Part Five: The Watermill and the Lighthouse

In an area where the lush greens are fed by abundant rain, the countryside is dotted with water mills and mills where corn is ground into the flour that is used to make the delicious local bread – broa. There are fewer watermills, but the one on the Montedor promontory seems to have inspired the Portuguese writer Raul Brandão, when he said that “the watermill is a captivating device, with something of a ship and something of a children’s toy about it”, a spot to watch the sails whirling round and imagine sailing ships or children’s games. For almost one hundred years, the Montedor lighthouse has ceaselessly provided a flash of light to illuminate the sea every nine and a half seconds. It shows vessels the way and the sails of the windmill seem at wave to them.