Who Moves to Portugal?: Tour de Portugal Norte: Part 2: Peneda-Geres National Park

With the sand quickly slipping through the glass of our time here as expats in Portugal, we realized that we were due for one last big adventure around the beautiful country to see some of the sights we really have been hoping to at least brush up against before heading back to the US. During the first week of May we set off on a road trip North to see as much as we could in a few days...

Our cozy charming stone rental

After stopping in Tomar & driving "the most beautiful road in the world," along the Douro river (see the last post) we made it to the middle of the Peneda-Geres National Park, where we would spend the next 3 days exploring. We stayed in a beautiful AirBNB rental near Lindoso which had clearly been turned from an old stone home into a luxuriously modern 2 level efficiency. A short walk down the narrow street gave a nice view of the rolling landscape, and one of the many "espigueiros" that you can find in Northern Portugal (as well as Northwest Spain, where they become Horreos). When I first saw an espigueiro, I figured it for some sort of household mausoleum, as most are adorned with crosses. It turns out that they were used to store corn (as in maize) once that crop began to be cultivated in the area. So... there's your fun fact for the day.

The espigueiros down the way from our rental

Finn's first hot springs!


More espiqueiros

Our first day we ventured out on a driving tour of the northern part of the park (the Peneda side). With help from our renter, we made our way to a free public hot springs set right next to the Rio Caldo on the Spanish side of the park (near Lobios). It was a beautifully warm and sunny day, so a quick wade was all we needed to feel good about the visit, and set us on our way.

Next, we headed north in search of hiking, meandering past Castro Laboreiro & Lamas do Mouro. We found some lovely fresh forests and streams to wander through somewhere in there.

Next up we made our way to Senhora da Peneda. I'll let the pictures below tell that story. Nice.

Beautifully set church in Peneda with a large granite face behind and the cascading waterfall. Nice choice.

Our next day we made our way through the southern part of the park (the Geres side), dodging big old cows in the road as we went. We took a hike along an old Roman road starting at Portela do Homem on the border of Spain & Portugal, dodging raindrops on the way out, and enjoying finding the little bits of wildlife along the way the we found when we kept our eyes open. We finished our tour of the park with another winding ride down to the other town which the park was named for. See the last picture for what I think is truly the most beautiful road in Portugal.