Tuesday 29 December 2009

Waterfalls, Picnic Sites, Mediaeval Bridge and Veggie Sausage

Yesterday it was surprisingly warm. It must have been about 18 degrees celsius, though the sunny spells were interspersed with goodly rain showers.

Off out geocaching we went. First to Barriosa where there is a river beach and a waterfall, weir and restaurant. There has been a fair bit of rain over the past few days/nights and the waterfall was impressive.



After Barriosa we visited Vide where there was a picnic site hidden away up through the lovely narrow streets in the village. The start of the T1 waymarked pedestrian walkway through the Serra da Estrela begins at Vide, though we couldn't see any obvious starting point. On our gps we did have one of our calibrated maps though and managed to find where the walk would lead out of the village.

After Vide we went to a mediaeval bridge at Alvoco das Varzeas. The bridge is in good condition and the marks made by the stone masons perfectly preserved. Near the bridge we found another waymarked pedestrian walkway but with no information board etc we have no way of knowing where it leads to, whether or not it is circular, and how far it goes. We may try and follow the path for a couple of hours to see where it goes and then retrace our steps if necessary. Also at the bridge is a picnic site that must be a real magnet in the summer.



And on a different subject altogether - We have been experimenting with vegetarian sausage/burger recipes. You can buy tofu and soya products here, but the processed veggie fare is very expensive. We have found several recipes on the internet and are adapting these to give them more of a kick. One of the recipes is more labour intensive but is lovely with mash and peas and gravy. It consists mainly of cheese, mustard, onion, mixed herbs, breadcrumbs, and then floured egged and breadcrumbed on the outside. These are then gently shallow fried. Another recipe is from soya mince, contains thyme, sage, turmeric, coriander, stock, mustard, Marmite, and eggs, and is easily shaped into patties for sticking on a bun with fried onions, mustard and HP sauce. Hmmmmmm delicious.

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