Michelle: One of the adventures we planned with cousin Elsa was a salt mine tour in Loulé. Andrew visited the mine back in 2023 and found it so intriguing that he recommended another trip. Jorge and his friend visiting from Lithuania had both wanted to see the mine for years, so we made reservations for a party of 5 and were on our way.

When you arrive, you need to be outfitted with a miner’s hat and lamp, then you are divided into small groups for a long, harrowing descent in a very small noisy elevator. If you are in any way claustrophobic or have anxiety in elevators you seriously need to skip this tour since you will find yourself over 750 feet underground when you arrive at your destination. Being the horror film fanatic that I am, I immediately felt part of an ensemble cast in an extremely unsettling movie and I loved every minute of it. This excursion was excellent because it appealed to my science loving college days, fondness for caves (we visited the Oregon Caves multiple times when we lived there), and obsession with spooky films.

The bonus of this particular salt mine is that there are several art installations on display in various chambers throughout the mine. Much of the art is inspired by Barbara, the Patron Saint of a multitude of things ranging from miners to mathematicians. In 2023 Andrew viewed an extensive Saint Barbara collection of paintings and sculptures which wasn’t included in our 2024 tour. On the previous tour Andrew learned that the items were from a private collection belonging to a professor, whose family and friends had gifted him with copious Saint Barbara memorabilia over many years. Both tours included a display of 12 paintings by artist Klaus Zylla, his contemporary perspective on Barbara’s life. Andrew felt that since we hadn’t explored the first collection of Saint Barbara artifacts, it would be difficult to fully appreciate Zylla’s paintings. During the 2024 tour we saw a much smaller art installation inspired by ecology and preserving the world’s oceans which Andrew hadn’t previously seen.

As you wander through expansive caverns you see sculptures carved into walls, some started and never finished by miners who used to work there. Guides share geological facts and show off rusting, pitted equipment that once assembled underground is left there even after it no longer functions. Descriptions of month long salt mine health treatments make one wonder how stir crazy you might get if you spend enough time in the chilly depths. I couldn’t stop imagining different horror film plots that would be perfect in the dark otherworldly mine: a serial killer miner, an underground vampire coven, terrifying hauntings, lost children, cult rituals, the options are endless.

Our tour guide mentioned that they are still experimenting with how to use the expansive space. They had recently held an underground concert and were considering hosting other events. I was equally fascinated with thoughts of spending fancy heeled evenings underground and terrified by thoughts of that damn elevator breaking. There must be a commercial elevator somewhere that could be used in an emergency? How long can we live underground on catered party food and canapés? Do we only have access to wine? How many portable toilets are down here?

We had the option of bringing home a chunk of salt rock and I chose a large piece since we didn’t have to lug it home via plane. Shortly thereafter our tour was over. Once again we split up into small groups to make the slow ascent via creaky elevator back to daylight.

Although I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get a chance to see the larger Saint Barbara art display, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Loulé salt mine and highly recommend it for anyone with nerves of steel and a curious mind.

Andrew: I took some shots of the private art collection on my earlier trip. The story of Saint Barbara is crazy and worth a read, it also puts some of the disturbing art into perspective.