Quinta das Alagoas participated win two activities of the VIII Festival Birdwatching and Nature Activities, held between October 4 and 8, 2017.

• Megalithic Sunset | Illuminated Night Walk | Mythological Birds & Astronomy:

A 3-km night interpretive tour in about 3 hours along the megalithic itinerary of Pedra Escorregadia in Vila do Bispo. The tour was conducted by the archaeologist Ricardo Soares (Town Hall of Vila do Bispo) and Fernando Pimenta (European Society for Astronomy in Culture) of Quinta das Alagoas. Along the way, various information were transmitted about the megalithism and the remote cultures responsible for the monumentalization of these landscapes in Prehistory. The decorations inscribed on the menhirs were observed by the technique of directed light, revealing secrets that daylight can hardly glimpse. The relation of the menhirs with the astronomy was also approached.

Already on a celestial stage, participants had the opportunity to take a walk through the sky and discover some mythological stories about the birds of the deep sky and some notes on astrophysics.

(photos courtesy of Ricardo Soares)

• Light – Experiments with Light | Bird orientation by the skylight polarization, the sun, the movement of the stars and paramagnetism | Sun Watching

What color is the sun? Why is the sky blue? Why is the sunset red? Why are the clouds white? How to form a rainbow? What is the skylight polarization? How do birds orient themselves with the sun, the sky and the stars?
During this session we made several experiments and heard some answers to these questions!
The activity ended with a safe Sun observation by projection and through a solar telescope:
Photosphere and sunspots (observation in visible light, by projection)
Chromosphere, filaments and protrusions (observation by emissions in the alpha Hydrogen band).

(photos courtesy of Ricardo Soares)

Which is the color of the Sun? Why is the sky blue? Why the sunsets are red? Why the clouds are white? How is a rainbow formed? What is the sky polarization? How do birds use the Sun, the sky polarization, the stars and the magnetic field as a compass?

Quinta das Alagoas invited the participants to do some experiments and listen to some answers.

This activity ends with a safe solar observation* by projection and through a solar telescope:

The celebrated trumpeter Hugo Alves, founder and artistic director of Orquestra de Jazz do Algarve, played in a Trio, together with James Mellor on piano and Luís Henrique on double bass, for a great Jazz time at Quinta das Alagoas: our first concert in the “Eira” (threshing floor).

In a spectacular Summer night without wind, Hugo Alves played an intimate concert where soft sounds of some standards were explored, such as Summertime, All The Things You Are, You don’t Know What Love Is or Body and Soul. Great Standards of the American songbook, complemented by some Hugo Alves original songs such as Waiting Without Knowing Why and even the original theme he composed inspired by our farm, and whose title is Alagoas.

A new Cello charming night in Quinta das Alagoas! Integrated in the IX Festival Internacional de Cordas da Academia de Música de Lagos we brought, as in July last year, “Às Quartas na Quinta” a Cellos string explosion with the best participants in the Festival. Pieces from Haydin, Beethoven e Vivaldi were played with the participation of the Professor Paulo Gaio Lima. The concert ended with the Chaconne in G minor fromTomaso Vitali by the professors João Pedro Cunha, Henrique Ramiro, Paul Wakabayashi, Paulo Gaio Lima and soloist Juliana Garcia.

A walk through the history of Jazz with interpretations full of creativity and experience by Zé Eduardo and Hilaria Kramer. The concert started by Duke Ellington, went through film music we all know as Cheek to Cheek, Moon River, Meglio Stasera, Somewhere Over the Rainbow or Chim Chim Cher-ee and ended with the great composers from Mingus to Gillespie and the influences on Jazz by the rhythms of the world.

At the end we tasted wine from Tras -os- Montes, Douro and Alentejo, cheese and cottage cheese from Serpa and many delights from the farm:

Almond paté with marjoram and ginger. Nuts paté with coriander. Spelt bread, rye bread (with organic flour). Purple carrot and coriander carrots. Raw horseradish, cabbage stalk, radish and chives.

Natural figs with toasted and brown almonds. Chickpea as grandmother Rosa used to do. Marmalade as aunt Piedade made. Oriental delight (sweet pumpkin with ginger). Brazilian delight (sweet pumpkin with coconut). Traditional candy figs with chocolate and fennel.

It was with the fluttering notes from Paulo Galvão guitar and the music of Fernando Sor, Joseph Kuffner , Paulo Galvão , Luigi Legnani , Julio Sagrera , Mauro Giuliani , Heitor Villa- Lobos, Johannes Brahms and ending with all the excitement of Francisco Tarrega that started the musical season at Quinta das Alagoas !

After the show a “detox” menu with products from the farm was served. We added cheese from Serpa and Idanha and wine from Douro and Alentejo.

Last November 7th we were privileged to listen to the first Jazz concert at Quinta das Alagoas with Hugo Alves and James Mellor who played original songs of Hugo Alves ( One Happy Morning , Little Moments , Dr. Fox , Finally the Call, and Baldas fiascos , Djazzerto , 66 Exchange , Wind on Water) and also original from James Mellor .

We thank the two musicians for the feeling and emotion that they shared with us !