Blogging the stories of our family life on a yoga retreat in the magical village and valleys of Amieira, Central Portugal. Everyday we are tending this beautiful land and its stone dwellings in our journey towards self sufficiency. Moses is the Portuguese name of this place, meaning many mill stones. And, providently, is also the name of our beloved golden retriever, without whom, we'd never have found it. We love you Moses.
It's October. And that means round these parts, wine making. For the 3rd year on the trot we've eagerly helped a couple of our neighbours do their vindimas, 500 litres in the first one, then 600 litres in the next. Over the last fortnight, our closest neighbours have once again between them made over 1000 litres of wine. In years gone by they have made much much more. But now they don't have the time to look after that number of vines. 30 years ago, the families living on the 2 farms on the land here at Moses used to make 8000 litres of wine every year. Not a typo. Eight thousand.
You should have seen for yourself these vast vats (which unfortunately collapsed when we moved them outside and now exist as various cupboard doors, walls and panelling) that were here in the basement. Steeped they were, steeped. In history, in stories told and songs sung and moments of friendship shared in front of them. And, of course, in the colour and smell of a century's worth of wine. Which, if I hadn't already mentioned, was rather a significant quantity.
For over a hundred years these farms have been flowing with wine. It's an intrinsic part of the Portuguese culture. To make your own wine and offer it generously to anyone at every possible opportunity. (Last 2 pics we took in Sep 2007)
Finally last weekend, 4 years after we arrived, we did our very own vindima at Moses with the wild grapes picked from the vines still left over from yesteryear. We took up the grapes in buckets to our neighbours João and Eugenia and crushed them with their grape crushing machine to produce 100 litres of the sweetest grape juice. 40 litres of that we used to make 50 litres of Jeropiga, by adding 10 litres of Aguardent (strong local moonshine). We'll open that 50 litre barrel in a month or so to taste and hopefully it won't have fermented (which is why it has the moonshine and is in an air tight barrel. The remaining 60 litres is fermenting right now in its journey of becoming wine. Videos below.
This week, as a result, has been quite an emotional one for me. Wine is, as I said, important here. We've helped others make and drink plenty of theirs. But we have never had any of our own to offer visitors. For 3 years we've admired grapes. Watched them grow up and into the trees along the streams. Written a couple of blog posts about them. Taken photos. Videos. Trained one over a pergola at the guest house, watched it get covered in bunches within the year. Eaten kilos. Never made wine. Until this week. It's not 8000 litres. It's only 100. But it's a start. The first 100 litres.
I bloody hope it doesn't turn to vinegar.
October has also been the month of putting our kitchen garden to bed for the winter, bringing in the last of the summer harvests. The tomatoes, peppers and chillies have all been sauced and bottled in various concoctions. Onions pulled and hanging drying. Peas and beans dried and stored.
Alongside 3 lovely wwoofers we have at the moment from Kansas, Kristen, Naseeb and Jenna, Eloise and Vonetta have been cooking up a storm in the kitchen with the rest of the summer veggies and also baking every other day.
We have had to buy the eggs for all those cakes though as a fox ate the chickens.
Last but not least, October means firewood. Our wood shed (which if you remember I had to rebuild in July, cos it collapsed murdering 6 innocent pumpkins on the terrace below) is now choka bloka stacked with ready to use firewood, and kindling galore, plus the old stone chick shed in front of Joshua´s bedroom door on the right of the kid´s house is also rammed with a dozen sacks of big pine cones, the perfect Portuguese fire starters.
It's 35 degrees outside, hasn't rained for 3 weeks and isn't looking likely to until November, but we know the winter is coming and that stacked wood shed means we ain't gonna be cold. It's only a couple of months worth but I'll cut down some dried dead pines (eaten by beatles we think) and chainsaw them into logs next weekend to store under a tarpaulin somewhere. We'll chop them when we need to sometime in January.
On my list of things still do to round here is build a way bigger wood shed. Probably a barn on the car park terrace above the houses. Next year. Maybe. For now though, our cute wood shed next to the house is full. Once again, it's a start.
We're trying. We're practising. We're playing really. We're working it out. Patiently. How to live a life a little more self sustainably. We're learning. First hand through our own mistakes but also from our lovely neighbours always ready to share their rural wisdom earned over years and years of working these hand carved out terraced slopes and gardens in the middle of a forest.
