BLOG: Our daily adventures,
Week 24: Briteiros to Cascata de Fecha de Barjas (Geres)
June 18th to 24th
- Day 162: June 18th: Briteiros to Povoa de Lanhoso - 15 km
Today, we've seen a new type of plants that the Portuguese love to grow like vine above their heads: kiwis ad libitum!
The gates of a very special "Castel" definitely owned by a French...beautiful poem as a message of the day:
And this humorous one to hang in your toilets:
A wise old goat is watching us from the lush forest of a private property.
Little barbosas on our way.
I am trying to find the tiny hole which deflates my mattress every day using the "soap with water" technique...I am supposed to see bubbles where the oxygen gets out...epic fail! After an hour of methodically applying soap along all the nooks and crannies of my mattress..no extra bubbling found! Very frustrating!!
The milky way and its constellations is painted on the pavement giving us a galactic path to follow.
It is pouring rain and I am about to slip on a slippery slope while trying to take a picture of our surroundings (actually of the shining object you can see here in the distance, which was, I presume, a glowing virgin Mary). I literraly fell on my knees at her very sight. On the top of the hill, we realized that the village was build on a giant rock...both beautiful and dangerous when covered by water.
We've luckily found shelter under a small roof, waiting for the heavy shower to stop.
The villages in the area have methodically turn their streets into charming cobblestones alleys...auf deutsch kopfsteinpflaster...The german word seems to underline the sequence of events that often happens when you slip on their wet surface: head-stone-bandaid...you hit your head on a stone and need a bandaid?
15 km done for a total of 2185+15= 2200km
- Day 163: June 19th: Povoa de Lanhoso to Parada de Bouro - 12 km
The rock formations in the area are impressive, as if giants would have played with them in some kind of stacking game.
Great idea! Using olive trees for pillars to grow vine.
Today was a succession of rain showers and short semi-sunny respite. We've walked from shelter to shelter...Just look at Casey's face expression in the first cafe we had a small break at...pure discouragement!
...and the contrast with his happy smile when, in Parada de Bouro, we've been invited to spend a night in the warmth of Maria Alice's little heaven of a home.
When we arrived in Parada de Bouro, the sun at last showed up, we sat on the attractive patio of a little cafe/restaurant held by a french/portuguese couple where a dozen of villagers were having fun. We met there a few locals and expats and got quickly involved in diverse conversations from one table to the other lead in either french/german/english.
When we arrived in Parada de Bouro, the sun at last showed up, we sat on the attractive patio of a little cafe/restaurant held by a french/portuguese couple where a dozen of villagers were having fun. We met there a few locals and expats and got quickly involved in diverse conversations from one table to the other lead in either french/german/english.
12 km done for a total of 2200+12= 2212 km
- Day 164 &165: June 20th and 21st: Exploring the surroundings of Parada de Bouro
- A morning with Maria Alice:
Maria Alice is showing me around her charming garden.
She insisted we should pick up fresh oranges from the top of the tree to make our own homemade pressed juice and also to bring with us.
Maria Alice is teaching us how to make your own schnapps: sugar cane, fresh cherries and 40 percent distilled alcohol...the fruits are soaking up the alcohol and need to be replaced frequently. She takes the opportunity of having our young arms to lift the heavy jars to do so...after months of incubation, the honey-textured liquor becomes soft and just delicious.
Maria Alice is trying each key on her key chain to open the doors of her old olive oil factory. Everything in there is still in good shape. Back in the days when it was still in function, the Villagers would come here and take turns, sharing the tools to produce their own olive oil.
On the other side still on her property, this banana tree is also hers.
The entrance of the small church at Parada de Bouro is paved with flowers. A tradition for the first communion.
Maria took us on a little trip on top of the mountain. There standing on the summit we found an old chapel and a swing surrounded by giant rocks.
Difficult to find a better frame to remember our generous host.
Traffic jam in the mountains...
The dam containing the waters of the rio Arado...a source of electricity for the villages and cities in the area.
- Two nights at Cor's place
It is Cor's turn to invite us at his place. Retiree from Netherland, he built his home here with strong granit stones 15 years ago and has been enjoying the quiet beauty of Parada de Bouro.
We realized that we've passed by his home on our way in, he has quite the colourful collection of ties hanging now along his fence..repurposing them to create a funny piece of art. A celebration of retirement when wearing a tie to work becomes just obsolete.
Lady Gaga and Kiko emptying their bowls at light speed.
We are so happy to have a real bed to rest our bones and a place to stay when outside it is pouring rain.
The next day, Cor took us on a guided tour to 2 beautiful places:
- A beautiful church and pilgrimage place in the mountains: Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Abadia. Its wooden ceilings are a piece of art by themselves. I enjoy the perfect acoustic of the sacritisty by singing a few songs a capella.
- A beautiful church and pilgrimage place in the mountains: Santuario de Nossa Senhora da Abadia. Its wooden ceilings are a piece of art by themselves. I enjoy the perfect acoustic of the sacritisty by singing a few songs a capella.
Crystal clear water of the spring nearby...watched over by another Virgin Mary.
The second place Cor wants to show us, is an old monastery converted into a fancy hotel/restaurant "Restaurante da Pousada de Amares". We are admiring how they very tastefully mixed the old and the new.
Casey's dreaming of being the bar tender here...a heavy stone door's leading to the cellar...liquors ready to be poured.
- Day 166: June 22nd: Parada de Bouro to Rio Caldo - 13 km
It is now time for us to leave, we are so grateful to have met this incredible man! We had great times together, roaming around the area, reinventing the World, playing cards and taking in Cor's life stories. We hope to see each other again someday..and this time, I swear, my poker skills will be better than the ones of a donkey.
Someone here is obsessed with time.
In the span of a few minutes, the street of the village we are crossing transformed itself into a river bed...luckily we found a roof to wait for the rain to stop.
In the villages of this area, this was and still is a small building to dry sweetcorn. It is elevated on stones pillars to keep the harvest above the humidity of the ground below.
15 km done for a total of 2212+15= 2227 km
- Day 167: June 23rd: Rio Caldo to Ermida - 7 km
Maria's schnapps is warming up our bones. It is raining cats and dogs but we've found the perfect shelter to stay dry with a good roof over our heads and tent.
We try different light installations for a little card game in the evening...I'm winning !
7 km done for a total of 2227+7= 2234 km
- Day 168: June 24th: Ermida to Cascata de Fecha de Barjas - 5 km
You're looking for a new way to to decorate your christmas tree? Try hanging pumpkins!
We were told that drinking a very acidic sparkling red wine from ceramic bowls is a tradition here in the North of Portugal.
This little cerbere of a dog was ready to bite...luckiky we had hiking sticks to keep it at a safe distance.
Cascata de Fecha de Barjas and its succession of inviting swimming holes.
5 km done for a total of 2234+5= 2239 km