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.