My son, Caladon, and I walking up the steps of Fonte Fria in the National Forest of Buçaco eight years ago on our first property hunt in Portugal when he was four; we didn't move for another five years What does the future hold for our children? What kind of world are we passing on to them? What can we do to help them thrive? Frightening as it is, all of us are guessing at answers to these crucial questions. One thing is for certain, we must be creative and brave in our respo

Ponte de Romano connects an austere wildness near Andorinha. “I would rather be with God against man than with man against God.” These were the words of the Portuguese diplomat and hero Aristides Sousa Mendes who, during World War II, saved the lives of thousands of Jews, Russians and stateless persons by issuing them visas against the orders of dictator Antonio Salazar. Caladon had to research and write a school report about Sousa Mendes. We were fascinated by the man, whose

Villagers treasure Casa do Vale das Lajes, where we lived while I finished writing PORTUGAL IS PERSONAL. We, still, are making discoveries on our land! Huw found another stone wall on a terrace. The wall is a feature that had succumbed to the growth of moss, ferns and soil buildup. We are uncovering similar finds all over our land. We have been planting the 20 trees that Huw bought last year and has been nursing in pots. Along with chestnuts, we have hazelnut and fruit trees.

​ A reenactment of a successful medieval battle against the Spanish in the village of Santar I have been reading the big Saturday edition of Expresso newspaper, and I have been watching Portuguese television. My pronunciation has become much better, although Caladon does not miss an opportunity to tell me that it embarrasses him. I can remember being embarrassed by my mother’s Belizean pronunciation of American English and not understanding why she could not get it right. Wha

Hewn out of granite outcrop, Senhora da Estrela stands 8 metres, or 26 feet, high near the summit of the Estrela mountains Last Friday was the Dia das Bruxas, or Day of the Witches, which is also used to describe Halloween; it was Friday the 13th. It does not mean bad luck, Caladon said; it is a day of significance. For some, it is a dia de azar, or day of bad luck. One explanation is that when the Nordic and Germanic tribes converted to Christianity, Friga, the goddess of lo

A surprise terrace of wild chamomile I heard the chirping of cicadas and the occasional conversation among six men softened by their distance of three stories up on the roof of our house. This was the first day of construction, or deconstruction, of our house. Huw and I watered the plants. Then, we weeded two of our four plots…quietly. The first day of the builders was so different than what we had anticipated and dreaded. Our house is composed of two structures. The first is

On May 1st, yellow broom is hung on gates, doorways and post boxes in an ancient tradition We have been working very hard getting part of the terrace ready for planting. One day, I turned over the soil for five hours. Looking at it, I do not feel that I made much progress. It takes time. I am using a fork with a broken tine. I press down on either side of the fork, sometimes jumping on it so that it is buried to the hilt in the ground. Then, I press down on the handle to lift

Exploring Dolmen da Orca, believed to be a tomb and one of the nine sites on the Azenha/Fiais Pre-Historical Route Days before Easter, or Pascoa, we received a gift from a woman who has land near ours. She was the first person to speak to me when we first arrived in August. I was clearing the courtyard when I heard someone approaching. Thinking that it was Huw, I started talking before I saw her. So, it was with her that I spoke some of my first Portuguese. I explained that w

The "Carnaval" parade in Canas de Senhorim was two hours of elaborate floats and costumed dancers, accompanied by popular and traditional music. Huw and I have been racking our brains, trying to think of someone who would prune our 250 grapevines, 45 olive trees, and 25 apple, pear, plum, orange, lemon, persimmon and loquat trees. Before we arrived, we thought that we would find someone in the village. It seemed so obvious to have someone who knew the soil, the climate and ve

Atop a granite massif stands the unique Palheiras, which are dozens of shelters that some call the old village of Fiais da Beira and others the old granary The job of cleaning and capping our four wells was finished in mid-November. We are happy about organizing and accomplishing this task before the year ends. The abundance of water helped us decide to move to the Beiras region of Portugal. As with most jobs, we had to have accomplished several others before we could attack

There is a there there; I am cutting my way through years of neglect to a gate in the courtyard. Every day, I see my bare feet instead of two pairs of socks. It feels normal, as though it always has been this way. Two weeks in August, we have been here, clearing our land for a few hours in the morning and in the afternoon. We have cleared one-quarter of the courtyard of bramble and mimosa, the top terrace of bramble and five-foot-high bracken, and around two of the five wells

Caladon in the Mondego River, down below us, on an early autumn day There was no one at the school bus stop on Friday. There were no teenaged children on their own nor young children with their mothers and grandmothers. Caladon and I did not know what was happening. Were we late? It was 8 a.m.; the bus had been arriving at 8:10 a.m. We noticed that there were fewer cars on the road. Could it be a holiday? Oh, yes. I remembered that, last year, October 5th was a national holid

The three of us loved this abandoned granite ruin on first sight; one of its walls had tumbled down, and the 1.3 hectares, or 3.2 acres, of terraced land, was so thick with vegetation that we could not walk through it all. Heaven! Huw, Caladon and I have returned from our second scouting expedition to Portugal in March, four years after our first. We flew to Lisboa and drove three hours east toward the town of Oliveira do Hospital. One week and 12 properties later, we have no