Exploring Parque Nacional Peneda-Gerês

Our next stop was Peneda-Gerês National Park for some hiking. It is in the mountainous north of Portugal, on the border with Spain. It was a bit warm (mid 80s) when we were there, so fortunately our hikes always involved some swimming opportunities and our hotel had a natural spring pool to cool down afterwards. We stayed in the town of Gerês which was centrally located for the hikes we went on.

Gerês

It turned out the day we got to the town of Gerês was their annual celebration of Santa Eufémia. They had a long parade of about 20 religious floats covered in beautiful flowers, including two bands, and led by horses. The whole town then followed the parade up to the town square and church for a celebration. The sticks that the float carriers have in their hands are used to prop up the float when the parade stops or when they need a break.

The town was lit up at night for the celebration.

Trilho da Cascata do Arado – Poço Azul

Our first hike gave us a glimpse of the high peaks of the park and took us to a blue pond for a swim. We got there early to stay ahead of the heat and crowds.

The pool was clear and cool. Great fun for a hike on a warm day.

Caminhos do Pão e Caminhos da Fé

Our second hike took us to the “Path of Bread and Faith.” It follows an ancient pilgrimage route as well as through and area where wheat was ground and bread was produced for the region. Diane is standing in the wagon ruts ground into the rock, next to a abandon griding mill, and near an aquaduct that brought water to the mills.

The hike had a variety of interesting scenery. Blackberries were in season so we snacked on them along the way. In the lower middle picture we had to pass by long-horned cachena cows that are unique to this region. Their horns look scary and we had to pass very close to a mom and her calf. But luckily they are very docile and left us alone. There was supposed to be a swimming hole off the trail along the way, but we couldn’t find it. So after the hike we drove to one the locals use near the trailhead.

The area is also famous for the old, granite grain store houses designed to keep out thieves and rodents. We saw them across the national park, but near Soajo there are a group of them together on a granite outcropping. In the upper right picture Diane is standing next to the Soajo pillory, which is unusual since it represents a man with a loaf of bread on his head. The story goes that this pillory reflects the rule that strangers were only allowed to visit a town as long as it took for a loaf of bread to cool.

Sete Lagoas

Our final hike was to the Seven Lagoons, and it turned out to be our favorite of the three. It had great views of the surrounding mountains with an amazing swimming experience at a series of granite ponds cascading down a valley.

Along the way we saw a herd of wild Garrano horses that are unique to the region. We also saw a wolf trap (left picture below) made of V shaped rock walls with a circular trap at the bottom.

At the top of the hike we reached the seven lagoons. We swam in many of them; no pictures of us in the water as we were rock hopping from one refreshing pool to the next. The whole area was amazing, and it was a fun hike.

The Journey Continues

We really enjoyed hiking in Parque Nacional Peneda-Gerês. The scenery was great and we enjoyed having so many options to swim in the hot weather. Our next stop was Coimbra, where one of the oldest universities in Europe is located.