It is our Last week on this house-sit. We have loved the house at Mouronho, looking after Tan and meeting everyone here and on our travels. We must not forget the charming little town house in Coja too with its lovely plaza where we enjoyed many coffees and a few cold beers too.
We hope to come back and visit this place again, revisit some amazing places and discover some more, and of course meet all our new friends again.
It was a great start to the week too. Well it turned good, after a let down at the bank, who forgot to tell us we needed a letter that had been sent to our address, and not where we currently were! So we went back to explore the village of Avô.
It’s a very picturesque village nestled on the slopes of the river Alva a little further inland from Coja. Making our way from our car up through the tiny streets leading up to the castle, or what remains of it. From there you get some great views up each of the valleys that merge at the village and the bridge crossing the river. There was also great views over to the now empty river beach, but we decided to explore the area and take some pictures to get a feel how it would be when a bit busier in summer.
We are amazed at how empty the river beaches are after the oficial bathing season ends, even though the weather is still fabulous. The river levels are a bit lower due to the drought, and they have now artificially lowered the amount of water to these areas due to the requirement to keep the hydro electricity stations going. but having said that, some of the river beaches are still deep enough and warm enough to swim in.
We were not disappointed either. Because it was so quiet, we sat by the river and watched, herons, kingfishers and giant dragonflies all in a short space of time, it was incredible.
In fact the whole of the Alva valley is amazing and very picturesque. You just have to be in your A-game when driving. There are a LOT of twists and turns and hairpin bends. It takes a great deal of concentrating to drive alongside the valley or up any of the hills.
And there was plenty more to do aswell. The following day we were a bit further along from Avô at a place called Ponte das três entradas, or the bridge of three entries. We parked at the Alva Valley Hotel and walked along the valley to the next medieval bridge. Someone tried to drive a van up one section which was basically a footpath and lost traction with the van almost falling off the track into the river! We managed to squeeze by it though to complete the walk.
From there, it was up into the mountains. Near to the village of Barriosa is the Pouço da Broca waterfalls. This was a lovely spot with beautiful cascades of crystal clear water. There were loads of access to the waters edges and easy crossing at the top, where we took our sandals off to dip our feet in the cold pools.
There are a couple of restaurants there, but again strangely closed even though the weather was glorious? Even weirder we’re a lot of pumpkins dotted around the place. Some were huge too. From the car park there was a hike over the hills to another more remote waterfall at Poço Fundeiro. It was quite the hike too. At one point there was a pine tree that had fallen across the path. Wayne attended to pull it out of the way. However, he had stood on the side of the sheer drop. The branch snapped and he disappeared over the edge, but Annette who had already shouted it was far enough, was in the right position to grab his arm and saved him once again! We both managed to reach the waterfall in one piece and it was quite worth the effort!
It has always been good to get back to the house and let Tan take us on a walk of his choice. It will be quite sad leaving him, but no doubt his owners are chomping to be back here and with there precious furry boy again, and you couldn’t blame them!
We did enjoy some nice days just staying in too. There was one day we needed to let the builders have access to the house too. It was super important to the owners who have been waiting months for some certification, so we were most happy to oblige and just let them get on with their thing, but apparently it was all ok and they left happy, with a big thumbs up.
There was one evening we decided to eat out. Just a snack and a couple of drinks. When Wayne originally looked up the location of the sit, it was unusual to say the least to note a restaurant by the name of “The George &,Dragon” in central Portugal, so it was worth investigating.
It turned out to be another funny adventure ending up meeting some new friends.
But we will leave that story for the next blog…
Our Portuguese Life 