The farm of Mr. António Silva and his wife, D. Emérita, in the Serra de Monchique, has «almost 70 varieties of camellias» and some «two hundred or more camel trees», spread throughout the garden, but also on the terraces where they compete for space with the orange and chestnut trees.
South of the Serra de Sintra, this is the place with the most camellias. This is, in fact, one of the largest collections of this flower originating in China but brought to Portugal for centuries and existing throughout the country.
Quinta do Senhor Silva, which is on the Fóia road, was the first place visited this Sunday by around eight dozen participants in the Camellia Route, a tour, first by bus and then on foot, to discover the linked heritage. to this flower, which is so well suited to the air, soil and water of Monchique.
António Silva has been devoting many hours of his time to camellias for "more than thirty years". He knows them all by the name of each variety and knows the history of each one he planted on his farm. This year, his regret is that the black camellias, despite having many buds, did not open, perhaps because of the nefarious action of a fungus. «I usually use a trick to make them bloom well, but this year I was late»…he lamented.
After this first visit, for which the group was divided into two and transported in turn by bus, the rest of the route took place in the village of Monchique, on foot. First, in the garden of the Parish Council, with camel trees that are already decades old, with thick trunks, but loaded with pink flowers, streaked with red or white.
The route then continued towards the old Hospital, today the Health Center, in whose garden, perhaps when the original building was built in 1921, camel trees were also planted, today shady trees. “I always remember these camels here and they are already big”, guaranteed a sixty-year-old woman during the tour.
After crossing a valley, it was time to pass by the public lavatory, where the clear water of the mountains still flows from the faucets. However, the empty tile-covered enclosure that houses the washroom is now used more often for drying laundry in automatic machines at home. A French couple who were part of the group expressed their astonishment that there were still washing places like this one.
The tour continued towards Quinta da Portela, next to the Town Hall of Monchique, one of the many belonging to the Mascarenhas family, people who were once important in Monchique and who today still have many properties there.
The Camellias Route is today one of the rare opportunities that people have to cross the tall green gate and enter this walled and private farm. But several of the Monchiquense participants remembered when they were young and young and in the gardens of the farm there was a party, "with cakes and lots of food", offered by "Mr Mascarenhas", during the solemn communion of the village kids.
This time, the pretext was to see the many camel trees, of the most varied colors, that adorn the lush gardens, sometimes with an almost tropical appearance, at Quinta da Portela. Side by side, there are camel trees, jars, orange trees, chestnut trees, bamboos, yams, jonquils, palm trees, hibiscus.
Another of the farms of the same ubiquitous Mascarenhas family followed, that of Castelo, on the way to the ruined convent and whose main building was recently restored. Passing through the tall and solid red gate, one enters a world marked by an explosion of different shades of green and flower colors, with the background sound of the lapping waters that flow from the mountains and make everything so fresh and fresh.
Senhor Arlindo, who takes care of the farm, did not hide his pride in the beauty of the gardens, although he recalled the times when "everything was even better treated than today". And he made a point of showing the beauty of the camellias, pointing out that sometimes, in the same tree, there seemed to be different varieties of this delicate flower.
Afterwards, the group returned to Largo de São Sebastião, where the Festival das Camelias was taking place, in its aspect of exhibition and sale of flowers and plants. On large round tables, the most beautiful camellias in Monchique were displayed, from the simplest, to the folded, from pale pink and white, passing through the various shades of pink and red, some of them streaked.
Every farm and family in Monchique, as well as some institutions, such as Santa Casa da Misericórdia, showed their flowers here. And the difficulty was to decide which was the most beautiful, in this flowered mantle that covered the tables. So that, this time, it was decided not to award prizes, even so as not to discourage exhibitors.
Naturally, the Camellia Festival, which, over the three days involved and took close to six thousand people to Monchique, included lots of entertainment, with street theater and music, traditional sweets sales, the launch of the book «Camélias de Portugal», and even had the presence of two distinguished visitors – D. Duarte de Bragança, himself a great enthusiast of camellias, and the Minister of Culture João Soares.
Rui André, mayor of Monchique, is not happy to see his “best expectation regarding the number of visitors” exceeded. And the owners of local restaurants, who always had a full house, are also grateful.
The mayor is keen to stress that the objective of Fastival das Camélias, which this year has only completed its second edition, is to draw attention to the rich natural heritage of the county, which is the true «garden at the top of the Algarve».
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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