A little stone house in Branda da Aveleira

I am standing beside a cow pie in the only spot with any cell coverage in our village. Just moments ago Gord had to have a signal so that he could continue his 349th consecutive streak learning Portuguese on Duolingo.

August 1, 2015

Yesterday was was the toughest day so far on the trip. Starting from an elevation of 120 meters we climbed up to over 1000 meters a few times before finally arriving at our little mountain house on the edge of the Peneda-Geres National Park. “No one cycles up here” our host remarked, as she unloaded bread, meat and cheese to stock our larder: a nice addition to the groceries we lugged up here. We are staying in a place called Branda da Aveleira, which would be a ghost town if it had not been reclaimed as an Aldea Turistica. Many of the old seasonal herder’s cottages have been restored and are now popular tourist rentals. So popular, in fact, that some new “old cottages” are being built near by. We are on the edge of some very dramatic scenery. Our hike this morning took us up over the heather clad hills to some stunning views into the park.