Alcácer do Sal

Sunrise, sunset and all things in between

AN HOUR FROM THE ALGARVE-ALENTEJO BORDER LIES ONE OF PORTUGAL’S OLDEST AND MOST SCENIC TOWNS. BORDERED BY RICE PADDY FIELDS, ALCÁCER DO SAL IS LOCATED ON THE SPARKLING SHORES OF THE RIVER SADO

Words: CAROLYN KAIN

VIEWED from the motorway, Alcácer do Sal’s whitewashed houses, terracotta roofs and numerous church spires invite attention, but most drivers with their speedometers at 120km an hour just hurry by. Heading for other destinations, they are missing a truly authentic and attractive spot.

Sunrise

Traders originating in the eastern Mediterranean were less dismissive of this idyllic place. Around 2,500 years ago, a new dawn broke in the region when Greek adventurers came across the mouth of the River Sado on Portugal’s west coast. Sailing a further 35 kilometers up river, they marveled at this agricultural land of plenty. Recognising it was suitable as an inland trading port, the small settlement they discovered gradually increased in size. The indigenous population prospered, benefitting from the exchange of goods coming from across the Mediterranean. Archaeological excavations contain the remains of the first ancient trading post and attest to the arrival of a more sophisticated civilization than had previously existed.

Five hundred years elapsed before Romans invading from the east made further and extensive use of the region. There is plenty of evidence contained in the city museum, forum, crypt and restored Roman cisterna. Creating the port of Imperatoria Salacia, they transported local wheat, olive oil, wine and salt across the empire. Due to a tiny seaweed that retains impurities, the salt was of the finest quality and as a result factories for the processing and salting of fish flourished. The trade in salt generated so much wealth that it became one of the most important inland ports in Western Iberia. Important enough to mint its own coins bearing the inscription Imperatoria Salacia.

Like most of Portugal, the town went into decline when the Roman Empire ended. It took 600 years before a new era awakened with the arrival of the Moors. Becoming a military centre, a massive fortress was built on the hill overlooking a bend in the river and the distant delta. Renamed al-Kasr, meaning castle, the original dimensions included 30 towers, a huge castle keep, two gateways, a barbican and a wooden palisade surrounding the main walls. One of the largest defensive forts on the Iberian Peninsula, today it is a luxurious hotel. Surrounded by extensive urban development during Moorish times, it was the capital city of the province.

Sunset

Viewed at dusk from the undeveloped left bank of the River Sado, the fort’s silhouette continues to be an imposing structure. This is a recommended spot for enthusiastic photographers.

The town climbing up the gently sloping hill is picture postcard perfect as is the river front, where the tide ebbs in and out. Cafés, bars and restaurants aplenty and a quaint fishing boat occupied by ladies selling prawns by the tubful. Have your camera ready, they are happy to pose for photographs!

More difficult to find are the 11,000 virgins located in Santo António’s marble chapel! The church’s domed roof is made in Renaissance style but unlike many other churches it is not crowned by an enormous stork nest.

Plenty to tweet about

Birds are in abundance and the best way to see them is on a silent solar powered boat. Gliding through the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve expect avocets, black-winged stilts, plovers, pratincoles and purple herons. Little bitterns, returning this month from Africa, might be heard barking and croaking in the reed beds. Skulking around looking for frogs and fish they are rarely seen, but sightings of great marsh harriers overhead are frequent and exciting.

The Sado was once known as the Nile of Portugal, owing to its extensive watershed and many tributaries. The boat skirts the edge of mudflats, marshland and the paddy fields, where rice has been grown continuously for almost 300 years. The fields colour the landscape according to the seasons; green or yellow, or looking like pools of mirrored water. Previously, the rice was planted by hand but today the process has been almost entirely replaced by small planes flying at low altitude and scattering seeds. To find out more the Museu do Arroz in nearby Comporta is of particular interest.

There are some interesting statistics on rice growing and its consumption in Portugal. Producing 180 million kilos from the estuaries of the Rivers Sado, Tejo and Mondego, the country still needs to import more. The Portuguese love rice, and on average the annual consumption is around 16 kilos, compared to the European average of five kilos per person.

Water for the paddy fields is therefore an important management issue for an area which relies on springs and streams rising in the hills of Ourique, approximately 100 kilometers away. The guide on the eco-friendly SunRice Tours boat points out an environmental issue: just like the Nile, the water level of the Sado is dropping dramatically. All nine tributaries are dammed and the water is used for intensive farming of rice, tomatoes, maize and irrigated olives. Numerous villages that once relied on wells and boreholes now have to pay for their water to be brought in by tankers and use it sparingly. Leading to depopulation, this type of agriculture is a serious warning for the future of people currently living in rural areas.