Back Online

Our telephone (and internet) were out for 9 days. Yesterday (Saturday) a telephone engineer turned up in the afternoon and spent 3 hours looking for the fault. It transpired that damage had been caused to the telephone line further afield by people hunting. Anyway, it's good to be back online and being able to Skype our families.

Here is a quick overview of what we've been up to:

We went up into the Serra da Estrela just above Seia, to a pretty little village called Senhora do Desterro that has 5 chapels. From here we walked to Praia Fluvial da Caniça. We had the place to ourselves, but in summer this place must be brimming with people. Before we walked back we wandered down to "Buraco da Moura", a granitic cave. Jon was brave enough to venture inside and discovered that there seems to be quite a network of tunnels off the main chamber.



On another day we decided to go on a exploratory walk from Alvôco das Várzeas. We followed a caminho florestal for about 2 1/2 miles, all uphill, until we came to signposts indicating we could either continue on to Chao Sobral, retrace our steps, or tromp back down another caminho florestal to Parente. We chose to walk to Parente, that was about another 2-3 miles but all downhill, and from Parente we walked the final short stretch back to Alvôco das Várzeas along the road (and mostly flat). There were great views of the mountains, the valley and villages on the walk, but the first 40 minutes on the uphill stretch to Chao Sobral was pretty mundane as the trees lower down obscured the views.

We returned to Senhora do Desterro twice to explore the Mata do Desterro. The Mata provides 3 walks (percursos pedestres, PR1, PR2 and PR3). We explored PR3 and PR2 on two different days. We also did a small detour to Cabeça da Velha where there is a large granite rock that resembles the face of an old lady. The views were also really great.



The PR3 is the hardest and steepest, it takes you all the way to the top of the Mata, firstly through pine forest and then through a landscape of granite rock formations. Absolutely stunning views and landscape. We went on 24 January 2010, and the weather was fabulous. In contrast, when the next day we did the PR2 route, the weather was much chillier and there was a smattering of snow on the ground. There was a biting chill wind, though in the sheltered spots the sun was wonderfully warm. This walk was again through forest to begin with, and less steep than the PR3 route. Again, the views opened up to allow you to enjoy the fantastic scenery. The return path is mainly downhill/flat.



Being without the internet we made use of the free internet service at Coja library and Oliveira do Hospital. At Coja the computers are old and cronky and extremely slow. The computers at Oliveira were much better but you are not allowed to use the service at Oliveira without registering and being allotted a username and password. The "Monitor" at the Oliveira library speaks good English. The library at Oliveira is on the first floor inside the Casa da Cultura. To register you have to take a photocopy of your proof of ID, eg passport and fill in a form.

Several other things have happened in the past week worthy of mention:

Twig is back! Twig went awol when we went to the Algarve last December. Our landlady took Twig to live with her in a nearby village, the intention being that it would be a permanent move. But after a couple of days Twig ran off. We hoped she would make her way back to the cottage but after two months we'd more or less given up. And then a neighbour of our landlady spotted a little cat that fitted Twig's description near her barn. Twig is now safely ensconced back at the cottage. She's become very clingy, following us up and downstairs and insisting that she sit on our laps almost all the time (she's on Jon's lap as I am typing this). The poor little mite is half the size she was when we last saw her, but her fur is still luxuriously soft and clean and her eyes bright. It's good to have her back in town, though we are not counting on her to dispose of the new mouse who has taken residence!

The second thing is that we saw the second episode of Surivors on the tv on Tuesday night. There was this action scene where they run into an enemy gang and there is lots of chasing and fighting. And all of this was set in the grounds of the old HQ for West Midlands Fire Service in Birmingham! The new HQ is now a purpose built building a few miles down the road. On this footage, the nodding geyser who first appears is none other than Firefighter Tony Ball from Bilston Fire Station (E7)! Jon worked for the West Midlands Fire Service for 30 years and retired in May 09, and I worked for the Fire Service for 14 years. We both spent some time at the HQ either in the office block, or going up there for meetings etc. It was really weird to see it on the tv!

