Salt in Rio Maior, Portugal...

Salt has historically been incredibly valuable. Today, we followed the signs to Salinas for this incredible discovery.

These salt mines were known to exist in 1177, as they were referred to in a sale document for the land around them. It is believed, however, that the mines had been explored by both Romans and Moors prior to the country’s inception.

But how did such salty water make it to a spring 20 miles from the sea? The limestone mountains near Rio Maior allow for rainwater to seep under the bedrock, forming a deep underground current. This current actually runs through a massive salt rock mine, carrying with it some of the salt.
Once the salt water is extracted, it is exposed to the wind and sun, which evaporate the water, leaving behind only the salt. The salt is stacked into pyramid shapes to dry out completely until it is ready to be packaged. Small wooden houses (pictured behind Steve) are used for storing the salt because the wood, unlike metal, doesn’t react with the salt. It was also the only material available for several centuries.
 “The salt is to the food,
what soul is to the body.”
― Amit Kalantri
Oh how exceptional it is to sip coffee in a place that is at least 800 years old. How do you explain that to people?

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1 comments:

Nick and Deb's Excellent Adventure said...

Salt has always amazed me! We use it for so many things and really have no idea how it gets to us. We got see the process here using local sea water and it was pretty cool!

June 10, 2018 at 7:58 AM

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