In a land and a far away time, there lived the beautiful Princess, Monchique. More than anything, this pale-skinned maiden with dark, flowing hair loved to gaze upon the snow-covered hills that her father ruled.

It happened that one day the Northern King, welcomed to his rambling castle a certain Moorish Monarch from a land called Algarb, meaning "west". This benevolant ruler brought as gifts from his western land fine wines and oranges; and he demonstrated for the high northern court how precious oil could be extracted from the fruit of the olive tree.

The Moorish King was immediately impassioned with the lovely Monchique and he asked the King for her hand. And so Monchique was royally wed and taken to the land of the west -- the beautiful Algarve -- where never a flake of snow had ever been seen.

Alas, after a year had passed, the homesick royal bride Monchique pined once more for the snow-covered hills of her native northern land; and soon she began to waste away. Her husband, distraught, was desperate to make her happy and well. Just after summer of the second year, he commanded that thousands of almond trees be planted all over the Algarve.

Several more summers passed; and Monchique was no better. At last, one February morning, the tenderhearted King took his lovely bride to her window. In every direction, her eyes fell upon a snow-white carpet over the land. The kingdom of Algarve was covered with a blanket of beautiful almond blossoms.

Tears of love and joy filled her eyes, and ever so quickly, Monchique recovered. In thanks and celebration, the King named the wildly flowering granite mountains across the valley for his beloved wife, and the two ruled happily ever after in the Kingdom of Algarve.

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