CORTIÇOS

JUNE 18, 2019 – Today my wife and I are bound for “Cortiços” (pronounced, “cor-TEE-sōsh”), a magical place unknown to us until a year ago. It is a village whose population matches its years—400. It lies amidst the olive orchards of Trás-os-Montes (“behind the mountains”) in the extreme northeast part of Portugal.

What takes us there is our younger son’s wedding. His fiancée was born, reared and educated in France. She is as Parisian as she is Portuguese, her parents being part of the Portuguese diaspora in France resulting from the 46-year dictatorship of António Salazar. Paris is where the wedding couple met five years ago while our son was stationed at the headquarters of the globally sprawling French bank, Société Générale. (The couple now resides in New York City.)

Though for decades they staked their lives in France, our son’s in-laws-to-be continued to cultivate their roots back in Trás-os-Montes, back in Cortiços. The resulting fruit—lush and abundant—draws the cultivators back ever longer, deeper to that paradisiacal land. It draws us, as well, to that place so distant from our frame of reference.

And yet . . . and yet, once you find your way to Cortiços, you are made to feel right at home. You find no pretenses there, nothing artificial, nothing loud and in your face, nothing assaulting your senses or sensibilities. There you are surrounded by warmth, fresh food, plenty of port, and generous company.

At the base of that beautiful place are olive trees providing a near endless supply of oil, as good to the palate and it is for the heart. In every direction the landscape stretches as if upon an artist’s canvas. The beholder steps easily into this country “behind the mountains.” Left at the entrance are all worries about the outside world.

After the big celebration we’ll travel the length of the nation, Portugal. First drive to the Beiras, the region south of Porto, the Douro Valley and Trás-os-Montes. Then we’ll continue farther south to the Alentejo and on down to the Algarve, including Sagres and Cabo de São Vincente—the extreme southeast corner of Europe. From there we’ll drive to Lisbon for the flight back home.

Over the next 12 days, we’ll see many sights, meet many people, consume lots of food and drink. And as is the case with all travels abroad, we’ll learn as much about our own country as about the one we’re visiting.

During our odyssey, “Write Makes Might” might rightly take a break. Rest assured, however, that upon our return, with material refreshed and replenished, I’ll resume this project of 500 (or fewer) words a day.

© 2019 Eric Nilsson