Companhia das Culturas

The Algarve region is beautifully set by a diverse Atlantic Coast. While you can catch the waves in the West, the East offers you quieter and warmer waters. Experiencing the Algarve means to get connected with nature. This region is far more than just beaches. It has a stunning fauna and flora to offer, and tinny fisher towns have life stories to tell.

We like to stay in rather private and quiet places embedded in nature. We enjoy being by ourselves. At Companhia das Culturas we’ve found more than just a place to stay, we got to know a whole new approach to tourism. Companhia das Culturas is a sustainable and organic eco-tourism located in the south-eastern tip of the Algarve, besides the Castro Marim Nature Reserve. It’s a place that invites you to watch, appreciate and celebrate nature and the beauty of its cycles. Companhia das Culturas is a space created by people, for people.

I specially love taking pictures in the morning or evening when nature is slowly waking up or shining in the warm sunset light. Companhia das Culturas invites you with its 40 hectares to go on a slow stroll through stone pines, cork oaks, and carob, apricot, fig, olive and orange trees. To explain to you the place’s concept, it’s important to get to know the owners and where they come from.

Founder: Englantina Monteiro

The makers and hosts are Eglantina Monteiro and Francisco Palma Dias. She has lived in France, England, Senegal and Brazil, is an anthropologist and carries out the work of a curator who organizes the objects and aesthetics from a multitude of different cultures and in different institutions. He introduced yoga to Portugal at the end of the 1970s and is the man behind the restaurants Le Paradoxe (Brussels, 1972) and Terraço do Finisterra (Lisbon, 1980), which serves Japanese influenced organic dishes in articulation with Portuguese cuisine.

This Eco-tourism was born out their joint desire not to let the history slip away that was present in over 1500 m2 of Francisco’s family old farmhouse, which throughout seven generations contributed decisively to the small village of São Bartolomeu and its residents. The same community today supplies its products to the Companhia das Culturas, in an ongoing eulogy of regional produce as a source of local sustainability.

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When talking to Englantina, I felt that she truly wants to celebrate nature and its dialogue with human beings. Companhia das Culturas is an honest place to stay. The owners never wanted to create or become «a pretty» hotel. They believe in preserving what is and taking it as a foundation for the creation of new possibilities. Their goal was and still is to preserve the natural heritage of the farm.

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Some walls and spaces remain authentic and raw.

Once an enormous threshing machine garage, today, the Cork Box is the venue for yoga, meditation or dance. Due to COVID-19, there are no organized yoga classes now. But you can use the space for your own daily practice.

We stayed at the Duplex House 22. The spacious apartment is perfect for a family of 4 (max. 6) and has its own kitchenette. The tropical outside area is perfect to enjoy your breakfast (will be delivered to the apartment every morning) or warm evenings. The interiors follow the language of recuperating the past and combine furniture and objects from different epochs and of different styles. While in the rooms and suites the internet connection is low or not existing, in the apartments you'll have your own wifi. But to be honest, isn't it nice to be disconnected from the digital world for once?

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Facade of the apartments and wooden interior details.

Living area in our apartment.

Connected bedrooms: ideal for a family with small children.

Jungle feeling in our outside area.

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Impression of other rooms and suites.

One of my highlights was the hammam experience. The interior architecture by Pedro Ressano Garcia is beautifully done with marble from Vila Viçosa (Alentejo). The famous cork bowls replace the usual copper pouring containers in the steamy zones. With the hammam Companhia das Culturas wanted to resume the Mediterranean tradition of healthy bathing, massages and essential oils from five centuries ago during the Inquisition. I came out of my hammam treatment (with massage) as reborn. Thank you!

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Based on the “zero-food-miles” concept, and in contrast to the methods of the agribusiness, only locally sourced and seasonal products are served both at breakfast, dinner or snacks. The breakfast is served at the table. This has always been the concept as it goes with the “no food waste” philosophy of Companhia das Culturas. You'll enjoy a new seasonal delicacy every morning.

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Companhia das Culturas has its own charm and magic. It does not want to be perfect (whatever that means anyway), it truly wants to be honest. The gras might not be green in summer, the garden is dry and shows its wild heart. It’s not fake, but real. Thank you Companhia das Culturas for welcoming us and contributing to a healthier tourism respecting nature.