Portugal is a small country, but one whose narrow bounds
contain a huge variety of landscapes. In the far north,
the crag-topped and barren mountains, scented with wildflowers,
are the domain of the wind and lonely shepherds. Farther
south, the high sierras give way to rippling green hills,
pictures of pastoral perfection framing age-old smallholdings,
whitewashed villages, and sun-dappled vineyards. Farther
south again, in a great belt that stretches across a third
of the country, lie the arid, sun-drilled plains of the
Alentejo, a checkerboard of wheat fields and huge cork plantations.
In the deep south, the Mediterranean takes stronger hold,
cistus scenting the maquis-covered hills, almond and orange
trees blossoming on the Algarve's mild-weathered margins.
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