Orange picking.

When in Portugal and Spain we have often scrumped oranges - but only off branches overhanging the road !! or ones that have already fallen onto the roadside and will probably be disregarded as there is an incredible abundance of oranges over here. Surprise, surprise !!

While staying near Idanha Nova we often drove into town to stock up with comestibles from Intermarche (of all things). Finding a portugese shop open was a nightmare no matter what time we walked around the town it seemed - we much prefer finding the local goodies for sale but were on a losing streak here.

Anyway, time after time we had passed a little smallholding in a sleepy village called Senora de Graca on the roadside about 2 miles from the town itself. The house was tiny, but on one side was a wonderful orange grove and on the other side olive trees. Outside the gate on a post was a little basket with 3/4 oranges in - these were here each time we passed.

 

We speculated about whether they were for just helping yourself to or whether they were for sale. On our last day in the area my better half had gone for a mammoth cycle ride and I had driven into town for a last wander about.

On the way back to the campsite I pulled over into a layby opposite the little farm and walked over and called around to see if anyone was at home. Out pops a little old lady, very friendly but as neither of us could understand the other it was a sort of game to make yourself understood .

Bit like charades.....but without the other team knowing what the rules were !!

Anyway she eventually got the drift - I'd like to buy some oranges please. Then she began talking about how many kilos, 5,10,15 etc. I sort of showed her a flat-hand-fingers-up for 5 and off we went. Kilos of oranges is a new concept for me so goodness knows how many that would be!

She picked up a bucket and motioned for me to follow her down the path into the garden!! What was I thinking - that she'd have a store cupboard of them all nicely picked - oh no. I trotted after her taking photos - I was so excited by the whole escapade. Then she picked up a very modern looking aluminium ladder and propped it up against one of the orange trees.

Oh my god, I thought, she's going to climb up and get fresh ones for me. She looked a goodly age and was roundly formed (but then, so am I) and I had a pang of conscience, so, I motioned that I'd go up instead. She swirled her hand in front of her head - indicating giddyiness - and I thought does she mean me or her !!



Anyway I gingerly stepped up the ladder feeling the branches sway and give beneath me. Heights are just not my things at all any more, so I was being very brave. Really.

If she' d been any younger and more sprightly I'd have certainly let her do the grappling bit for me.

I reached out and, picked (well, actually the word should be plucked - as they were surprisingly hard to wrestle off the tree) a couple of oranges and passed them down to her, the other hand desperately holding on tightly to the ladder !! She was amused by this and wriggled in under the tree and hung the bucket from one of rungs. She's done this a few times before I thought quietly to myself !! She motioned for reaching over to pick the big ones, but all this was making the branches sway like crazy.

The ground underneath was dug over and bare and looked like it would be a softish landing if things did go pear shaped.

In the meantime I was also trying to take photos as a memory aid ........

I calmed, and after a while the bucket was full of beautiful fresh firm oranges.


We walked back to her front yard through her veg patch (me snapping away on the camera); she put the oranges into a carrier bag and weighed the lot in one go - well, it was over the maximum 5 kilo mark by a mile but this didn't concern her at all.

She said the price - sounded like 50 cents - I fished around in my handbag and took out all my ready cash and held it out in my hand for her to help herself. She took a couple of coins but this seemed such a paltry price that in the end I gave her a 5 Euro note. She wouldn't take it to start with but I persevered and she gave me a lovely smile and said 'obrigado' - portugese for thanks.

Both happy.




Back at the campsite, hubby and I sampled one when he eventually arrived back from his bike hike. We have found that sometimes they are not always as sweet as they look !!!

Thank goodness, they were deliciously sweet and juicy.


A happy ending.