Old Border Post / Smuggling

In almost every place in Alentejo we find stories and legends about smuggling. Praising or revisiting memories of a Portuguese and Spanish past of poverty, hunger and shortages, smuggling emerged as an ingenious solution to change arduous lives. The borders were controlled by the fiscal guard and the 'carabineros' who, hidden in the hostile forest of the region, surprised with bullets the smugglers on both sides of the border who ventured to engage in the dangerous mission of illegal trade, focused on coffee, an unroasted product on the Spanish side. 'Carabineros! Carabineros!' was the warning that echoed along the border. It is currently the Environmental Center of Xévora.