Saturday 20 May 2017

Green Serra da Estrela and its glacial valley

Travelling in Portugal with a rucksack on my back was something I have been longing for a while. There is a variety of landscapes and interesting cities to visit and diverse food to try. There is also under inhabited regions to explore and mountain trails mainly travelled by shepherds and their sheep. One of these places is Serra da Estrela and its glacial valley. The walk started at around 11am with a shining sun. We went through Covao da Ametade, a badly drained depression in the glacial valley. We started climbing up in Cantaro Magro, and then we walked and walked, we passed by Lagoa dos Cantaros and we started to speed up after missed the turn of the trail (it did not help to have only half of the map with us). We arrived at 7pm down in the valley, having another hour to walk through it and to find a way out to the car park. We left the valley to the main road at 8pm when it started raining the first rains after 4 months of summer. We felt we underestimated the power and difficulty of this mountain but the sensation of having survived was good. - Next time with a full map.

No comments: