived. Our hosts are bilingual but the neighbours, taxi drivers, bread and grocery sellers are not. Thank goodness for google translate and charades). The lady turned the keys and invited us in. It was an amazing little market. Everything from socks to fresh fruit and vegetables. There was a shelf of toiletries, and the same sized shelf for candles for church. There was a small refrigerated counter with a bit of meat, cheese, milk, butter and yogurt. There were also shelves of wine and olive oil. We will eat like kings tonight – we bought fresh tomatoes and bacon and chorizo sausage. Jim even found shaving cream.
This for us is like a step backward in time, although the wifi is good and we see satellite dishes on the rooftops. There are no credit cards here and the cats and dogs run free. The church bells ring every hour and many residents don’t own cars. Time seems not as important. The people around us are grape and fruit farmers and vintners and we have seen mostly an older demographic. We, of course, know we are getting a wee tiny glimpse of their lives. As idyllic as it sounds, I have read there was a huge conflict here in the 80’s when the citizens of Barqueiros protested against the mining of Kaolin and a young boy was shot by the National Guard. That is where the language barrier is hard. I would love to talk to the market keeper or the neighbour but we just smile and say Bon Dia and know we are blessed to be getting a little glimpse of life here.
Unreal. Country life. Almond trees?? How were the almonds!!