Outdoor Alentejo
Hiking and swimming are great fun to do, and they do your body a world of good. Still, there are various other ways to spend the day if you love sports.
Surfing
How about a day on the surfboard? Our son Bas is a qualified, experienced and patient surfing instructor who enjoys teaching the tricks and dodges of surfing to youngsters (and older people too). If you prefer, you can also take lessons at a surf school. There are two excellent surf schools close by, with which we are in close contact.
Horse riding
In these surroundings, horse riding is a real treat. Experiencing the moonlight on horseback, swimming with horses… Ever done it? We have various riding addresses for you.
Biking
From Monte do Casarão, many tracks can be negotiated by mountain bike as well. Even vast stretches of the historic route Rota Vicentina are suitable for the mountain bike. Are you afraid it might just be too hilly and too tough? Then an e-bike might be just the thing for you. The bikes are delivered to your door, on your own mountain, together with a helmet and rubber solution.
Canoeing
Canoeing on the Mira, upstream or downstream, depending on the tide. You can take a dip in the Mira as you go along. Or tie up for a pit stop. Experience the Alentejo from the river.
Pilates
As an extra during the summer months, we offer the possibility to attend Pilates or aqua jogging lessons. To stay loose-limbed during your holiday. Please, don’t think you’re too old or too creaky. The teacher is so experienced that she can offer tailor-made exercises. Moreover, we don’t apply age limits. So far, the youngest participant was 3, and the oldest was 72.
Twice a year – once in spring and once in autumn – Monte do Casarão organises a painting week. The course is suitable for both beginners and advanced students. You can paint or draw using any technique and any materials you like.
Abril 8 - Abril 15
September 30 - October 7
April: Spring has arrived. All the little birds are hard at work again. We’ve always had a pair of swallows on the terrace, but this year there are three nests. And one by the kitchen, and one by the front door. We reckon they’re all related.
There are so many of them now that the sparrows no longer chase them away. Very occasionally there is a panic. Suddenly there is a sparrow in a swallow’s nest. With a bit of human intervention, that problem is quickly resolved and calm returns. But what do we mean by calm: the swallows make even more noise than the sparrows. And more mess.
