Coastal streak made of escarpments, both extensive and tiny, with waves spoken all over the world and fishing ports bathed by the Atlantic that delimit the border between sea and land.

Land of the wind, a divine phenomenon for windmills and vineyards in the West Region and the Setúbal Peninsula, and the Tagus River, where the Mar da Palha and the municipality of Santarém trace the eastern limit of the region.

Mountainous territory elevated by the Serra de Montejunto, in the centre, by the Serras de Aire and Candeeiros, to the southeast of the district of Leiria, and by the Arrábida Natural Park, emerging between Sesimbra and Setúbal, to the south.

A sea of ​​people and a land of traditions, the Western Region is the starting point of this itinerary and the object of a life lesson thanks to the heritage left by the monks of Cister, a religious community rooted in the 12th-century in Alcobaça. Farming matrix, this territory located between the sea and the mountains of Montejunto and Aire e Candeeiros, with its Hanging Valleys seen from the village of Cadoiço, in the parish of Aljubarrota, gives its reign to the immense varieties of apples harvested in the orchards, the culture of vineyards and wine, and the immeasurable legacy of liqueurs and conventual sweets from the Monastery of Alcobaça and the Monastery of Santa Maria de Coz, in Coz, a pair of architectural treasures to be rediscovered. In addition, the Porco Malhado de Alcobaça, a native breed recently recovered, a raw material for sausages - and not only -, with emphasis on rice pudding sausage, typical in the district of Leiria and, on the other hand, the glass industry, in Casal da Areia, for example, and cutlery, spread throughout the county.

Let us take advantage of the wave - a metaphor apart as regards the phenomenon caused by the cannon of neighbouring Nazaré - to continue the gastronomic itinerary because, further down, we find Alfeizerão, homonymous land of sponge cake.

Take the glasses and the silverware and set the table! Select the earthenware created by the unrivalled trait of Rafael BordalloPinheiro and with the support of top ceramists, in Caldas da Rainha, a municipality where the Queen D. Leonor Thermal Hospital was founded, in the 15th-

century, the oldest in the world, and where you will find the leafy romantic Park D. Carlos.

It is necessary to proceed to Peniche, a county seat full of famous beaches among water sports lovers. A fishing town, Peniche has in fish and seafood the much sought-after diversity and elementary base of the typical fish-cookery stew. This is an example of Tiago Fonseca. He changed his clothes and surfboards to tame the waves, into the night and with the enigmatic Berlengas archipelago as a backdrop, onboard the vessel where he captures what the sea offers, to provide fresh fish and seafood to spaces of catering that bet on a quality product. Luísa Marques sells dried fish at the Peniche’s market. Tricks and techniques were learned from her grandmother when she was still a girl.

Because fish stew and other recipes with fish match with potatoes, it is best to schedule a stop in Sobral, in Lourinhã. Raul Reis, who in his travels added knowledge to gastronomic experiences, traded Luxembourg for his family's land, where he decided to sow Rattepotatoes, long pumpkin from Naples and vines. The Asterix potato and the barbela wheat came later. Fill up with brandy PDO Lourinhã which is the only exclusive demarcated wine spirit region in the country and continue your journey.

Pass by the municipalities of Bombarral and Cadaval, abundant lands of Rocha pear, the last being the destination of a longer stop. After all, time is again precious for the visit to João Viera, the guardian of barbela wheat, who once fell by the wayside, and a great driver of the retrieval of this raw material that he wants to see recovered. In addition, the trip to the top of Serra de Montejunto - a natural barrier for the protection of the East, this great West, from maritime winds and humidity - should be included, to visit the secular Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Neves and, below, the centennial Real Fábrica do Gelo, two unmissable monuments.

Now, with more breath, the road is paved towards Torres Vedras. The visit is made to Hortelão do Oeste, the company of Miguel Neiva Correia, the man who left the kitchen to get his hands on the earth. A disciple of João Vieira, barbela wheat is another of the products highlighted in his list coloured by the various shades of vegetables in this land of wind and viticulture, and where the historical episode of the Lines of Towers in our history is made known with merit at the interpretation centre installed at the summit of São Vicente Fort.

Almost in a straight line is Alenquer, a municipality focused on wine culture. The goal is to get to know Paulino Horta and his traditional, rustic, and organic flours made from ground cereals in modern machines equipped with stone millstones, in Cabeços. Take the opportunity to visit the St Francis Convent and the City Hall building, dating from the 19th-century and a replica of the “similar” building in the city of Lisbon.

On the way to the municipality of Mafra, Quinta do Arneiro is a must-see, where vegetables, fruit and flour are produced organically, harvested in the right season and supplied in baskets. Packed by nature, it is worth visiting the National Hunting Grounds of Mafra, an enchanted place, and the majestic Palace-Conventflanked by the Cerco Garden.

Along the coastal road, you can follow the beauty of the enigmatic Serra de Sintra, the birthplace of the National Palace of Penha, the Palace of Monserrate, the Castle of the Moors, the Convent of Capuchos and which has the National Palace of Sintra, with its representative chimneys, at its feet. Without putting aside, the opportunity to better understand Colares wine produced there with the varieties Ramisco and Malvasia.

Cascais, a fishing village and palaces by the sea, invites you to take a serene stroll along its beaches to the neighbouringmunicipality of Oeiras, where Carcavelos Wine is produced. Also,the Casal da Manteiga Winery, head-to-head to the vineyard overlooking the sea and home to grape varieties so a few years ago almost extinct, installed within the perimeter of the property formerly belonging to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, with its Marquês de Pombal Palace, the secular wine cellar, the 19th-century gardens and the winepress below.

Finally, Lisbon, for a break at the Queijaria Cheese Shop, by Pedro Cardoso, to better know about cheeses or if the host of this establishment was not an expert in such a sensitive product. Take a trip to Odivelas, to take the white marmalade, recipe from the Monastery of Odivelas, and Bucelas, the only Portuguese region demarcated for white wines made from the Arinto, Sercial and Rabo-de-Ovelha varieties, to harmonize with the cheeses and then continue to Azambuja for another conversation. This time, with Adolfo Henriques, at Maçussa where, since the 80s, it has been producing chèvre cheese.

On the other side of the bank of the Tagus River, in the SetúbalPeninsula, João Pinóia is ready to talk about the Riscadinha Apple of Palmela, whose orchard counts about six hundred apple trees.

There is more cheese to taste at Simões Queijaria Artesanal, at Quinta do Anjo, by Rui Simões, a man dedicated to the cheese production of Azeitão. Here is the excuse to stop at this parish in the municipality of Setúbal and visit Quinta do Poial, by Joana Macedo and created from scratch by her mother, Maria José Macedo, who implemented organic production of fruit and vegetables, and finish the script for the beginning of the meal, that is, with oysters extracted from the nurseries of Célia Rodrigues, who struggled for the recovery of the Portuguese species crassoteria angulata raised in integrated aquaculture, that is, in the waters of the Sado Estuary and under the aegis of Neptune Pearl.