DRIFT Travel Magazine Spring 2024

Honey
Beekeeping and honey production
on the Iberian Peninsula is
documented in cave paintings
dating from 7000 BC. And honey
has been used for everything from
healing wounds, as an ingredient
in fermented alcoholic beverages
(mead), and embalming fluid to
serving as a form of currency. Others
preferred eating it! Think of Winnie
the Pooh and Ben Franklin, who
penned: ”If you have no honey in
your pot, have some in your mouth.”
Connected with magic, mythology,
and healing, bees and their amberhued
honey have captured the
attention of everyone from Greek
philosophers to British playwright
Shakespeare and American novelist
Truman Capote.
Enthusiastic guide Diana Nunes
of Portugal4U specializes in
authentic local experiences with
cooking workshops, craft projects,
and traditional tours such as an
exploration of a chestnut route.
She arranges my visit with a wellseasoned
honey producer in
the Algarve.
A meeting with scientifically
minded Jose Manuel Marreiros
Chumbinho is a real treat. In an age
when bees are having worldwide
problems, it is encouraging to find
a successful beekeeper sensitive to
environmental issues. He carefully
places his beehives in pesticidefree
areas, where bees remain
productive, unharmed by pollutants.
This retired veterinarian not
only makes honey and related
products, but he presents them
with a missionary zeal, asking
people to taste each of his different
varieties in a prescribed order with
specialty flavors such as carob,
pennyroyal, and a bitter evergreen
plant. His small but impressive
operation includes creating his own
honeycomb wax foundations for
the bees to build upon, as well as
beeswax candles. It is fun to meet
up with him again at the large, lively
Loule farmers’ market, where his
wares are appreciated both by locals
and travelers from afar.
DRIFT TRAVEL
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QUIRKY HONEY FACTS:
Honey has a shelf life that does not expire.
Making honey is not a breeze for the bees. These essential
pollinators visit more than 2-million flowers to make one
pound of honey!
Honeybees communicate with each other through a “wiggle
dance” language imparting geographic knowledge.