Herdade da Sanguinheira (Ponte de Sor), Hiking, Trekking, Walking Trails, Tracks, Pedestrian Routes, Portugal

Escape. This was the word always present at this long weekend. Escape from the daily grind to find tranquility in the heart of Alentejo. Escape from the stress, the clock, the hours set for everything and for nothing. Simply run away. Even for just a day or two, just enough to recharge batteries and return with more energy, more life and a smile on the face. And so it was at “Herdade da Sanguinheira” in Longomel, Ponte de Sor.
After leaving the safety of the N244 asphalt, the road is made on clay for about 3kms. At a slow pace, we wondered if we would be lost on a road where two cars would hardly pass (we later confirmed that). Is this the right way?
From the valley comes a shepherd who relieves our anxiety:
“It’s already there!” – He confirms without hesitation.
His flock departed on our passage and shortly after we reached the gate of the homestead.

The homestead is presented to us with that Alentejo typical way, the one that makes us feel good and that confirms to us that we are where we should be.

An old bike at the entrance welcomes us and we follow the indications to the reception, between the sound of the crickets and the singing of the cuckoo. In the shade, Bengi, the gentle and easy-going “guardian” of the homestead, can’t resist to a siesta.
The homestead is presented to us with that Alentejo typical way, the one that makes us feel good and that confirms to us that we are where we should be. The door of house 2 opens under the shade of a leafy ivy and in the small details, like a jug of flowers picked from the fields or a slate with a welcome message, we realize that we are in a place where the simplicity of the small things in the attention to visitors is paramount for happiness, a constant in these “hidden” days among cork oaks and endless plains.
The terrace at the front of the house invites us for lunches under the moonlight and for dessert we count the stars in a translucent sky increasingly rare.
The days passed between the swimming pool and the hammock, between the silence and the singing of birds and in the farewell the hope of a quick return, a new escape to feel the pulse of the Alentejo’s heart.