The village of Telhada sits on top of a gently-sloping ridge, the land each side set with olive and fruit trees. The fertile soil around the village is still cultivated. Traditionally rye and maize were grown, and sheep and goats kept. When you come into the village the first thing you see is the small chapel in honour to St.° Amaro. The older buildings in the village are built from round glacial boulders with square granite stones forming the corners. The clay in the valley was used until recently to make ceramic bricks, and may have given the village its name - ‘Telhada’ meaning ‘tiled’. Over time, the buildings have developed the same rich ochre colour as the soil around the village. The houses in the village cluster together to maximise the land available for agricultural use. Some of these buildings have been restored. As you travel through the village the tarmac road disappears and the dirt road traverses the hillside, where it finally joins the road at Chapinheira.

We were told a story that a couple once lived in the village who bred goats, but who had only a vague concept of monetary value. One day a goat trader came to the village and saw a young goat he wanted to buy. So he told the woman that he would offer a price of 50$ (Escudos) for the animal. The woman did not want to decide the matter without asking her husband, so she shouted to him: “Hey, the trader is offering us 50$ for the goat, is that alright with you?” to which her husband shouted back: “No, not at all! I want 45$ for it!” (This story has apparently become famous in the neighbourhood.)