Daily Archives: Friday August 4th, 2017

Lost in the woods Just outside Belas we found a path through the middle of some squatter gardens.   Regarding the gardens, because of their large size and so well walled they were, we keep thinking that this occupation has been done for a long time. Unfortunately, we did not find anyone with whom we could confirm this suspicion. The path led us up the river Jamor, practically to the area of Lisbon Sports Club, well into Serra da Carregueira.     It did not feel like we were 5 minutes away from the city. Always seeing infrastructures that we identified as belonging to the Águas Livres Aqueduct (yes, what ends up in the Amoreiras, in Lisbon), we walked through the middle of nature. We saw how the terrain is rocky, confirming what Natalina had explained to us on day 1. The gardens were already behind, here nature was already […]

Log Book I Day 4 I How to squat a river

The Jamor, the mines and the golf We made the usual visit to Natália, before we went to see Henrique.   We visited Minas do Brejo (Brejo Mines) and immediately realized its importance in Mr. Henrique’s family economy: watering the agricultural culture, watering animals and, in the past, a source of water for all. The mines also began to help in leisure, when near two of them Mr. Henrique built a space for meals and rest.     Then we went to the Lisbon Sports Club in Belas, where Nuno, the greenskeeper of the golf course, was waiting for us in his buggy. He was ready to take us for a walk along the portion of the River Jamor that runs on the club property. He informed us that they are doing a regular cleaning and maintenance work on the banks, taking advantage of the river as one of the […]

Log Book I Day 3 I How to squat a river

The water of Dona Maria Returning to Dona Maria, we revisited Natália.   She had already done, however, some research to help us over the Jamor River, but none conclusive as to the place of its source, advising us to consult the military letters. There are many water mines in the area, for example one under the main Dona Maria’s square, Largo do Chafariz (Chafariz’s square). He told us that this is the area of Lisbon with greater groundwater, so local ethnography is closely linked to the theme of water: the washerwomen until the 1980’s attended Lisbon with its services, nowadays there are still the water tanks where they were washing their clothes (at the moment the water tanks are in private property, not being able to be visited); the waterbeds went from Dona Maria to Lisbon to sell water. There is a belief that these waters have medicinal properties […]

Log Book I Day 2 I How to squat a river