Our local village of Povoa de Atalaia was the birth place of a famous Portuguese poet – Eugenio de Andrade. Earlier in the summer the mayor of Fundao, Paulo Fernandes, opened the ‘Casa de Poeisa’ in what was, the old primary school for the village. The building houses an exhibition of Andrade’s poems and features pictures of the people and landscapes of the area.
For specific details about the opening hours of the exhibition – follow this link
Also opened on the same day was a beautiful walking trail around the village.
With 8 stopping points, marked with a poems from Andrade – the walk takes about 1 hour 1/2, longer if, you like me to stop to take pictures and chat with the old people!!!
Here are a selection of the snaps I took as I finally walked the trail this week, before the Autumn rains…..
The trail passes along an ancient ‘lavada’ or watering channels…
Through fields where the farmers still work with hoes and with love.
A common sight at this time of year are the Portuguese cabbage – tall and proud!
Passing through the village of Povoa de Atalaia with it’s small cobbled streets…
….and then back out into the countryside again….
Meeting ladies walking back from their work, buckets full of veggies….
Fruit and flowers in abundance…
In the center of the village, across the way from the house where Eugenio de Andrade was born, is a place to sit and contemplate the olive trees, read poems and chat.
The people of Pova are mainly older – with stories and histories worth listening to…
Some are too old to work, others are still growing their food and feeding their animals…
On the walk back home I was marvelling at the views of the Gardunha that we see behind Mount of Oaks….how blessed we are to live in this region and to appreciated the country lanes….
There are many of these marked paths in the area – we have most of the maps at hand for reference. Many thanks to the local council for their work in promoting walking tracks in the district of Fundao!