139 



CHAPTER XII. 



UK AG A AND BOM JESUS. 



The peovince of Mioho, which occupies the north-western 

 portion of Portugal, is notoriously by far the most beau- 

 tiful of all the six provinces into which that kingdom is 

 divided. The full title of this district is ^Entre Minho e 

 Douro,' inasmuch as it comprises the territory which lies 

 between those two rivers, as they flow towards the sea ; it 

 is also at once the most fertile and the most populous. 

 The whole province is formed entirely of granite, and there 

 is very little level ground throughout this district, but its 

 principal features are composed of a succession of well- 

 cultivated valle3^s and forest-clad hills, which towards the 

 eastern limits assume the size and character of wild and 

 lofty mountains. From these hills streams without num- 

 ber trickle, and, wandering through the vales, are the 

 main cause of the luxuriance and verdure which distin- 

 guish the province. Here, too, we meet with the forests 

 of a'isT^ntic oaks for which northern Portu^'al is famous ; 

 forests of fir and forests of chestnut, as well as the cork 

 and olive in great profusion. 



We had from the first proposed to ourselves an excursion 

 into the heart of this inviting district, and we had not been 

 long in Oporto before we proceeded to make enquiry with 

 regard to roads and carriages, as we w^ere naturally anxious 

 to include within our circuit those portions which seemed 

 to promise the greatest attractions of scenery. But here 



