Adventures on a Sheep Farm
Daniel the shepherd and his dog Apollo graciously welcomed us to his farm outside the village of Ferro and introduced us to some of his sheep.
People have been raising sheep here since Roman times, though the ovine population has drastically decreased in the past 20-30 years. Daniel has about 230 of the breeds unique to the region, characterized by their long tails.
After hog-tying a ewe, Daniel showed us how to shear by hand, then demonstrated the modern method with electric shears. His sheep are sheared twice a year.
Two times daily he milks the sheep; milk sales support the family. Daniel also demonstrated the art of making cheese. The tangle of regulations makes it impractical for him to make cheese as a commercial venture, so he just makes it for the family.
The curds are put into a ring, and he squeezes out the water, tightening the ring as he goes.
Afterward, we tasted some wine and various cookies made by his wife, including my favorite, drunken cookies.
There are twelve historic villages up against the border with Spain. Our destination was 12th century Monsanto, which Luis called “the most Portuguese village of Portugal, a distinction the town earned in 1938. He claimed that just 70-80 people now live in the village, which was once ruled by the Templars.
It’s a challenging climb to the top of the town, but the views are worth it. Some houses are built right into the gigantic granite boulders.
House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, was filmed here in 2021, in and around Monsanto Castle.
A family-style lunch in a local restaurant was our reward for the taxing climb; we enjoyed chicken sausage, blood sausage, cod with scrambled eggs, roasted deer and roast boar. And chocolate mousse!
Our activity-filled day continued with bread baking in Medelim with two ladies who’ve been at it for many years. This bread was stuffed with salami (we all agreed adding cheese would have improved the final product).
After our exhausting day, dinner tonight was a variety of salads at the hotel.
Another long stretch of driving tomorrow as we venture into the Douro Valley and Porto.
