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| View from our hotel in Geres, Outeira, Portugal |
When we travel we like to be spontaneous, so when people recommended the Peneda-Gerês National Park in northern Portugal, we said, why not? We'd rented a car so it was just a matter of finding the right highway and heading north for 300 miles. Gerês in early April is a cold, harsh, stony, inhospitable place with an austere beauty that we found captivating. Little signs of spring reveal the promise of new life and a softer beauty in the coming months. Everything's made of granite: roads, homes, balconies, fences, even
mailboxes! Even the fenceposts on cyclone fences! It's like Flintstoneville! Evidence of humans from 6000-3000 B.C. have been found, so clearly there are ways to adapt--as evidenced by our amazingly well-appointed hotel, Vista Bella do Gerês, where we stayed for only 25 euros. Our dinner was fantastic-- fresh fish, potatoes and other vegetables, creme brulee, and a delicious local wine! The next day we had an
unforgettable hike to a centuries-old ruined monastery along an icy rushing river and visited a
nearby waterfall.
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| How can I edit the scene?!! |
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| One of many villages we passed |
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| Common room & wines casks, Vista Bela do Geres |
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| Strange rock formations, Geres, Portugal |
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| Wild & wooly ponies, similar to those in cave paintings |
I'm glad you are getting to paint! All the info you jot down will germinate and grow over time.
ReplyDeleteHi Casey: It's really exciting to see things I've never seen before--being a stranger in a strange land--and I look forward to developing these ideas.
DeleteOh Sarah, what an adventure! Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie! It is so stimulating to be in "survival" mode--not literally, but in the sense of having senses acutely heightened.
ReplyDelete