I know that I’m always drawing from this point of view. More to the left and it’s the hotel, more to the right ant it’s the ocean. One side, or the other, the people. I can’t help it. I like to sit there, drink some tea, read, observe and draw.
This drawing was made after reading a text by Arnaldo Saraiva in the book “Douro Leituras”, an anthology of texts about Alto Douro. Here’s an excerpt (in portuguese and english):
“Os deuses vendem quando dão, e também no Douro a glória se obtém com a desgraça, o ouro se obtém com o sacrifício, que vem com tempestades, cheias, naufrágios, secas, pestes, fomes, desastres, injustiças, mortes. O belo rio é por vezes um ‘rio louco’ e o vinho maravilhoso é por vezes um ‘vinho de tragédia’. (Alves Redol)”
“The gods sell when they give, and too in Douro the glory comes with disgrace, the gold comes with sacrifice, which comes with storms, floods, shipwrecks, droughts, pests, hunger, disasters, injustices, dead. The beautiful river is sometimes a ‘mad river’ and the wonderful wine is sometimes a ‘wine of tragedy’.(Alves Redol)”
Ofir, Portugal, 25.10.2013