Lost Luz

(First of all, happy 21st to my gorgeous youngest daughter, such a joy she has always been - even including her birth in Mossoró, NE Brazil.)

Probably this is the most boring photo I took all day, but one which fills me with sadness. This is the road that used to lead into the village of Luz (best article in English that I could find); you can see the continuation just behind the grass on the other side of the water.

When the Alqueva Dam was built, this village was to be submerged, so a "model village" was built above the water level (extra), and the people were moved. There is a museum about the move, with an hour long film - which shows clearly how much the people suffered, and how condescending the bigwigs were - as in "you should be grateful, at least you get a house"...

Intertwined with all this, but unaware of the location, M and I swam to what is now an island, but which was their highest landmark (with the pine tree on it that you see).

And then, in the new Luz, folk were so kind to us when our car got a split tyre, and we ended up being transported to Moura, where we bought two new tyres, and then the long drive home, with a detour to see more of the lake, the setting sun, and the moon making a golden path across the water.

If none of this makes sense, put it down to an exhausting day, and it now being well past midnight... really, you need to come see for yourself, there are English subtitles to the film.