Escape to that place you’d rather be

Fed by ancient mountain glaciers, the bright, clear water races down the mountain crashing against the rocks, surrounded on both sides by a verdant valley filled with stunning fields of flowers in all colors of the rainbow. Up on the hills, there are gorgeous stands of old growth trees, beckoning those who would explore the mysteries of the forest.

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you are but a half-day’s downhill walk from the next village, where the locals are planning a midsummer festival that promises to be a celebration of extraordinary wine, food from nearby farms, and dancing all night long. Where is this magical place? It’s Tintoque, of course.

Before you make travel plans, know this: Tintoque exists only in your imagination. As Peter Bouman says, it is the “mythical place that represents the somewhere that I would often rather be.” Maybe it’s in the south of France. Maybe it’s in the Spanish Pyrenees. Or maybe, he says, it’s the small towns of Southern Oregon where there are “people living contented lives sustained by the natural bounty of the farms and fields and enjoying the local wines made from the grapes grown in the region.”