Lindoso, Portugal

‘Enter the Village ONLY TO THE FOOD COFFEE IN PARADA-BEAUTIFUL’ was the instruction we’d been given, though we had no idea what it meant.

Our destination was Lindoso, in Portugal’s far north. In these parts, the only available accommodation is ‘local lodgings’ offered by enterprising villagers. We were looking for our host, Adèrito, and the Casa dos Pintos. Of course Adèrito spoke not a word of English – on par with our knowledge of Portuguese – so we’d been communicating via Google-translated email. Evidently not ideal.

After realising we’d driven too far (who knew there were two Lindosos?) we tracked back along the way we’d come, looking for a place serving FOOD COFFEE. Eventually we spotted Cafe Mó where we stopped the car and wandered over to a couple of men sitting outside drinking beers.

Hello. We’re looking for Adèrito.

The other advice our host had provided was if we got lost to just ask someone – which might have worked had we spoken Portuguese. A different approach was called for.

I pulled out my phone and showed the men Adèrito’s name. Pennies dropped and the team sprang into action. As the first man offered suggestions as to where Adèrito was likely to be, the other man dragged his own phone out from somewhere deep in a pocket of his overalls and began dialling. Meanwhile the owner of the establishment appeared, wiping her hands on her apron, and adding her two-bob’s worth as to our host’s whereabouts. Then a moment of anticipation as we all waited for Adèrito to answer. He didn’t.

A short discussion followed before the lady said ‘Don’t worry, he’ll go and get Adèrito.’ Or words to that effect. The younger bloke jumped on his motorbike, helmet slung over his arm, and sped off across the road and up a narrow cobbled lane. Again we waited. Small talk charades is definitely an acquired skill.

Fortunately it wasn’t long before we heard the bike returning. Our rescue rider appeared round the corner at the top of the lane, skidded to a halt and motioned for us to follow him. We hesitated. The others urged us on.

You go. Follow him.
Really? Up there?
Yes. You go.

So we did. And after a short trip that included a few heart-stopping moments and a couple of near-sideswipe experiences, we arrived at Casa dos Pintos. And there was Adèrito, wearing a big happy smile, waving us out of the car and ushering us into what was the garage under the house.

Come, come. This is for you. Our host passed each of us a small soup bowl filled with red wine. It was a ‘welcome’ drink. Adèrito’s own vintage, poured straight from the vat, made from grapes of the vines growing right outside. The wine was good. At least the equal of any of the good house wines we’d been drinking by the litre on our travels around the country. Google translate was not required to understand Adèrito’s pride in his product and his pleasure at our enjoyment of it.

It was a great start to our visit to Lindoso. As it turns out, Lindoso means ‘beautiful’ in English, Adèrito’s village is actually called Parada-Lindoso, and Cafe Mó does serve very good food and coffee. All of which adds up to make the instruction ‘Enter the Village ONLY TO THE FOOD COFFEE IN PARADA-BEAUTIFUL’ very clear indeed. Why didn’t we get that the first time?

Parada-Lindoso is a tiny village close to the Spanish border

If you're looking for the 'real' Portugal, this is where you'll find it; the village washhouse is still in use

Everyone here grows their own vegetables; this woman was up early working in her garden

Our lovely host, Adèrito

Parada-Lindoso is the kind of town where, each morning, the sheep and cattle are walked along the main street out to the paddocks

And in the evening, they're walked back in again (in these villages vines are often grown above the road - all available space is put to use)

Sometimes, though, the flock is kept closer to home; this lovely woman saw us watching and happily posed for a photo

As in most parts of Portugal, St Anthony is revered in Parada-Lindoso

The village is small, yet we spent a couple of hours just wandering

It was thirsty work ... 🙂

Cafe Mó; we came back for dinner and were welcomed like old friends (the place was packed with locals - eating, drinking and generally making merry)

The menu at Cafe Mó consists of a single question - meat or fish? We chose meat and got enough to feed 6 people - really! (There's a slab of beef under that egg, ham and melted cheese!)

This is what we'd come to Lindoso to see, the 18th and 19th century granaries

These stone structures were used for storing and drying grain; slats in the sides for airflow and 'caps' on the legs to deter rodents

The granaries were generally set on higher ground to aid ventilation; many of the old buildings have been restored and some are still used today as grain stores

Crosses were placed atop the granaries in the hope that the harvest would be protected

This is the village of Lindoso, a couple of kilometres past Parada-Lindoso, and where we first stopped

The 13th century Castelo Lindoso

In this village too, traditions are on display

Traffic stops for the bullock wagon (could this be the first taxi ever seen in Lindoso? :))

The main street; if you walked to the end of this street and turned left you'd be where the wagon and the taxi were)

There are a lot of abandoned houses in these villages, but there's a lot of work going on, too; many of these old buildings are being renovated

People are returning and tourism is on the rise ... let's hope there's a way local people can benefit from that while still maintaining some of their traditional ways of life