Shutting Out The Heat

When I first arrived in Portugal, specifically the Alentejo countryside, I wondered why all the houses were shuttered in the middle of the day? Why close your windows and shut out a beautiful sunny day? And anyway, it must feel so claustrophobic? “Let the light in, enjoy the sun," says the know all visitor. There’s plenty of time to close windows at night. “I’m going to leave them open."

It has taken a few visits but now I understand why, and will take heed earlier in the future.

I write this post sitting in front of a fan in my underwear with all the windows in our house shuttered closed. They have been like that for a couple of hours now, while a 41°C sun beats down outside. The phrase “stepping into an oven," couldn’t be more apt for the experience of stepping out of our front door. Closing the windows and shutters might not erase the heat, but by golly it certainly keeps the worse of the hot air out of the house.

With only essential work seeming to be happening outside, the town appears to have shut down until this evening, and even then it is forecast to be 26°C at midnight, not giving homes much of a chance to cool down.

I went out to bring in some laundry drying outside. The metal chairs that it was draped over were almost too hot to pick up. The clothes themselves, left in a pile to put away later, felt as though they had just emerged from a drier over an hour later.

Yes, it’s hot here.