Weather wise - we've had a run of good weather from mid January onwards. Before that it was very wet, and now we get some glorious sunny days with frosty nights.

The only other thing to mention for now is that we have discovered "Sempreviva". This is a shop, not unlike Wilkinsons. We only wish we had found it five months ago! It's situated on the N17 near Oliveira, slightly offset, on the opposite side of the road, from Lidl.

Gripe gets a Grip?

Jon and I are both a little under the weather at the moment. Jon is over the worst of his heavy cold. Can't be flu (gripe) as there were no aches and pains or a fever. He now has a racking chesty cough that we have to try and shift. And then in the middle of the night on Saturday I started sneezing for Britain. Last week I was acting as Florence Nightingale and now Jon is doing his turn. He's just making us a potato and leek soup to have for lunch.

Re medicines. The supermarkets around here don't sell medicines or drugs, unless you want foot powder or antiseptic gels. For anything else you have to go to the farmacia. The nearest to us is about 5 miles away at Galizes (near the post office).

I managed to ask for some medicine for the gripe and for nasal congestion. I paid 4 euros for tablets but back at the cottage and a close inspection revealed that they weren't much stronger than the paracetomol we brought with us. As luck would have it we had brought some cough medicine with us, a few Sudafed capsules and some Lemsips. Then our landlady kindly offered to try and ask for something at the farmacia like Sinutab. Amazingly, she managed to buy some Sinutab. It cost 4.61 for 20 tablets but it's good stuff.

Yesterday I had the choice of lying in bed under sufferance (Jon was trying to get me back for making him rest while he was ill) or convalescing on the balcony in the gorgeous hot sunshine. Guess what won? It was like a hot summer day in the UK. Today it's overcast again but very mild.

Mudslide takes out Water Supply

Sensational stuff yesterday, here at the quinta! We have had lots of rain, 3 days solid probably. About midday yesterday there was a bang and a thud and then the sound of a geyser of water spurting down the garden and hitting one of the galvanised roofs. From the cottage windows we couldn't make head or tail of it. But closer inspection revealed that the concrete junction box for the mains water supply (plus meter) was now down about 10 feet from where it used to be on the track. It was now in the garden, upside down. And the water was trained across the garden.

Can we take all this drama on our very own doorstep?

Of course it meant that once the water in the pipes was gone we would be without tap water. We filled as many containers as we could. Our landlady brought water with her from the font. And for flushing the loo we could make do with buckets filled up with water from the butts.


However all that was unnecessary. The landlady and a neighbour did a great job of patching up the disaster area and getting us reconnected to the mains.

The bank where the concrete box used to be has disintegrated. The temporary fix is dripping water. And as they rigged up the meter again, we will be paying for any water leakage. Let's hope the camara (council) get it sorted out sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to come out and sort it.

Watch out for the next installment!

By the way, it's raining again today.

Central Portugal Album January 2010

Compilation of pictures taken during January 2010 in Central Portugal - link also on right hand side. Having to do this as the Picasa slideshow is not behaving itself and we can't display all the pics. A web album is limited to 500 pics per album.

Penela

Yesterday we went to Penela to explore a little. We visited the information centre and the lady there was really helpful and spoke some English. She gave us leaflets and a map of places to visit in the surrounding area.

We spent quite some time looking around the castle (free entry). There was quite a lot of it to explore, though there were some odd constructions/houses scattered about, that we thought might be left over from Christmas grottos.

The views from the castle were fantastic. In the distance we could see snow topped mountains that were part of the Serra da Lousa.



After Penela we visited a miradouro (viewpoint) to get a glimpse of a 25m waterfall called Pedra da Ferida (Wounded Stone). On our way there we noticed signs for a river beach higher up in the mountains called Praia Fluvial da Louçainha (pic below). We made our way there and were not disappointed. This place is a natural fresh water river beach on the mountain road from Campelo to Lousa and has the usual infrastructure of restaurant, toilets, picnic/barbecue area etc. Of course in winter it was deserted, the roads were icy and there was snow all around.



