Up Up and Away!

Cerro de Guilhim is just outside of Estoi and I would describe it as more of a small mountain than a hill!  It is approximately 313 meters from top to bottom, and for the first 20 minutes or so, it’s truly…..straight up! I had done this hike a few times in past years but always alone. Happily today I had Joanne huffing and puffing to keep me company!

The initial part of the trail winds though a small forest of Hermes Oaks and a few alfarroba (Carob). The trail is basically either small stones, that can easily slip and roll beneath your feet, or large boulders that require a substantial stretch to reach the next one. Happily the path was bone dry.

Once we made our way to the top we followed an old road/path that wound across the summit then finally discovered another path that we felt would provide us with a loop back towards the car. Happily it did as a half an hour or so later, we found ourselves out on the main road only a half a km or so from where we had started.

At one point I could stand in one place and simply by turning, I could see the entirety of Olhão, São Brás de Alportel, and Estoi. It was a moment of pure bliss to look down on it all from that perspective. If you look at the photo of Estoi, on the left side of the village you can see the pink Pousada. We live right behind it!

Once done we decided to have a look up and down a few of the tiny, winding mountain roads to see if we could locate an area we had seen from above that looked as if it could provide us with yet another wonderful walk for future hikes. We “think” we might have found it and I do believe it’s worthy of going back to check it out at some point.

A couple of shots that begged to be taken as we scurried about exploring the mountain roads.

And finally, as you probably have figured out, I love the graffiti. It’s frequently interesting, creative and in the most obscure places. Today, no exception!

Até a próxima vez.