Up to the River Below

 On our road north the view is changing. When we look up we no longer see storks on sticks but osprey, vultures, and the odd flock of lapwings swirling above our heads. It’s getting a little more mountainous and a lot more ‘rivery’. And there was a random woman walking beside the road with a large plastic bucket on her head - no hands.

Easy walking

Does this look like two turtles kissing to you?

Yesterday’s route started out as very relaxing as I calmly watched the cork fields slip by. But then - the road got twirlier - and thinner - and more full of gigantic trucks loaded with massive logs bearing down on us from in front and from the rear. I must say it’s a tad terrifying when you come around a bend and see a big blue truck almost on your side of the road. Thankfully Graham’s driving was very calm and measured and the scary bit was only for the last 20 or so kilometres of the drive.

And of course we’re still on the Compostela

The entrance to the town of Vila Velha de Rodão was dusty from roadworks and, of course, we got the red light for the one way traffic system as we were still on the extremely high bridge. EEEEEK! Surprisingly the parking area for the van was down a steep hill that took us directly to the peaceful and attractive banks of the River Tagus. It was exciting to find that this area is famous for its archaeological finds and petroglyphs. The museum is currently closed but we remembered we’d visited quite a few years ago so we  simply enjoyed walks by the river and Graham posed with a few Neolithic individuals (albeit cartoons).

The area is well known for its fauna as well. We didn’t see any of the otters, cobras, or mongooses (Mongeese?) that live in the area but Hugo met an unpleasant collie who tried to nip his heels.

Today we drove further up the mountain to a spa town, Unhais de Serra. There is a river running through the town that, in summer we think, is blocked off in certain sections to turn it into swimming areas. I don’t think I’d like to use the diving board at this time of year. Not sure where we’ll end up tomorrow.

Looks dodgy any time of year to me