Around the Sado estuary
A couple of friends were spending the weekend in a hotel in Azeitão, in the Setúbal peninsula, the large land platform between the Tejo and Sado estuaries. It is a complex territory, known for being heavily industrialized, but strangely enough, also for its vineyards and for being a haven for sun-seekers and nature-lovers. There are all kinds of small towns and villages, each with its own quirks and traditions.
Further south, either by driving around or by crossing the Sado estuary, lies a strip of shiny thin sand more than sixty kilometers long, starting in the Tróia tourism resort and ending in the port town of Sines. Comporta beach was rich in iodine. The air was thick and fresh. Tróia was dry and silvery, the Arrábida range sheltering it, and the mouth of the Sado from the north wind.
The night was falling on the way back to Azeitão. Our friends took us to the surprisingly affordable Quinta Vítor Guedes, which had a lovely patio and a large dining hall, and served “The best old fashioned duck rice of the world” or, the dish with the longest name in the menus of the world. It was indeed tasty, laden with chouriço and bacon besides the blend of roasted and juicy rice and the dark threads of duck meat. The fine local red wine matched in perfection with the meal. A tiny glass of moscatel in the town’s center heralded the time to head back to Lisboa.
