Benfeita Terraces 1

We finally shook hands with the owner of this small rural Quinta just outside the schist Village of Benfeita on valentines day 2008.  Benfeita is one of the "Aldeias do Xisto" Schist Villages of Coimbra

The building is registered as a barn, and the land is agricultural land. There is no water on tap, no electricity from the grid etc…

Our aim however isn’t to have a middleclass holiday home… We do not intend to change the appearance of the building in any way, or expand in any way.  This we feel would be a crime....

Benfeita's Arms are very interesting, and say a lot about the village and its people. The beautiful Olive tree with the ripe black olives, up in the centre over the mountain where these hard working people built hovering raised bed terraces. Conquering the mountain, tranforming it into agricultural land whilst maintaining a healthy balance with nature.   

Benfeita is set between the mountains of Lousa & Serra da Estrela, right at the doors of the natural park of Serra do Açor. Açor is a bird of prey. Even closer is the "Mata da Maragaca" which is a beautiful bit of protected forest that holds all the native trees.

The whole village is built in schist a kind of Slate with an earthy color, however some of it has been covered with cement plastering, our barn itself if built of dry stone, no mortar, as are all the terraces. This is so that the water can flow freely through the stones down to the stream. These terraces once fed this whole village when there were no decent roads getting here, and when the population was well over 1000 inhabitants. Those days are gone, the road is reasonable but the population is seriously declining in numbers as young people move to the city.

We hope to be able to restore this little schist barn as an Eco-Cabin, preserving the look, and restoring some of the falling walls of the terraces to turn them into an organic veg growing farm. On the site there are well over 40 ancient Olive trees as well as about 100 grape vines. There are 2 water mines on the property plus one that is shared with the next property along. There is a stream at the bottom of the valey, and in walking distance the beautiful waterfalls of Fraga da Pena:

There is the possibility of getting a vehicle close to the top of the property, a dirt track passes on the forest above, and the actual property goes up to the road. But for now it is too overgrown and steep, and the only way to reach the barn is to dump the car and walk about half a mile. Soon after you forget about roads and cars it becomes magical with the sound of the stream "Ribeira da Mata" at the bottom of the valey.

And this is the way there:

From the barn looking looking West at the terraces, you can see the village where the road finishes and the terraces start. 

There is a walk “ Caminho do schisto” meaning schist walk, that starts in Benfeita goes up to the waterfalls of “Fraga da Pena” and comes back along the stream “ Ribeira da Mata” passing just at the bottom. In the centre of Benfeita village two streams become one "Ribeira da Mata" and "Ribeira do Sepinho", soon after there is a water flour mill and some summer swimming pools wher it gets wider. THese streams eventually go out into river Alva less than 10 km away in Coja. The centre of the village is very beautiful, there is a very nice site with beautiful nocturnal and other pictures click here

Looking East:  

Looking North from the other side of the valey in the evening, you can see the barn:

The water mines look like this and are pretty dirty. They need cleaning and we are going to have to save as much water as we can and build a reservoir, otherwise it is a walk down to the pure waters of the stream. A water mine e a simple 3-4m hole dug into the rock face to better reach the vain of a spring passing there. One of the water mines has an overflow line showing that water fills the mine and even comes out, but the old reservoir is bust and needs repairing.

From far away the barn is facing south and bathed by the sun all day long

Looking East the path at the bottom of the property leading to even more terraces and other schist barns.

And here looking West again.  

The roof needs fixing but it is there in beautiful terracotta tiles...

Looking down at the Stream " Ribeira da Mata"...

Complex pathways and stairs all really well built hundreds of years ago of dry stone (schist), some have eroded and sections have colapsed and will need a little repairing.

The owner Sr Eliseu Neves da Fonseca very nice man and Joao. We found this property through an agency, but we met the owner and we will of course sign the contract with the owner & his wife Maria das Dores in June 2008...

 He was very cheery and brought up a bottle of very good local red wine with him, and after it was finished we verbally closed the deal. It was a happy valentines. 

The people in the village were lovely,  they live a simple life, always say hello and are happy to start a conversation.  We were invited into a private home of very old very sweet people who made us feel at home. 

Clare & the baby. Boy or girl?

The old pig sty

Accommodation for the chickens is provided with high standards

And inside they look like this complete with cobwebs & fat lizards:

Each terrace is a beautiful inviting pathway that leads to another view and another olive tree, occasionally if you are lucky an orange tree. There is pine, Eucaliptus(too much of it), chestnut, oak, and other beautiful native trees.

That's all for now, we will be back soon...