With our excursion to the east already a success, we now put our eyes on the Parque Natural da Serra da Estrela. It’s a good 2 hour drive to get there so we planned to spend a night in the mountains to fully immerse ourselves.

The drive through the small villages with orange and lemon trees full of fruits was delightful. Quite a lot of houses are for sale so we mused for a while about getting a quinta with an olive grove…you never know.

Before we entered the National Park, we stocked up on groceries and fuel, just to be safe. Coming from the plains, going higher and higher up the mountains was pretty cool already. We stopped at the first view point for exactly those views but it was too close to the road for a lunch stop. So we continued further into the park. Finding the perfect spot proved to be a difficult thing. The next official picnic area was pretty full with a busload of people. Thus, we backtracked a little bit and took a gravel road for a couple of hundred meters until we were just out of sight. Blue George had quite the adventure getting us there. We were happy with the place though it was really cold, when we got out of the car. Really cold. You-can-see-your-own-breath cold. There is no bad weather, just bad gear…we wrapped up in warm clothes and had lunch. Flo decided that since it was so cold, we needed a warm lunch, got out the cooker and fried eggs and sausages.

It made for an epic lunch. Number 3 had a lot of fun running around and examining the pine cones on the ground. One thing was clear after the stop though: We wouldn’t spend the night on the mountain. The altitude of 1600 meters meant that it was 4 degrees at high noon. This time, we really just didn’t have the gear (or the heart/nerves) to camp in minus degrees with Number 3. His nights have been bad enough lately without us adding “being cold” to the list of reasons why he wakes us up.

After lunch, we really enjoyed our drive through the National Park up until the town of Manteigas. The town is on a lower altitude already but was still too cold for us. We went in search of a café but couldn’t find one. Instead we bought baked goods for the road and continued.

The “rustic” camp ground in Gouveia, still an hour away, was our goal for the night. The way out was about as windy as the way in. Filled with great views and great roads for Blue George (and Flo).

At the camp ground, we took it slow. The interrupted nights took a toll on Flo and my energy levels.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•