What I like most
about Portugal is its geographical location and nature, not so much its
language or even its people. To state this on my blog appears to be a negative
start of sales prose for wine but on the other hand the Portuguese lie foremost
their own wines, and as a reasonable large producer a lot of these wines, apart
from Porto, are not crossing the Iberian borders and are destined for domestic
consumption.
Also the Portuguese
tongue goes for domestic grapes and vines, some of them rarely drunk outside
this beautiful country. In Portugal I found the connection between nature and
wine culture most intertwined in Europe. Every time I
strayed into wine producing areas I saw beautiful birds of prey, what…
pesticides!!??
Back in 2002 I saw
my first European Golden Eagle (in real life as opposed to jailed zoo birds)
when I was visiting a fungus ridden red wine producing vineyard in the Ribatejo
region around Lisbon.
Now I am reading
that the Griffon vultures are back in good numbers in these ocean maritime blue
sky, in this country however rocky and dusty you are always feeling close to
the deep blue Atlantic ocean. These vultures with their white heads and tawny
wings are magnificent but also rare and threatened raptors like the Golden and
Bonelli’s eagle.
Protecting the
birds remains a top goal but conservation efforts in Portugal has grown into
something bigger and has the potential to bring even more people and jobs to
these poor regions badly in need of bot. Many are young educated people from
Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, or Porto, the second largest city, who are
attracted to the country side or want to get away from the urban rat race.
While the hilly,
near desert terrain maybe hell for the farmers, it is an unspoiled heaven for
those who appreciate it. Along with spectacular birds of prey, there is a
wealth of prehistoric rock carvings and medieval castles. I could mention as an
example here the area where the Côa River runs into the Douro River, whose
valley is a wine lover’s destination.
Here is an area
where conservation can be motor for local economic development and where the
European Union (EU) makes money available to invest in projects like hotels
that may create jobs.
What are called
“nature entrepreneurs” are attracted to these regions people who might start
organic farms, vineyards, and other enterprises dedicated to serving visitors
to the region.
The development I sense here is the watching of nature, (organic) wine producing, fitness, domestic kitchen are all components of new rising from of leisure pastime, a better form than old fashioned holidaying experiences on the Mediterranean beaches.
Cheers,
Koen
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