CENTER - Central Nacional do Turismo no Espaço Rural

Margaret and I first came to this part of Portugal in 1989 and we’ve come back several times in the years since. On previous occasions we’ve come by air and then by train. This time, with the confidence of GPS satnav, we’ve taken a longer break and brought our car down from UK - enjoying stops along the way.

Why do we keep coming back? Why do we like this place so much? Obviously the view from the window is a big part of it and that old cliché – the warmth of the welcome.

The place where we always centre our stay at is the ancestral home of the family that is the founder member of Solares de Portugal. From the steps outside “our” room we look across the Lima valley to the Roman bridge in the town below, with the sights, sounds and smells of wildlife and nature all around us. Although we speak some French but have picked up very few Portuguese words, we are some-how understood whether it is in the post office, the café or the corner shop.

People who stay for 2 or 3 nights ask us why we stay for a longer time in the same place. Part of our relaxation is to “Muck in” by walking the family dog, and helping with jobs around the estate – as much as to enjoy the luxurious hospitality the family give us. Yes we arrived as guests and, yes the family are kind enough to welcome us back as friends and include us in many of the things that happen while we are here.

Another important aspect is the interest we find in seeing the ways the small Country of Portugal can embrace new technology in many ways quicker than UK and yet, as we travel around the mountain villages we see many aspects of rural life that have survived for centuries.

The other thing we can mention this year, with the pound worth almost the same as the euro we can directly compare the prices in the 4 countries we have travelled through. Portugal continues to offer the best value for money in how generous they are when the serve food in the restaurants and how a simple meal in a cafe can cost 3 times as much in France.