Quinta do Barranco da Estrada .... what a mouthful!

Literally it means "Gully Road Farm" but it doesn't really catch one's attention does it, so when the internet arrived - yes, we've been living here for over 20 years - we went back through our Vistors Book to see how they saw us .... and the result was - and still is - "Paradise in Portugal".

Overlooking a vast, pristine lake, with its gardens stretching down to the pontoon and boats at the water's edge, the Quinta has two Family Suites and eight other bedrooms, all en suite and all with stunning views over the water. It's an ideal location for singles, families or groups of friends; the nearest neighbour is over a mile away and there's absolutely no outside noise. It really is a place where Nature comes first.

The gardens were designed and built from scratch by the present owner, and the brief was that they should be an attraction for the local birds and wildlife. In this it was a success, as, along with all the normal garden birds resident at the Quinta, there are also nesting Subalpine Warblers, Nightingales, Red-rumped Swallows, Serins, Dartford Warblers and Rock Buntings while Stripeless Tree Frogs and Moorish Geckos keep what bugs there are at bay every evening. It is a garden in harmony with itself and its surroundings with hidden corners as well as three seperate lawns - space for everyone to relax and enjoy themselves.

The Quinta is an ideal location for either Singles, Couples, Groups of friends or as a Family Holiday destination. There are various activities on offer that are included in anyone's stay at the Quinta completely without charge; bicycles, pedaloes, canoes and a sailing dinghy can all be used as much as you'd like to get out there and explore, and at the end of the day you can sit back and ease those muscles in the Quinta's sauna - again completely free - before a relaxing dip in the lake.

There are also other activities such as Shiatsu Massage and Guided Birdwatching and Nature Tours in the Quinta's 4X4 that are reasonably priced additions to your stay. Both of these activities are given by the Quinta's owners - you can't get much more "In House" than that!

Daniela has been a professional Shiatsu Masseuse for over ten years having graduated from the Hara-Shiatsu-Institute in Vienna, while Frank has been a professional Birdwatching and Nature Guide in southern Portugal since the year dot it seems - what he doesn't know about the area, its bird life and ecology could be written on the back of a Shield Bug! He runs a completely different website for those who are interested in Birdwatching complete with species lists and stunning photographs of all the local specialities and latest sightings on his birding blog, and there are also Photographic Weeks throughout the year.

As well as being the Quinta's in-house masseuse, Daniela is also the Quinta's chef - and she's wonderful at that job as well! Of course the Quinta's guests aren't obliged to eat there, but most opt to do so as the food is really stunning, wholesome and tasty, filling without the frills. The style is "International Home Cooking", i.e. the Quinta's meals are prepared on site with, as far as possible, local ingredients - a lot of them from the Quinta's own gardens. There's lashings of it - you won't go hungry - and it's not from packets. Lunch is a buffet style eat-all-you-can selection of hot and cold dishes followed by pudding, with water and coffee supplied but other drinks extra; dinner is a slightly more formal 3 course meal. Most meals are eaten en famille and the conversation is lively, informative and entertaining - helped along of course by an extensive Portuguese Wine List!

Surrounding the Quinta the countryside is famed for its rugged beauty. Sparsely populated due to its geographical location it nevertheless has pockets of rich soil, which are cultivated intensively, and given some water in the form of rain,  no matter where one looks there is a wealth of wild flowers. The complete absence locally of pesticide and herbicide use promotes an abundance of flora seldom rivalled within Europe. The most rewarding time of year for exploring this part of our paradise is from late March through to the end of May, when the surrounding vegetation blends effortlessly with the Quinta's garden.

The garden continues to blossom throughout the year due to its proximity to the lake and therefore ease of irrigation, whereas, once the summer heat begins the unwatered vegetation roundabouts lies dormant for another year, and our garden is a beacon for the local fauna, reminding us every day of the multicoloured beauty and joy of Spring.

Outside of the garden, but within walking distance of the Quinta, is a prime example of the Montados, the natural covering for the land before Man's arrival. There are hidden valleys that retain their greenery right through the year here, and once again one really feels the peace that comes from a truly untouched countryside, unchanged it seems from the time that humans first ventured into these tangled hills that define the lower margins of the Alentejo, a region as distinct from the villa-encrusted Algarve as it is from the wide open expanses of the true Plains to the north. To follow the goat trails up the Secret Valley to Maria's Bar, where cool drinks reinvigorate one for the return trip, is to be immersed not only in the beauty that the local flora provides, but also in a culture and pace of life that is sadly missing for many of us nowadays.

Should one take the time to visit the Plains, either on an organised day with Frank or on one's own, one finds oneself immersed in a totally different landscape, where the land undulates gently to the horizon, dotted here and there with a stand of eucalyptus or scattered Holm and Cork oaks. This is the bread-basket of Portugal, and where the land is not under cultivation is the preserve of vast flocks of sheep, still herded throughout the day by solitary shepherds and their dogs. Bitterly cold during the winter and baking hot during the summer, this area bursts forth in Spring with a carpet of flowers that is indescribable in its beauty and seemingly limitless in its expanse.

Or go west from the Quinta; an hour's journey in this direction brings you to the rocky and windswept Costa Vicentina, where yet another botanical jewel is found. The sandy and acidic soils found here promote a completely different habitat which is exploited wherever a seed can lodge long enough to germinate, a tough proposition when the wind is taken into account. The flora found along these cliffs are so far largely untouched by the mass expansion of tourism that has blighted so many of Europe's once pristine habitats during the last thirty years, and, due to the cooler climate, last well into the hot summer months in all their colourful glory.

But you don't need to go anywhere if you don't want to! The lawns close to the water's edge are inviting whatever the season, and many hours can be contentedly whiled away, book in hand, relaxing on a sun bed, watching the ripples on the lake and contemplating the business of the Butterflies and Hawk Moths as they flit from one flower to another. Then, as the sun starts its inexorable slide towards the hills on the horizon, one may feel the slightest twinge of guilt at having done nothing but relax all day. Don't worry! This can easily be erased by a quick walk "around the block" before we meet for pre-dinner drinks on the terrace, there to describe, in all its fretful glory, the wonderful day you've spent letting the worries of the world take care of themselves for once.

But no matter how you wish to spend your time, active to the point of exhaustion or exhausted at the prospect of action, the beauty of the flora in and around the Quinta is often the defining memory of a holiday here in this Paradise in Portugal. But hey, don't take our word for it ... read what others have said about us!