Another magnificent hike, thank you Harald!
It was a scorching hot day, 25 degrees, and we opted to do the hike called Uphill, Downhill….with good reason, which was 13 kms. It’s good that we were wise and restricted it to that length of walk as by midday it was simply too hot to move at more than a snail’s pace.
The countryside was truly beautiful and the ever changing scent of the earth, flora, and the occasional chicken coop as we passed through villages…..was delightful. Rather than ramble on, I’ll let the photos do the talking.
This elegant old olive tree and what looked like the entrance to a root cellar.
This enormous bed of poppies was protected by this old stone wall and I think that, and the intense heat of the last few days, has helped them grow.
Gum cistus were cascading and dancing up and down every mountain side in every conceivable direction.
Harald checking his GPS and a part of our trail.
A section of trail that we had passed through.
Our first village of Ferrarias was completely abandoned
Beautiful blue narrow-leaved lupins
WE didn’t actually see the donkey but the sign was cute!
Abandoned and falling in but still beautiful
A cherry tree on the side of the road.
This old abandoned mine is a tourist site, it was thankfully closed so we had the path to ourselves.
Ancient buildings
The ground was dotted with these tiny beauties in a space of about 1/4 of a km. I haven’t any idea what they are.
A wild peony…..my first, and only so far this year.
I’ve tried to find the name of this in my wild flower book but I simply cannot. It’s quite lovely and the hillsides were covered in clusters of them, about 13 – 15 inches tall, scentless and many blooms.
Lavender is everywhere right now…….heavenly scented breeze wherever they are
We crossed the river in four different places throughout the hike……never got our feet wet once!
This smaller cistus, called a sage leaf cistus is quite bit smaller than the gum cistus and doesn’t have any of the burgundy.
A few vistas of the trail.
Beautiful countryside.
The river off in the distance.
More poppies, called common poppies.
We crossed this part with only a wet toe or two!
Loved this in a garden.
Harald had read about a woman in the tiny village of Pao Duro (Hard Bread) who sells cakes from her house. We located her and he bought himself a piece for dessert!
Two of my favourite foods…..turkey and guinea fowl!!! LOL
Another section of path
Our final crossing of the river
And our final destination, Vaqueiros.
I will remain forever grateful to my friend Harald for all the marvelous hikes this trip. They’ve not only been incredibly beautiful and enjoyable but they have also helped build my own confidence around hiking here in the Algarve, interpreting the signs (which are not always totally clear), and making the time to drive to find these trails.
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Marc and Randys Travel Adventures 
When I saw that you were in the Vaqueiros area I knew why it was so gorgeous. I love the open wildness of this region! Any idea when the Hot Bread & Cheese Festival is this year? As you know, it’s my favourite.
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Clearly you didn’t read yesterdays blog……….we were at the hot bread and cheese festival. I would have thought your ears would have been burning!!! Big Hugs
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How is it we can experience so many special moments in such a small area of the world.
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Couldn’t agree more. How fortunate we are.
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Really enjoyed seeing more of Portugal through your eyes than my two legs will ever allow me to do! Your love of natural beauty in the landscapes and the people is contagious! Harald’s dessert looked very ‘tasty’…hope it was as good as it appeared. Thanks for the poppies, Randy, your header photo is fabulous! Another wonderful hiking memory!
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We can get you out on a lovely smaller hike and you too will get to see all this loveliness up close.
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Your pictures are just stunning, Randy. Absolutely beautiful.
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Merci. It’s difficult not to take lovely photos with such a wonderful subject matter!
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