A Treasure in the Desert. The Algarve of hills and memories
Nº90 SEPTEMBER 2025
Where is the middle of nowhere in Portugal? Balurco de Baixo, Deserto, Atravessado, Tremelgo de Cima, Silgado, Tesouro… Among so many other small villages, these are just some of the places in the northeastern Algarve that make up the Portuguese map of loneliness, population decline and exclusion. Who lives there? What do they live on? What do they think of the rest of the country?
This portrait, by a journalist with time on his hands and a rucksack on his back, tells the story of a unique journey through space and time. It describes the isolation imposed on the old people who insist on staying in the hills where they were born and made their homes, especially in Alcoutim, one of the ten municipalities in the country with the lowest birth rates. There, where the land ends and the ocean is nowhere to be seen, where the only treasure is the people.
Where is the middle of nowhere in Portugal? Balurco de Baixo, Deserto, Atravessado, Tremelgo de Cima, Silgado, Tesouro… Among so many other small villages, these are just some of the places in the northeastern Algarve that make up the Portuguese map of loneliness, population decline and exclusion. Who lives there? What do they live on? What do they think of the rest of the country?
This portrait, by a journalist with time on his hands and a rucksack on his back, tells the story of a unique journey through space and time. It describes the isolation imposed on the old people who insist on staying in the hills where they were born and made their homes, especially in Alcoutim, one of the ten municipalities in the country with the lowest birth rates. There, where the land ends and the ocean is nowhere to be seen, where the only treasure is the people.
More details
Dimensions
8 × 130 × 200 mm
ISBN
978-989-9243-34-7
Book available only in Portuguese
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