Getting Ready for the Photo Safari

This Photo Safari will take place on the weekend of 3 to 5 April! In Evoramonte, in the Alto Alentejo, a village between Évora and Estremoz.

Last week we were out across all that green, on walks full of discoveries! Me, Carla, with maps and notebook in hand, and Nuno with his camera at the ready, always about to shoot!

Our journey began right in the centre of the village, and off we went, following the directions we had brought and the things we wanted to explore.

My grandfather is from Evoramonte, and although I had been there several times, I did not expect to discover so much that was new, which only these walks on foot can offer. The green fields were a delight to the eye, and flowering rosemary sprang up from every corner.

All along the way we passed centuries-old cork oaks and olive trees, among which flocks of sheep were grazing. They are true sculptures and works of art of Nature!

We were also amazed at the number of wells we came across, planted there in the middle of nowhere, now far from everything, but once of great value. All these landscapes, now uninhabited, were the daily life of the people who used to work the land and filled these spaces with colour and joy.

Evoramonte is dotted with small chapels. It was near one of them that we met Dona Loca who, one thing leading to another, turned out to know my grandfather and the rest of the family (everyone knows everyone around here). She invited us to see the Chapel of Santa Rita, whose key she looked after. The people's faith can still be felt in this space, with the many photos and offerings pinned to the walls, as a way of asking for protection or giving thanks for a miracle.

Further on, another chapel had not been so lucky, and was serving as a car park for the neighbour's car….

The white Alentejo houses are like splashes of paint on a canvas painted green. Some of the Alentejo farmsteads further from the village are now abandoned, others have been rebuilt and are true paradises in the midst of the tranquillity.

From every side we could see the Castle, and it is interesting to see these different perspectives as we make our way around the “hill” where this village began. Entering the walls, we breathe the old days, and can now see the “new town” and all the paths we had walked…

We leave you some photos to enjoy, and come and discover the rest in April!