Travel in Spain and Portugal

The Alentejo region to the east of Lisbon, Portugal is known for its slow growing cork oak, rolling wheatfields and hillsides covered in olive trees crowned by white washed villages and the occasional Moorish castle. Historically one of the poorest parts of the country, and the first to 'go Communist' on the death of the dictator Salazar, today the region is enjoying a revival, thanks to its natural beauty, vineyard potential and ceramics tradition.

A traveler can still glimpse free range pigs and cattle grazing under the cork oak, shepherds and cowboys tending their stock, and small rural towns like Redondo where the pace of life belongs to another era. When touring in the Alentejo, we always stop in Redondo to buy a piece of pottery from one of the local producers. This year the shops were closed for a special event--a young shepherd and the Holy Family were in town.