Olá 👋

This week’s issue is a little spooky 🦇

Across the Minho bonfires burn, pumpkins glow, and chrysanthemums bloom beside marble headstones.

It’s the season of threshold stories.

One of folklore and festivity, the other of quiet remembrance. Now, let’s step into the week together.

● ✨ Feature: Between Pumpkins and Prayer — From Halloween to All Saints in Minho

●🕵🏼‍♀️ Who’s Who: Lobisomem da Junqueira

●⛪️ Cultural Gem: Farol de Montedor - The light of the North

● 🌿 Women of Minho: The Meigas — Healers of Shadow and Herb

● 💵 Community News: All Saints processions, village magustos, and local music nights

● 🌰 Gastronomy: Magusto — Chestnuts, Fire, and Água-Pé

● ☁ Weather & Closing Note: Cool mornings, soft rain, clear candlelit evenings

(Not all witches cast spells — some heal, wait, and love in silence.)

Across the Minho, it’s a season when the veil between worlds feels thin.

Stories of witches and saints, laughter and remembrance, mingle in the same breath.

On the night of October 31, when many now celebrate Halloween, the Minho marks an older rhythm.

One that reaches back to the Celtic festival of Samhain, honouring the end of harvest and the beginning of darkness

A night when spirits were said to cross freely between worlds. Echoes of that ritual still linger: pumpkins carved into cocos or cocas, bonfires that chase away bad luck, and the flicker of candlelight in every home.

In the highlands of Bragança, fires still blaze during the Festa da Cabra e do Canhoto, a remnant of pagan rites where villagers light bonfires and celebrate renewal with music, masks, and dance.

If you walk through a Minho village this week, you will see both faces of the season: the shimmer of candles for the departed and the laughter of kids dressed as ghouls and witches running through the streets.

Light a candle, share some chestnuts, remember someone who shaped your story.

​The Lobisomem da Junqueira

This week’s Who’s Who takes us to Junqueira, near Caminha, home to one of Minho’s most enduring figures of folklore: the Lobisomem, the Portuguese werewolf.

Neither wholly man nor beast, the lobisomem runs its fado - a cursed destiny.

In Minho folklore, these beings are not monsters of horror but souls bound to a sorrowful fate, forced to roam through seven villages under the full moon until the curse is broken.

A soul paying its debt beneath the moonlight. Stories say he appears near the Coura River, where reeds whisper and dogs fall silent.

Those who see him speak of glowing eyes and the sound of a man’s breath carried in the wind.

From 8–28 November, the Câmara Municipal de Viana do Castelo celebrates World Wine Tourism Month with a series of activities blending landscape, culture, and connection.

The program opens on Saturday, 8 November, with a guided hike along the Monte Galeão Trail (PR 17) from 9:00–11:30 a.m. in Darque.

Part of the Municipal Hiking Trail Network, the route offers sweeping views of the city and stops at Castro do Galeão, the viewpoint, and the picnic area — a beautiful mix of nature and heritage.

On Thursday, 28 November, the 4th Tourism Meetup takes place at Solar do Louredo in Moreira de Geraz do Lima, themed “Wine Tourism: A Winning Bet.”

The session explores how wine, culture, and local identity can drive sustainable growth.

👉 Registration required

World Wine Tourism Day, celebrated annually on the second Sunday of November, began in 2009 as a European initiative and expanded globally in 2019. It now connects wine regions across Europe and Latin America in a shared celebration of culture, heritage, and hospitality.

Dates: Friday, 7 November – Sunday, 9 November 2025

Location: Cultural Center of Viana do Castelo
A pop culture convention featuring gaming, cosplay, collectibles, and creative workshops — a highlight for fans of comics and science fiction.

Exploring just got easier — and greener. Viana do Castelo has launched new bus routes with modern, comfortable vehicles and an updated interactive map.

🎟Bonus: Local residents can currently enjoy free rides, a wonderful reason to hop on board and explore.

More buses, fewer cars, and a smoother way to see the best of Viana..

● Roots Art Gallery Wine Talk event — November 8th 🕠 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

📍 R. da Bandeira 733, store 2, Viana do Castelo

To reserve your spot, send us a private message on WhatsApp or on Instagram (@rootsartgallery). Thank you!

It’ll be a relaxed and creative opportunity to meet new people and enjoy a cozy, art-filled atmosphere 💫

● 9th edition of the Viana do Castelo Theatre Festival - 15th to 22 November | Sa de Miranda Municipal Theatre This event is one of the cultural highlights of the year for the city.

Featured performances by Portuguese and international artists and companies. Tickets are available online and the full program of events can be found here

● Bárbara Tinoco (Pop) — Friday, 31 October | C.C. Viana One of Portugal’s most-loved pop singers closes the month on a high

Plus ongoing exhibitions at the Centro Cultural and the Museum of Decorative Arts.

● Festivities in honour of S. Martinho - 2nd to 16th November | Gandra, Ponte de Lima Celebrate the spirit of Saint Martin with music, tradition, gastronomy and lots of popular entertainment!

Full program details can be found here

● Caminha Hiking Festival — Late October | Caminha Guided hikes through Minho’s coastline, mountains, and river valleys.

● Weekly Water Sports — Rowing and river sessions on the Lima, plus autumn nature walks.

