Winter landscapes around Odemira, SW Portugal

In my previous post, I wrote about the beautiful walk between Almograve and Cabo Sardão, along the coast of Alentejo. Today, I want to take you a few km inland, on a journey around the municipality of Odemira. More specifically, along the back roads that hug the hills between Odemira and Sabóia.

This area of the interior is characterized by gentle rolling hills, dotted with old farms, where sheep graze amongst cork and holm oaks. Thanks to recent rains, the pasture is green and abundant. The road to Sabóia is quiet, there are hardly any cars on it; it is easy to fall into a driving rhythm that is in synch with the landscape. Driving along, I stopped many times, simply to slow down and experience the peacefulness of the place,  slowly composing my photos. No need to rush!

I simply walked around the area, trying to find the best vantage point to photograph a farm house surrounded by the trees and green fields. At the start of the trip, the sky was cloudy and grey, therefore not very interesting in terms of a typical landscape shot. So I concentrated on more intimate shots, of trees and grassland. The grass was particularly interesting, with vivid greens due to the rains.

My destiny for this trip was the small village of Sabóia, whit its interesting train station. Unfortunately, Portugal has not invested in the railways for a very long time, and that shows. The Sabóia station looks, and feels, like time has stopped; it has some beautiful azulejo panels depicting the village of Monchique in Algarve, and these are well preserved. But, similar to many other train stations in Portugal, it is deserted; I wonder what to do if I wanted to buy a ticket, as the building is closed…

The main building, and the surrounding supporting ones, are in dire need of a paint job, as a starting point. I walk around, no soul to be seen; nearby, I hear a tractor, someone is tending to the fields. Many houses in the vicinity of the station are abandoned. Looks like a ghost town…

On the drive back, sometimes the sun breaks the cloud cover, and I wonder if I am lucky enough to still have some more interesting light at sunset. There is this farm house that I have been trying to photograph at sunset for quite some time; maybe today I think? Sunset in December is around 5.30 pm, so I need to hasten.

And indeed I am lucky, during sunset, the light is wonderful, and I bag the photo I wanted. A nice and inspiring way to finish a wonderful day in this area.

 

Farm at sunrise
Farm at sunrise
Tree and grass
Tree and grass
Looking
Looking
Farmland
Farmland
Winter fields
Winter fields
Station art
Station art
Abandoned
Abandoned
Parked
Parked
Support
Support
Waiting for the train
Waiting for the train
Farm at susnet
Farm at susnet

 

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pbizarro35

I was born in Lisbon in 1966, and I am a geologist. My main interests as a photographer are Landscapes, Travel, and People. I have been fortunate enough to work in different places and contacted diverse cultures. I am also fortunate to live in a small, but beautiful country, Portugal.