A big thanks to all of you have being plugging our new retreat website www.yogaportugal.co.uk. We've had enquiries and bookings. Hoping the advert on Green Traveller also works. Any other publicity suggestions gratefully received. And if you get the chance yourself to visit us, I do very much hope to be able to offer you a glass or two of the finest of home made wines ever. Though I suspect that might be more likely to happen if you drop by in 2042 rather than 2012.
A good vintnor, like a good fisherman, stonemason, father or husband is not made overnight. Takes a lifetime. Undoubtedly one well spent I would wager.
It sometimes feels that way. That the mystical and often abandoned valleys of this beautiful Portuguese countryside, have in days gone by been the scenic backdrop to many a valiant tale of elves, dwarves, princesses, gallant princes, ogres, trolls, wicked stepmothers and magical helpers. And now they are the backdrop to ours.
We watch the unfolding bloody stories of humans on planet earth in lands far distant from these peaceful hills. The riots in London and the UK, the invasion of the middle east by our resource hungry governments, the unabated ravaging of our old precious cultures as in Tibet, by ruthless neighbours. The list goes on. We watch. Recognising that our own small story is taking part within a much much wider context.
The unprecedented rate of change humanity is now experiencing, has meant that more of us are becoming increasingly uncertain as to what the near future holds. Not fearful, just uncertain. This year we have had the honour to host some wonderful Wwoofers from quite a few far away lands. China, New Zealand, America, Australia, Morocco, Hungary, Holland, France, Spain and England.
Wwoofers bring their own stories. And in them we find the similarities of shared sentiment. Desires for living more simply, more in harmony with nature, with the seasons, with the fruit of the land and their labours. Hopes that we can be less dependent on the relentless stripping of the earth's resources that is our current global economic model of civilisation.
It makes no sense really to have hope in times of such immense change and unpredictability. But there it is nonetheless. That's what makes it feel so akin to a fairy tale. When the rich and powerful corrupt kings get wealthier and more influential everywhere, the day dawns for a new era of humble heroes to defeat them.
Maybe in the tales of history recorded for this time, it will be written that an army of unknown nobodies from nowhere fought the system simply by ignoring it and lived as much as possible outside of it, until the wicked kings lost their power. Oh I know this is just the talk of a foolish idealist, the ramblings of an Englishman living in the mountains of Portugal with way too much time to muse, and the reality for those living right in the midst of troubles is altogether very different.
Yet there is a surprising profundity in having the freedom to grow and eat your own potatoes, tomatoes and pumpkins and grapes. The freedom to wander through a valley such as this watering newly planted orchards, kitchen gardens and woodlands, whistling with birds and crickets as we go. It's not difficult to see why Disney and Pixar so often present peaceful paradise as they do. Peace is a great environment in which to grow, even if not to grow up.
Here's hoping your fairy tale is full of adventure and magic and ends happily ever after.
We're back in Portugal after 3 wonderful weeks at Glastonbury with our friends putting up and taking down their handmade tipis. We'll post up something on that adventure soon along with more of Josh's photos of Saphira and Moses, cherries, roses and sunsets, but for now here's just 3 videos. Latest walk round the kitchen terrace and herb garden with River. And 2 vids at our neighbour's 150 year old orange tree courtyard learning how to make delicious Portuguese cornbread baked in a bread oven as well as filhõs, a cross between a donut and a yorkshire pudding.
My favourite pastime these days. Cloud spotting. With the summer thunderstorms over the last fortnight, the skies have been fabulous. Here's just a quick 2min video of a cumulonimbus, the might mac daddy Zeus of clouds, which appeared on the horizon the other day. But if you want to be really impressed, check out the clouds and storms over the recent Chile Puyehue volcano currently spouting, triggered interestingly for those interested in these things, by earthquakes. The increasing frequency of volcanoes triggered by earthquakes seems to suggest those who expound the Expando Planet cycle theory, might be on to something. Photos are stunning whatever you think.
If you can, follow our friend Charlie's hilarious and satirical Guardian blog over the next fortnight or so. And catch up on the ones he wrote on the 2009 and 2010 conference if you know nothing about Bilderberg. Bravo Charlie. We'll be with you in spirit(s).
For over a hundred years these farms have been flowing with wine. It's an intrinsic part of the Portuguese culture. To make your own wine and offer it generously to anyone at every possible opportunity. (Last 2 pics we took in Sep 2007)
