My upper terrace and the view beyond
So today is a holiday for Portugal – April 25th. One day before my birthday.
Funky stairs on the road leading into my village
The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos), also referred to as the 25 de Abril (the 25 April), was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance. The name “Carnation Revolution” comes from the fact no shots were fired and when the population started descending the streets to celebrate the end of the war in the colonies, carnation flowers were put on the guns’ ends and on the uniforms. These events effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship (the Estado Novo) into a democracy.
An ancient watering station that is used to water livestock enroute to Colos
Anyway, I have been told that everything is closed today and most of the people will be in some act of celebration and drinking and that I should stay off of the roads. Apparently – and I can attest to this from actual experience – the Portuguese are not the best of drivers sober, so putting them on the road with lots of wine in their systems is not good either.
A very old cork tree
Apparently a lot of police are on the road, there are lots of accidents, and the police especially love to get the tourists (non-Portuguese) during such occasions to line their pockets. So I am laying low and writing today.
A younger cork tree with the year of its harvest
A couple of days ago, I walked to a nearby village called Colos. It was about a 12 km round trip. I decided to walk in as I was still unsure of the car and I wanted to get the lay of the land so that I was not driving around on very hilly narrow roads in a car not knowing where I was going. So it was a good walk and I enjoyed it. And now I have a much better understanding of what is in Colos and where the gas station is! Always important to know.
The beautiful naturally occurring wild roses
As I was walking, I was able to look close hand at the cork trees. It is really interesting how they are harvested. Basically the bark is taken off – mostly on the trunk and thick branches – in 10 year cycles. This does not kill the trees. They spray paint the year the bark was removed on the tree so that it is a quick marker for when it can be done next. Anyway, the older trees are really wild looking and given my fascination with trees, it gave me some good photo opportunities.
The rolling hillsides dotted by sheep
Anyway, that’s all I am posting about for the moment. Stay tuned – time to write some other stuff.