After the fires
Background This year, Portugal has as usual suffered from innumerable fires. Some had natural causes, linked to how dry the year has been, and others were initiated by human intervention – whether unintentional (such as a government worker cleaning the side of the road, his blade hitting a rock and creating a spark, and voila) or criminal (yes, apparently that’s a thing). This happens every year. What is different this year is that two particularly nasty fires, one mid-June and another just a few weeks ago on October 15, have ravaged
Glamping for Foodies: the Vinha da Manta experience
The Vinha da Manta experience starts with the drive there. Skirting Guarda*, you head to the Mondego Valley which hugs the Serra de Estrela mountain (a natural park and the only place you can go skiing in Portugal). Through a few picturesque villages – including Chaos! – that boast a gorgeous view of a dammed (not damned) lake, you then turn towards Faia before finally seeing a sign for Vinha da Manta that takes you up a dirt track lined by old stone walls. Arriving at Vinha da Manta,