After visiting the river beach we headed home as we wanted to go a different route back to avoid some of the icy roads we had encountered near Gois/Lousa on the way out that morning.

Walking and A Little Bit of History

On Thursday morning we had a frost, but the sun was shining so we went out for a walk near to Penacova. We started off at Portela da Oliveira where there are ruined windmills and fantastic panoramic views. We could see the Serra da Estrela clearly with its snow topped peaks.



There is actually a geocache here but as it is a multicache and we have problems translating the clues from Portugese, we decided to leave it for another day. We have details of another walk in the area of Penacova (10km).

The walk took us through several villages and though there was a bit of road walking, most of it was off road. We struggled a few times though as the map we had taken from one of the information boards was different to the actual waymarkers on the ground. We sometimes risked deviating from what was calibrated on our gps because we figured the waymarkers would lead us to the same place, albeit by a different route.

Again we were privileged to see parts of rural Portugal that lie off the beaten track. It was so warm we eventually succumbed and took off our coats. When we returned to the car we went into the tiny cafe near the mills and enjoyed a huge mug of cafe meio leite (milky coffee) and it was delicious. The gentleman who runs the cafe was really welcoming.

All in all a lovely winter's day.

Saturday - it was another frosty night but the sun was lovely and warm. We went out geocaching and they all gave us glimpses of Portugese history.

The first visit was to a memorial of a horrific train crash that happened in 1985 at Beira Alta. The train line is single track and at the time communications weren't sophisticated enough to warn the train drivers of the imminent collision. The memorial site marks the spot near where the collision occurred. Many people died. It was a very moving place to be.



We then visited a site with some Arte Rupestre near Mangualde. The carvings were made in granite stone and were quite distinct.

The last two caches were to dolmens. The first one (Anta da Cunha Baixa / Casa da Orca) dates back to the Middle Neolithic Age. It is the largest and best preserved dolmen in Portugal. The location was very peaceful and rural.



The last dolmen (Anta de Carvalhal da Louça) was a lot smaller but there have been finds of quartz blades/arrow heads. This last site was in what must have been a really impressive landscape at the time of its construction. Unfortunately, there is a busy main road nearby though so it does take some imagination to picture how it must have been.

Today, Sunday, no frost but we have had a snow shower! Quite windy too. The snow has not stuck as it's several degrees above freezing.

Weather Forecasts

One of the problems we have experienced is finding accurate weather forecasts for Central Portugal. Interestingly, different sites contradict each other quite a lot.

Until a few weeks ago we were relying on WeatherBug, but the nearest tracking station seems to be near to Porto (supposed to be one at Coimbra but it never seems to work). And generally, we have found that the forecast from Porto doesn't genuinely reflect what happens this far inland.

Back at home in the UK we always use http://www.weather.com/ and we have taken to looking at this site here, comparing Coimbra, Viseu and Covilha forecasts to get an average idea of what it might be doing in the triangle in between them - ie where we are.

For the rest of this week WeatherBug is predicting a run of minus Low temperatures (-1, -4 and -5) and yet on the weather.com site the Low figure does not fall below 1 or 2 degrees Celsius for the same period.

From now on we will be relying on the Weather.com site but we still need to check on a daily basis as the outlook changes dramatically from one day to the next.

Grumpy Old Griffithses

Today we didn't wake up grumpy even though we fancied going out for a walk and the weather forecast was mostly for "precipitation".

We didn't let the weather get us get down though, as we had two tasks.

One: Get money from the cash machine (as when we tried the one at Lidl on Saturday 2 January, it wasn't working. That wasn't too surprising seeing as it was after the Bank Holidays). Two: Go to the main post office at Galizes AGAIN to see if is open to collect a parcel that we have been trying to collect since Christmas.