● Open-Air Yoga & Fitness — Weekends in city parks (schedule via Câmara).

● Memory Steps Annual Walking Plan created by the Camara Municipal culminates with the final walk of the year on 8th November

Monte Galeão Interpretive Trail – World Wine Tourism Day

7km, starting at 9am on Galeão Street - Darque (Darque) Full details can be found here

● Regional Markets — Ponte de Lima (2nd & 4th Mondays), Caminha (1st & 3rd Wednesdays).

● Halloween Buffet - Hotel Feel Viana (31 October)

A wonderful three course meal accompanied by live music and entertainment.   You can book your table here 

● Gastronomy weekend/Minhota Meat - Ponte de Lima | 8 to 10th November Saturday, November 9th

Saturday, November 9th

2:30 pm – 5:00 pm – Street Entertainment “The Caravan” in the Historic Center 4:00 pm – Showcooking with Minhota Meat by Chef Álvaro Costa at the Torre da Cadeia Velha “Minhota Steaks or Chunks with Roasted Vegetables and Smoked Rice”

Sunday, November 10th

10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Parade with the Ronda do Sol Poente in the Historic Center 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Parade with the Grupo de Bombos de Cepões in the Historic Center

Full details can be found here

● Festa da Castanha (Chestnut Festival)

Late October / Early November Local parishes celebrate autumn’s harvest with roasted chestnuts, wine, and sweets.

● Mercado dos Descobrimentos

Last weekend of October Held at Castelo de Santiago da Barra and its surrounding area in Viana do Castelo. It’s a cultural market meant to recreate the atmosphere of Portugal’s Age of Discoveries — with historical costumes, gastronomy, arts and crafts, and decoration. Viana Festas

Send the details to [email protected] and we will feature you in the next issue.

Standing on the cliffs of Carreço since 1910, the Montedor Lighthouse guards Portugal’s northern coast, the last beacon before Spain.

Built in granite with a 28-metre tower and a 3rd-order Fresnel lens, its twin flashes still guide ships safely past the rough Atlantic shallows.

Perched above the remains of an ancient Castro settlement, it carries centuries of watching and warning. Many nights the sea below still heaves with fog, and the wind hums through the railings.

As the nights draw in and candles flicker for All Saints’ Day, we chose Montedor lighthouse because it's a place where light keeps watch against the dark.

Its beam, steady for more than a century, mirrors the small flames we light in remembrance.

Guiding the living, honouring the lost, and reminding us that even in the fog, there is always a light to come home to.

In the old stories of the Minho, women held the threads between the seen and the unseen.

They were the meigas, healers, midwives, whisperers of prayers over smoke and water.

Some cured with herbs, others with silence.

One tale from Melgaço tells of a mother whose seven sons were cursed to become birds. To free them, she was tasked with weaving seven reed garments without speaking, eating, or sleeping.

Weeks passed as she stitched with determination in silence. When the last stitch was sewn, her children returned as men… all but one, who kept seven feathers on his shoulder. It is said her silence broke the spell, her endurance became a blessing.

Across the valleys and hills of northern Portugal, these women remain not witches or saints, but keepers of an older knowing.

“Not all witches cast spells — some simply healed, waited, and loved in silence.”

Before masks and candy, children in Minho already marked the season by singing door to door for Pão-por-Deus — Bread for God.

They were given fruit, nuts, or small cakes in return for prayers for the departed.

The custom dates back to the 18th-century Lisbon earthquake, when survivors begged for food in the name of the saints and the dead.

Magusto — Fire, Chestnuts, and Saint Martin’s Summer

Every November, across Portugal, the air fills with the smoky scent of roasted chestnuts.

Magusto is more than a meal… it’s a ritual of warmth, friendship, and gratitude

According to legend, Saint Martin, a Gaulish knight, once met a freezing beggar on a stormy road. With no coins to give, he cut his cloak in half and offered it to the man.

The clouds parted, the rain stopped, and sunlight broke through.

A miracle now known as Verão de São Martinho (Saint Martin’s Summer).

Since then, the day is marked by simple pleasures: roasted chestnuts, jeropiga or água-pé, laughter around a fire, and the first taste of new wine. It’s a moment of pause — to celebrate generosity, good company, and the fleeting warmth before winter truly arrives.

🟡 “No São Martinho, lume, castanhas e vinho.”

(On Saint Martin’s Day — fire, chestnuts, and wine.)

🔔Write to us at [email protected]

Last week we said to expect sunshine…all we had was rain.

This week make the most of the sunshine on Monday and Tuesday, clear blue skies are forecast.

Thursday to Saturday get your fires going and get wrapped up.  

The temperature will be dropping to 13 and we are expecting heavy rainfall.  

The freeze is coming...but the earth is smiling, she so much needed this rain.

🔔Reply to this email and attach your image at [email protected]

As nights lengthen and mist gathers over Minho’s hills, listen closely — some say a Lobisomem still runs beneath the moonlight, tracing the old paths between villages.

If you enjoyed this please forward it to a friend who loves Viana — or wishes they did.

Thanks for being part of this community.

With 💛

From Viana

This issue of From Viana is sponsored by DS Credito

​Luís Gomes, Mortgage Advisor​

Luís Gomes guides newcomers and locals through the mortgage process with clarity, honesty, and care.

Need mortgage guidance? You can contact him ​here​.