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May 292017 Tagged with , , , , 0 Responses

North to Potes, Cantabria

From Montesinho, northern Portugal we moved through the rain to the mountains of Potes.  We couldn’t complain as this was the first rain we had experienced in over a month.

From the sparse mountains of Montesinho, over the border just ten minutes away, we travelled through countryside that looked very much like Waiouru!  Bare with only a few settlements and lots of gorse.  This soon gave way to rivers and green hillsides.

After a hot meal en route we came across fields and fields of wild daffodils just below Riano.   Not just little miniature alpine Daffs like we had seen on our hikes, but quite large ones similar to what we would grow in our gardens at home in New Zealand.  How amazing.  The rain didn’t keep us in the car long!  I’m sure the locals thought we were completely mad – but then that wouldn’t be the first time.

Potes turned out to be all it said in the guide books.  The perfect base for exploring the east side of the Picos.  We were here four nights and could easily have stayed seven if the weather had been better.  Luckily the next morning dawned fine, sunny and slightly warmer.  We drove to the Fuente De chair lift just before 9am – it’s only 20mins drive from Potes – and found ourselves the only ones there apart from the staff.  What a huge bonus.  We were the first on the mountain and had it all to ourselves!  Gentians greeted us the minute we left the buildings and by the time we had completed the short climb to the top the day was perfect and not a breath of wind.  So, so, so lucky.

The next five hours were spent drifting down the mountainside tripping from one patch of alpine flowers to the next, occasionally taking a breath to enjoy the splendour of the soaring peaks around us.

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May 052017 0 Responses

Montesinho – in the Portuguese mountains

Next stop was this mountain town only minutes from the Spanish border.  Montesinho was Portugal’s last chance to shine in the plant hunting department!   Portugal hasn’t been forthcoming with a raft of amazing plants.  Here and there we have scored some good ones but nothing like our trip to Croatia/Slovenia/Italian mountains.

Portugal is very much like Spain but with less plant variety we have found.  That is not to say that the countryside isn’t stunning – we’ve loved every area we’ve visited – but the plant range has been narrow.  There’s only so many mountain ranges of white cistus, purple lavender, white and yellow broom and pink Erica you can be thrilled about.  The extent of the lavender is incredible and during April to mid May it is in full flower and really it is an amazing scene with huge drifts up the road sides.  Pink and white Thrift (Armeria) too have been wonderful.   But precious plants have been few and far between.

Montesinho gave us the cutest little pale daffodil (N. triandrus) growing amongst the rocks at 1,500m, enormous pink Orchids and the rich blue of perennial forget-me-not – Omphalodes beside the streams.  As this is one of my most favourite plants it was a thrill to find.

The remote slate roof villages in this area are well worth the drive.  Many are mentioned in the Lonely Planet as being in a time warp.  Certainly the village that straddles the Portuguese and Spanish borders is one – Rio de Onor – set on a river we saw men scything the grass and ploughing with horses in the large communal vegetable growing area.  Yes – any woman I saw was wearing black.  I’m not sure they were all widows as suggested, but black hasn’t gone out of fashion in Rio de Onor for quite a few centuries!

Montesinho is a village of 45 souls – they share communal vege growing areas and most are well into their 70’s and over.  Set in a high valley (1200m) surrounded by groves of edible Chestnuts and above that wide hillsides covered in sweetly scented white flowering broom.

We had a day driving around similar villages and were treated with the sight of the huge Transmontano dogs guarding and moving the sheep.  Wolves have been reintroduced into these mountainous areas and to stop the villagers from shooting them (as they would obviously eat the sheep) –  These dogs have been reintroduced to many areas in a Government initiative to protect the wolves. After the wolves were reintroduced the Villagers were offered free puppies.  The puppies are brought up with the sheep and consider themselves part of the flock – hence they are happy to stay all day with their mates and protect them from predators.  It’s interesting the bits and pieces you learn of the local way of life as you travel around.

In this old village we stayed with a Dutchman – Robert – who has been here for the last 13 years doing up his hotel A Lagosta Perdida which was a complete ruin.  It is 800 yrs old, so had seen better times.  It now has 6 gorgeous bedrooms and every night you are treated to a beautiful meal cooked by Robert himself.  He also has a few paddocks in nearby Franca where 13 lucky rescue horses are living out happy retirements.  It’s been a joy to take a rest and enjoy our last few days in Portugal in this timeless, peaceful village. Tomorrow we go north to Spain and the Picos mountains.

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May 042017 0 Responses

The Douro Valley Drive

No trip to Portugal would be complete without a few days in the Douro. As we live in Hawkes Bay and love our wine, the Douro was a definite on the itinerary from the very beginning.  Many friends, and indeed customers at the Green Door had told us how beautiful this part of Portugal is. They were certainly right and we were glad we had given ourselves three nights to enjoy the upper end of the Douro – the Alto Douro. We chose Tabuaco as our base as it is not far from Pinhao but set above the river with great views across to the other side.   How many pictures of the terraces does a person need I thought after the second day.  The terraces of grapes are a bit like the sea.  People who live by the sea often say that no two days are the same.  Well, the same could easily be said about the terraced hillsides of the Douro.  Every hour the scene changes as the sun moves over them placing  shadows at different angles throughout the day. Both sides of the upper Douro are smothered in vines with pockets of olives to help with land stabilisation.  However, as it appears that the vines grow practically in rock! – the land is very stable.  So much more than in NZ.  There’s no way we could terrace hillsides like they have here for hundreds and hundreds of years.  It is indeed quite a sight and a taste or two of 25yr old Porto certainly helps it along.

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Apr 222017 Tagged with , , , , , , 0 Responses

Mertola – beautiful historical town

We chose Mertola as a base for walking and because of it’s historic interest – the Phoenicians were it’s first inhabitants followed by a succession of invaders.

The castle is set high on a hill guarding the last inland port on the Guadiana River.  It was from here valuable products such as gold and silver plus agricultural products were sent South to the Mediterranean

We loved our 3 night stay here at Hotel Museu which is a relatively new hotel built into the side of the hill and over the top of ruins from centuries ago.  Down our passageway there was even panels of glass where you could see the old foundations of ancient homes and these were lit up at night.  Very cool!

Our latest interest is dabbling in a bit of bird watching.  This works in very well with hiking and searching for rare plants as you are never guaranteed to find the plants or the birds – but usually find at least one of these as well as getting good exercise and usually fabulous views of the countryside – because if there is one thing we’ve learnt.  Spain and Portugal are NOT FLAT.  Whilst here we had great sights of Bonelli’s Eagles and Montagu’s Harriers, plus after seeing at least 1 billion purple Lavender stoechas – we saw a pure white one!

 

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