The Hills in Winter
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"Portugal has no mountains, and when it snows it is considered a natural catastrophe" exaggerates a foreign friend.
In the Montemuro Hills, with only1380 m of maximum altitude, the snow is brief, although the ice often decorates
the traditional straw roofs.
When one visits the Montemuro villages, finds how remote they are. It is only a 60 minute drive from the country's
second largest city, Oporto, but the lifestyle is rural: traditional, authentic...and poor.
The sewer system has not yet arrived to all the villages, the basic schools are dismantled as the population grows older,
and surfaced roads are a conquest of the 90's.
Winter is the harshest season for these people. Specially for the ones that work outdoors, like
shepherds and farmers. In the poorer homes the only division is shared with the cows, providing warmth.
The Viper Vipera latastei, although being a protected species, is still hunted and killed.
Afterwards it is sold in the grocery store to Spanish witches.
Only the turists take the time to admire the marvelous constructions
the ice makes in the less sunny places.
Tiago Silva
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