“Buçaco forest demands a whole vocabulary which, once spoken, tells us that there’s still everything left to say. You don’t describe Buçaco forest. The best thing is to lose yourself in it.”
– José Saramago
Bussaco (Buçaco) Forest, first settled in the 6th century by friars from the nearby Benedictine monastery in Vacariça, evokes the exact atmosphere my imagination conjurs up when reading fairy tales. When I decided to spend my birthday there, I was excited to learn that dense fog frequently engulfs it in summer and autumn. I would lie if I said that the prediction for rain for the entirety of my stay, didn’t dampen my spirits slightly. I know just too well that one cannot book the weather, so I made sure to pack my rain gear, and prepare for a deluge.
On the afternoon of my arrival blue skies and puffy white clouds shared the same space, and I was heartened enough by the sight to hope for an incorrect weather prediction. Knowing full well it is best to make good use of weather gaps, I explored the immediate surroundings of the hotel with my camera in hand.
The late afternoon chill chased me inside, where I settled in the lounge with a glass of wine, scribbling in my journal, as I reflected on the last year, getting ready to celebrate 52 years of life. Over the last couple of years, I’ve embarked on journeys, spending time alone in places that speak to my soul on my birthday. I’m not fond of celebrations, and feel uncomfortable when there is too much focus on me. By escaping the everyday routine of life, switching my phone to silent, and spending time with myself and thoughts, has become a ritual that serves my temperament well.
I woke up to the splatter of rain and grey skies, but felt ready and unperturbed as I got dressed for breakfast. During breakfast mist replaced the raindrops, and with my raingear in my backpack I ducked into the first footpath trailing off in the general direction of the forest’s most charming feature, Fonte Fría. I followed the water as it cascades down ten levels, taking my time to stop and listen to the slight changes in sound, and photographing the colours and patterns of the autumn leaves creating a fleeting, yet intricate design down the 144 stairs.
I followed the advice of Saramago, and did my best to avoid the main thoroughfares, staying on the small footpaths disappearing in a swirl of mist and adventure, as my imagination expected a wolf to jump out at any moment, demanding to know where I’m heading. Apart from two park workers, I spotted no one else, and when birdsong was interrupted by the dull thud of raindrops, I quickly wiggled into my rain gear, and opened my umbrella to keep my camera dry. The paths became muddy, and the cobbles and stones slick with rain. At various viewpoints the world disappeared, and I felt as if I were the only human left.
Portas de Coimbra
I did bump into others who also braved the rain, but there weren’t many of us, and with 105 hectares of forest it was easy to avoid the voices occasionally floating through the trees towards me.
The forest harbours an impressive botanical collection of not only native species, but also exotic ones brought back by Portuguese seafarers during the country’s Age of Discovery that spanned the length and breadth of the world.
It was the Carmelite monks, who received the forest as a donation from the Bishop of Coimbra, in 1628, who started to introduce exotic trees. They treated the space as a garden, building a wall around it, and filling it with small chapels, hermitage housing and fountains. At the end of the 17th century, small chapels representing the Stations of the Cross were built along the Via Sacra, a steep winding path that leads up to the highest point in the forest – Cruz Alta.
Two papal bulls that can be found written on stone on the outside of the Coimbra Gate were issued in 1622 and 1643. The first prohibited women from entering the forest, and the second threatened anyone harming the trees with excommunication. Thus a long history of preservation begun that is still in place today, despite a succession of protectors when the Carmelite monks had to leave their home in 1834 when all monasteries in Portugal were disbanded.
In 1888 most of the monastery was demolished to make way for a neo-Manueline style palace, which was intended to serve as a summer palace and hunting lodge for the Portuguese royal family.
In 1910, when the Portuguese Monarchy was replaced by the First Portuguese Republic, it was converted into a luxury hotel, and the space in which I could allow my inner princess to emerge for two nights.
To my delight the rain gave way to sunshine on my final morning, which meant I indulged in a final walk before checking out. The atmosphere in the forest changed completely, and although it was still a delightful walk, I much prefered the fairy tale mood the forest gifted me on my birthday. Because of the rain the previous day, my walk was accompanied by a symphony of water-related sounds, while the wet and humid smell of the forest filled my nostrils, etching this birthday gift from Michael into my memory.
Written by: Jolandi
Portuguese Words:
mata – forest
fonte – fountain
portas – gates / doors
vale – valley
cruz – cross
alta – high
fetos – ferns
fría – cold
What a magical place! The misty forest, the cascading water and the numerous monastic buildings made for a walk I would love to do! The hotel looks spectacular! A birthday gift to remember. <3
Indeed, Clare. It was so special. – Jolandi
What a lovely birthday gift and what a great way to honour it with such a beautifully written piece weaving nature and culture and history together. I’m glad you are getting time to stop and smell the forest after all your hard work! X
Thank you, Christina. It was the perfect gift and break after a spell of really hard work. – Jolandi
Stunning scenery, peaceful forest and what a wonderful way to escape the real world to celebrate your birthday for a few days. The hotel looks beautiful too.
