Portuguese Park with a Difference
An Attempt to Preserve an ancient Way of Life
A rich heritage deserves to be protected. In the early 1970s Portugal came up with an idea that honors the past in an innovative and apparently sustainable way.
For most the thought of a holiday in Portugal conjures up images of long beaches, sun, windsurfing, vino verde and port wine, but in the north of the country, very close to the border with Spain, is a national park that is worth a visit. It is slightly different from national parks as we know them, because it protects more than just the fauna and flaura of Portugal’s Minho region.
Time Travel Devices not needed
Forget Hollywood notions of time machines and beaming up (or down) in time to sample different eras. Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês provides that opportunity without the risk of losing a crucial piece of anatomy or memory along the way. The park was established in the early 1970s with the aim of preserving old customs. People live in this park and many of them go about their business much as their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents did. The bonus? This place has none of the tackiness of so-called cultural villages where shows are put on for busloads of tourists.
Soajo is one of the towns in the park where the past is very much alive. Black-clad old women go about their daily chores without much regard for vibrant modern towns and changing times less than 50 kilometers away. As you make your way through the town’s maze of narrow paths, you encounter one who is laying down bundles of rags to divert water coming down the mountain to her patch of precious vegetables. Another hobbles up the mountain with an enormous bale of hay balanced on her head for her equally treasured farm animals.
A walk up the mountain reveals more clues of past times. The remainder of what must have been a pretty decent granite road leading towards the summer houses, pastures and mills for grinding corn, shows deep ruts in the stone where countless ox wagons left their mark as they struggled up the incline. Also amazing are the many granite espigueiros (granaries) scattered around the area. These solid structures once used for the storage of corn and protection against the elements, now stand guard over their centuries-old past.
Changing Times
Villages like Soajo do not have many young inhabitants, and these days, the continued preservation of the area is stimulated by tourism and by entrepreneurs restoring old stone farm houses. Visitors are able to sample the solitude by booking a night in an ancient house. Here you are guaranteed to hear the constant murmur of water and sheep bleating in the distance, but most of all you will experience peace – not only an inner peace, but peace between man, time and nature.
Learn more about Soajo
