Portuguese Winter: Part II

Our home for the second half of the trip was the Serra de Lousã and Octant Lousã, a restored palace in a small mountain town.

The indoor swimming pool and spa area

The common rooms felt very regal

Pontificating in our hotel room

We came here to visit the schist villages in the mountains. These old towns have been rehabilitated by the government and I could imagine renting one of the homes for an extended period of time in a tranquil setting.

Old stone trails we followed through the mountains

First views of a schist village. We made it!

To access the villages you can drive or hike. We started at the castle and did a 7 km loop. I'd been training on the treadmill since July to run a 5k, and was delighted to feel this pay off as I was able to tackle a very challenging terrain without too much difficulty.

Framing the castle

Start of the hike, feeling good

The start of the trail is in this castle

Feeling proud at the end of the hike

The most developed and active town by far is Talasnal. We stopped in a pub there for some hydration (peach tea and coffee) before moving on to other towns on the trail.

Yes, it really is this pretty

We made it to Talasnal!

Talasnal streets

Refreshments in Talasnal

Same pub

When we tried to go back to some of the other schist villages the next day the weather had taken a turn, so we drove to some Roman ruins instead. I was shocked at how sprawling the complex was, way out in the middle of nowhere.

Big Roman arch on a drizzly day

We then ended up back in Coimbra to visit the university palace, chapel, and library. The baroque Biblioteca Joanina took my breath away. We were only allowed to stay for ten minutes but I could have stood there and stared for hours. I don't have my own photos so this internet picture will have to suffice:

Yes, it really is this pretty

Pictures from inside the cathedral

A park in Coimbra near the university

At this point, our time in Portugal was wrapping up. We had a final day in Lisbon where we read in a coffee shop, wandered along a ridge in Old Town for harbor views, and wrapped things up with a final traditional dinner.

Poking around the old town in Lisbon

My overall impressions on travel in Portugal:

• What an amazing coffee culture.
• Portugal masterfully blends the old and new.
• It's a smaller country so you can go from the mountains to the beach to big cities very quickly and efficiently. It reminds me of Ecuador in that way.
• Portugal is so clean!
• The seafood based cuisine speaks to me.