One: Lidl cash machine still out of action. We then drove down to Intermarche at Oliveira hoping that their cash machine was working. Thankfully it was. Trouble was, our timing was wrong and we turned up just as the senior school next door to the supermarket was emptying for lunch. This means the cafe at the Intermarche and the queues at the till are full of testosterone infused lads and giggling girls. We ask ourselves, we were that irritating as teenagers? Er....yep!

Two: Our visit to the the Post Office was a failure AGAIN as it was still shut. It has now been closed since 24 December! The card we had left in our post box on Christmas Eve to tell us to collect a parcel had some printed data on it about dates and times but we didn't fully understand it. So when we tried on the Monday after Christmas and the post office was shut, we were philosophical, ah, of course it was shut until...Saturday. Saturday came, Post Office still shut. Our card, at a guess, said it would be open on Monday (today) from 0900 hours. No, still shut...but sign on the door now saying it would open at 1400 hours. As you can imagine we were doubtful. If this Post Office ever opened again it would be a miracle.

So, all in all, by now, we were feeling pretty grumpy.

Anyway, the good news is that when we went back after 2pm the Post Office WAS open at last. There was a lovely long queue of people waiting to have some service. The girl tried to be pleasant but we weren't in the mood. We managed to strangle a "Boa tarde". Anyway, we retrieved our parcel successfully on showing Jon's passport, and managed to post some letters off to the UK. Cue fanfare!

Back at the cottage, there was a break in the rain. With the warm sunshine on our faces and the birds singing in the trees you could almost believe Spring has arrived.

Jon opened the parcel that had a Christmas card and lovely gifts from Laura and Graham. Grumps immediately gone. A ray of sunshine just when it was needed most.

New Year's Eve 2009

Another damp but mild day, interspersed with heavy showers. We went out geocaching about 0900 hours, armed with a packed lunch, and did not return until after dark. We then prepared and ate a hearty cooked meal with a glass of red wine and then snuggled down in front of the television to see the New Year in.

Friends had asked if we wanted to meet up at a bar to see the New Year in but we were tired, the roads were wet and slippy, and with the prospect of colliding with other alcohol infused drivers, we opted to stay home safe with the Wamsler warming the radiators.

By 10.30 hours we were lagging, the television failed to stop us from diving into a warm bed. But at midnight the valley came alive with the sounds of loud fireworks marking the transition into 2010. The hubbub lasted about 10 minutes and then we were both snoring again.

During the day we had visited several geocaches. The first was the "Prehistoric Circuit Fiais/Azenha" (Circuito pré-histórico de Fiais da Telha / Ameal) not too far from Carregal do Sal. It is an amazing place, the area littered with prehistoric burial chambers, art work etc.

The second cache was to Cabanas do Viriato where we learned that one of the streets was named after Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who helped thousands of people (mainly Jews) to escape Nazi territory. It wasn't until 1974 that the Portuguese Government acknowledged the actions of Aristides Sousa Mendes as heroic.

The third cache was at Caldas the Felgueira on the River Mondego. The water of Caldas da Felgueira helps patients suffering from skin diseases. It was discovered that the water can cure various types of diseases, such as asthma, bronchitis, muscle diseases, skin problems such as eczema, etc.

Then we visited another ancient burial site called Anta da Arcainha. Excavations at this site show that it probably originated from the neolithic period, but was also used during the Copper and Bronze ages. Though it has been plundered over the years, much of it still remains to give an impressive sight.

Finally we went to Lagares da Beira to do our final cache for the day. However, there was much activity in the small village with it being New Year's Eve. There were the massive logs in the square ready to be relit (from Christmas Eve), this is a custom in all the villages, a gathering point for the community to celebrate together. Dark clouds that had followed us as we moved from one site to another now caught up with us and we heard the first signs of thunder. Back home to light the fire, prepare our hearty meal, and snuggle down on the sofa, for the eve of the new year.