Glad you had a fabulous birthday
Thank you, Terri. It was exactly what my soul needed. – Jolandi
Happy birthday Jolandi 🙂
What a way to relish and enjoy your special day – with privacy, and enjoying the beautiful country you have settled in. Your writings and beautiful photographs have provided us a glimpse into a hidden world – where nature and civilization blend so harmoniously, I can almost smell the scents and hear the birdsongs of the forest, and hold my breath while walking along such amazing architecture.
May the year ahead continue to bring you and Michael many more reasons to laugh and celebrate. And of course, love, health and happiness always.
Thank you for your kind words and beautiful wishes, Takami. It was the perfect place to celebrate my birthday, and I trust that this year will be a joyful one with many blessings. – Jolandi
Oh, Jolandi, you did this birthday so right! What a location!! How many awesome photos you took! I clicked on many to enlarge them and they deserve to be big and bold! This architecture is incredible and goes so well with the forest, and all the doors! And you also got to see it in two different weathers. Just brilliant. You deserved this after so much hard work you do.
I knew you would love it, Manja. It contains all the elements you also find beauty and joy in. It really was the perfect gift and place to celebrate. I will always remember it with fondness and gratitude. – Jolandi
Such a beautiful place .. heartwarming to know there are still places where nature has been able to coexist with human progress. One can only hope that life will go on for the forests and creatures that live there despite our continued plundering.
Appreciations of such beauty 😊 trees
It certainly is! Forests hold such incredible beauty and diversity, and it is a shame that we are often careless in how we protect them. Luckily Bussaco Forest falls in the category of protection. It really is a magical place. – Jolandi
A fairy tale forest for sure! The moss alone always takes me right back to those stories and my own childhood imagination. I would choose to spend my birthday in just such a way, but I rarely get to do so. Happy belated birthday greetings to you!
Really look magical and you inspired me actually to dream of visiting Portugal someday! I hope so when all are sort of normal in the world. Stay happy and healthy!
Best wishes to you too! – Jolandi
A fairy tale indeed 🙂 The mood, mist, and beauty of your walk amid the forest and the grounds of Bussaco are magical – a perfect way to spend a birthday celebrating the life you lived while contemplating all the future holds. There is something special about old hotels that always ignite my imagination, and your photo of the Bussaco Palace Hotel does just this – a perfect place to escape and find yourself in a bit of history. Wonderful post, Jolandi. Wishing you continued health and happiness.
Thank you, Randall. I agree that it is wonderful to find oneself in the middle of a bit of history. I often wish in places like that for the veil between centuries to thin, so that I can get a glimpse into what life was like in the past. – Jolandi
Wow. Wow. Wow! So beautiful and what a great gift. Happy Birthday, Jolandi. Looks like it was filled with magic and wonder, best wishes, and looking forward to the next update, xo
Thank you, Lani. Lots of ‘magic and wonder’ – exactly the way I like it. – Jolandi
Happy belated birthday, Jolandi! This looks like the perfect way to celebrate a birthday–totally my cup of tea. While I often complain about too much wet weather around here, the fog and mist on a beautiful forest hike really is magical. The monastery, turned palace, turned luxury hotel looks amazing.
Thank you, Caroline. I think this is exactly the place you will find as charming and enticing as I do. – Jolandi
I missed this, somehow, but I’m glad I caught it now. Belated Birthday wishes, Jolandi! I hope the next year brings many joys and (good) surprises on your journey.
What a beautiful place! I love places with waterfalls, and places with old, beautiful buildings, but you seldom encounter both in the same area. I have to admit I smiled when I read about the prohibition on women entering the forest. I’ve read that there are still a few monasteries in the world that forbid women from entering their grounds, but they’re also aging out because so few men want to live in such a cloistered world. Also, the idea that women were unclean or agents of the Devil is a bit hard to sell in the 21st century! Thanks for sharing these lovely photos: yet another place I want to visit someday, when things “go back to normal”—if they ever do.
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Hangaku. Let’s hope some sort of normality will return sooner than later! – Jolandi
What an amazing place. I’m glad you had the opportunity to spend some time there.
It was magical, Tanja. – Jolandi
Wonder making in the woods. Yes, truly a magical way to spend your birthday and I love that your ‘inner princess’ was given such a gift. Wonder if Trevor might suggest this for mine. He took me on a surprise trip to the Azores and to Marvao! Thanks for the inspiration and the information as this also gives us some of that complex portuguese history. Georgina navasolanature
I think this forest is right up your alley, Georgina. Definitely something to put on a wishlist for a visit to that part of Portugal. I’m glad to hear that Trevor is such a romantic at heart – how lovely to surprise you with trips that must have been wonderful. Both places I hope to visit too one day. – Jolandi
Such a perfect birthday gift, indeed. I can relate to how you felt about the forest, about the earlier weather forecast, about the short period of sun, about switching the phone to silent. As I was going through your words, I couldn’t help but imagine the sound of water around you. So enveloping and calming. I love how on your final morning the weather suddenly turned really nice so you could take another walk around with a different light. This is such a heartwarming post, Jolandi.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, Bama. I love being suprised by experiences in landscapes I don’t usually gravitate to. It will linger in my memories for a long time to come. – Jolandi
Happy belated birthday, Jolandi. I’m glad you were able to celebrate what looks and sounds like a fairy-tale birthday.
Best wishes for your new year of life.
Tanja
Thank you for the lovely wishes, Tanja. It was the perfect setting for celebrating my birthday. – Jolandi