My first encounter with the words 'stone house' was when I overheard a conversation between a group of friends who were animatedly talking about how they had spent their Sunday afternoon. To hear that there exists a house built in between large boulders would capture anybody's interest, as it did mine. The mere idea befuddled me, and sounded too good to be true. Before I knew it, I was browsing the internet to find out as much as I could about this mysterious house.
Most of the places worth visiting in Portugal are inaccessible by public transport. The Casa do Penedo (Portuguese for 'house of stone' ) is one such spot. Tucked away in the mountains beyond the city of Fafe, the house lies in a remote countryside region. It was apparently built by the owner to provide for a quiet getaway during the holiday seasons.
We headed on our first visit to the stone house some months ago, with inadequate directions, and incomplete information. Intermittent stops in Fafe to ask bystanders for help proved fruitless. Not only did the idea of a house built between stones seem ridiculous to them, we were instead being directed to a church in the city, which, coincidentally, is also built of stone! After frantically searching the internet, and making some choices on the spur of the moment, we found ourselves driving along steep winding roads with a view of windmills on the horizon, quickly leaving the city of Fafe in our wake. As we proceeded further, the terrain transformed into mountainous wilderness, and tarred road gave way to mud and gravel. Even with the contemporary windmills that are scattered across the area, the huge boulders did make me feel like I was in the stone age. We had to slow down to a crawl, and keep our eyes peeled to spot the extremely well camouflaged house.
The house turned out to be marvellous in so many ways. Apart from being situated in an ideal location, the ingenious artistry behind its construction is admirable. The house is two- storeyed, and peeking inside exposed a furnished room, with an included fireplace. The ability to put together an authentic house between four boulders that seem appropriately positioned still boggles my mind!
The house's popularity has risen rapidly in the past couple of months. It has recently been advertised on Portuguese television, with a personal description from the owner along with a quick tour of the interior. It is also being featured in a short film. From being 'the mysterious house with the unknown whereabouts' to one that is now firmly placed on Google maps, a horde of people have already paid it a visit. The downside of such creativity is that, even if undesired, popularity quickly catches on. It does seem like a shame that the owner and his family cannot vacation here anymore. I do hope the attention that their home is drawing leaves them pleased nonetheless.
After walking around the area for a while, we climbed up the largest boulder in the vicinity, box of strawberries in hand, and caught the sun as it quickly set past the city of Fafe. A pleasant way to end our visit to the modern day Flintstones' house.
Most of the places worth visiting in Portugal are inaccessible by public transport. The Casa do Penedo (Portuguese for 'house of stone' ) is one such spot. Tucked away in the mountains beyond the city of Fafe, the house lies in a remote countryside region. It was apparently built by the owner to provide for a quiet getaway during the holiday seasons.
We headed on our first visit to the stone house some months ago, with inadequate directions, and incomplete information. Intermittent stops in Fafe to ask bystanders for help proved fruitless. Not only did the idea of a house built between stones seem ridiculous to them, we were instead being directed to a church in the city, which, coincidentally, is also built of stone! After frantically searching the internet, and making some choices on the spur of the moment, we found ourselves driving along steep winding roads with a view of windmills on the horizon, quickly leaving the city of Fafe in our wake. As we proceeded further, the terrain transformed into mountainous wilderness, and tarred road gave way to mud and gravel. Even with the contemporary windmills that are scattered across the area, the huge boulders did make me feel like I was in the stone age. We had to slow down to a crawl, and keep our eyes peeled to spot the extremely well camouflaged house.
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| The house from a distance. Two different perspectives. |
The house turned out to be marvellous in so many ways. Apart from being situated in an ideal location, the ingenious artistry behind its construction is admirable. The house is two- storeyed, and peeking inside exposed a furnished room, with an included fireplace. The ability to put together an authentic house between four boulders that seem appropriately positioned still boggles my mind!
The house's popularity has risen rapidly in the past couple of months. It has recently been advertised on Portuguese television, with a personal description from the owner along with a quick tour of the interior. It is also being featured in a short film. From being 'the mysterious house with the unknown whereabouts' to one that is now firmly placed on Google maps, a horde of people have already paid it a visit. The downside of such creativity is that, even if undesired, popularity quickly catches on. It does seem like a shame that the owner and his family cannot vacation here anymore. I do hope the attention that their home is drawing leaves them pleased nonetheless.
After walking around the area for a while, we climbed up the largest boulder in the vicinity, box of strawberries in hand, and caught the sun as it quickly set past the city of Fafe. A pleasant way to end our visit to the modern day Flintstones' house.
