Arraiolos

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Hidden On: 19 Oct 2003
Waypoint (Landmark): N00BFF
Open Cache:  Personal use only
Cache type:  Multi-Part
Cache size:   Normal

Difficulty:  (easy)
Terrain:  (easy)

Misc:

Comments:

Introduction

Founded in about 300 BC, the town of Arraiolos grew around the summit of a
hill and spread down the slopes, with typical low whitewashed houses with a blue
trim.

The town is crowned by the 14th-century castle and the great 16th-century
"Salvador" Church, surrounded by massive fortified walls.

It is also worth admiring the marble pillory, the "Misericordia" Church with
18th-century decorated tiles or the "Chafariz dos Almocreves", a typical rural
fountain which supplied drinking water to both the population and animals and
was also used as a public washing-tub in the back. But Arraiolos is famous, and
deservedly so, for its dazzling wool carpets which decorate palaces, manors and
houses all over Portugal. Women stitching at colourful wool rugs, sitting in
front of their houses when the weather is good or by the window in small rooms
during Winter, are a usual sight, thus giving continuity to a craft which
probably begun with the Moors as early as the 12th century and reached its
maximum splendour with the floral designs of the 18th century.

The local Town Hall exhibits a rich variety of carpets from different periods so
that visitors may admire the intricate and colourful designs.

It is also a task of patience, as even an expert needlewoman requires about 15
days, working a full eight hours, to embroider little more than one square metre
(10 sq. ft.), so it isn't surprising that the authentic hand-made Arraiolos
carpets and tapestries are quite expensive.

Embroiderings throughout centuries, the Carpets of Arraiolos are
one of the wrinkled affirmations our people' genius. They had arrived until us
thanks to the laborious hands of generations of "bordadeiras"
that had printed them the best one of its taste, of its art, with traces of the
life of the great "Alentejo" plain. In the ends of séc. XV, for
mandate of D. Manuel I, the Moorish were banished from the "Mouraria"
(Lisbon) and in he way to the north of Africa and the south of Spain, some
families would come to fix themselves in these lands. With the particularitity
to be skilled craftsmen and face to the good shelter of the local population,
these individuals had dedicated to the manufacturing of tapestries, whom,
dissimulated as new Christians, would call it: Carpets of Arraiolos.
The older documents relates to the production of these carpets in the
village of Arraiolos as dated of ends of sec. XVI, assuming however that its
implantation dates of more retreating times.

The hunt

1. Go to the published coords. (1) and note the year in the top of the
fountain as ABCD.

Your new coords. will be:

N38º4(A+2).(B-5)(C+4)(D+1)

W07º5(A+7).(B+1)(C+3)(D-7)

Example: If the year is 1827, the coords. are N38º43.368
W07º58.950

2. Go to the place indicated by the new coords. (2) and note the year
near the "Sepulchrum" word as EFGH.

Your new coords. will be:

N38º4(E+2).(F-3)(G-3)(H+3)

W07º5(E+8).(F-8)(G-1)(H+2)

Example: If the year is 1871, the coords. are N38º43.544
W07º59.063

3. Go to the place indicated by the new coords. (3) and count
the steps made up of ancient stone as I.

Your new and final coords. will be:

N38º4(I-2).(I-0)(I+1)(I-4)

W07º5(I+4).(I-2)(I-2)(I-2)

Example: If the steps are 5, the coords. are N38º43.561
W07º59.333

4. The cache is around 10 meters SE from the final coords. (4), in a
pretty obvious place. Be discrete, please.

After the hunt, You have time, go to N38º42.466 W07º58.970 to see a field with vestiges of some tapirs,
accordingly to this
page. You can go by car.

Notes:

All coords. in WGS84

Coordinates acquisiton conditions:

(1) WAAS Avrg., EPE 6m, Satellites: 29 26 10W 28 09 08 17W 21

(2) WAAS Avrg., EPE 8m, Satellites: 26 29 09W 28 18 07 21 08

(3) WAAS Avrg., EPE 7m, Satellites: 26 09 29 18 05W 07

(4) WAAS Avrg. EPE 6m, Satellites: 09 26 05W 18 07 23 30W 28

At (2), You can have a good view over the village and the castle.

Between (2) and (3) You may wish to park your cachemobil near
N38º43.420 W07º59.037 and walk. You'll cross several streets where you can see
some small factories of Carpets of Arraiolos.

Cache Content:

• Scholl scissor w/automatic opening


• Hot wheels "born to surf!"


• A 32Mb compact flash card (not handled by DSAzevedo)


• Super vinil glue for flexibe plastic


• A Carpet of Arraiolos miniature


• Logbook, stash note, pen,


• Documentation in Portuguese and English

Don't forget:
"Cache in, trash out"

Clues:    decode

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