In the last post, we said we might find a waterfall with Alfie. well, we found one and yes we paid a visit to a fantastic POI (point of interest), but more about that in a moment.
The weather was definitely turning a corner in Portugal, at least where we were house-sitting near Tomar. Having said that we have experienced a mixed bag of grey days and drizzle, to sunny and gloriously warm days; business as usual.
Alfie was quite the demanding dog for the outdoors. He constantly let us know when he wanted to be out on walks, which was nearly all the time. We were happy to accommodate his desires to be out and about. It is such a lovely part of Portugal. As we were getting used to the area, we were extending the walks and trying out different tracks to see where they led. The only time we tended not to wander off the roads, was on Thursdays and Sundays which were hunting days. We also came really close to wild boars again on a couple of our days. One was snuffling just behind some trees right next to us, but we clapped our hands and made some noise and that seemed to do the trick. There was also a group eating in a vine field at the bottom of the village, but again quickly dashed into the woods when they heard our gasps of surprise.
We also took Alfie in the car to see how he would cope with the travel. For that experiment we picked a nearby river beach at Agroal. It was not far, and we knew he had been before. He seemed happy enough in the car. On the way there he was in the footwell, but he was much happier when we dropped the back seats and harnessed him in the back.
Agroal, was very quiet, and we made the best of a grey day exploring the wood walkway along the river and venturing further up the valley until the footpath became a bit rocky and slippery. regardless, Alfie was loving it, and so it was all worth it in the end. The area was full of wildlife too. We saw (and for the first time, heard) a large heron. We both agreed they probably use the call for pterodactyl’s in the dinosaur films! Alfie nearly pulled us over when he caught sight of a red squirrel too. It looks as if the wood walkways are being extended there as well. They were installing a new walkway up the hill opposite the river beach. That section looks like it’s going to be built up to a viewpoint over the ravine. It will be interesting to see what it is when we come back again.
The following day the weather improved even more, and Alfie was happy in the car, so we ventured a bit further. A thirty minute drive from the village was a craggy ravine with a river beach. There was a cantilevered viewpoint above the valley where the wooden walkway takes you down through the rocks. (The portuguese really love a good wooden walkway!). Alfie loved it there, especially along the river at the bottom crossing the bridges and dipping his paws in the water. There is an extended walk crossing over the river, up to a schist village, but we have left that for another day, as we decided definitely to return at some stage.
Even though it was a bit of a lung-buster getting back up the the car, it was totally worth it. Such a beautiful spot. And continuing the theme of exploring with Alfie, we decided the next day, to take it up a notch and do a death defying walk along a section of medieval aqueduct. Originally around 6-km long and having 180 arches, the Aqueduct of Pegões was built in the 17th century. This monumental work was designed in order to supply water to the Convent of Christ – linking the Convent with the village of Pegões on the outskirts of Tomar, where there were four natural springs. The highest point is 30m above a road and has NO railing or wall to protect from the drop. It was quite the challenge, coming just after a year ago when Wayne suffered from a bout of vertigo and Annette controlling Alfie of short lead. Actually Alfie was probably the most confident of us all and made it look easy.
As we made our way back along the road, under the arches, looking up you realise that there was nothing to stop you falling! It really is more terrifying than any ride at a theme park and it’s totally free and no queues!
Our Portuguese Life 