writing and hiking in the sun
Portugal is a great place for walkers, particularly during the winter when it is generally mild and sunny. Spring and autumn are also good for hiking.
There are plenty of way-marked walks, ranging from long-distance trails like the Via Algarviana and the Rota Vicentina in the Algarve and the Portuguese Way from Lisbon or Porto.
Northern Portugal is more mountainous and is home to the Peneda-Gerês National Park, while the Silver Coast and Algarve provide hikers with some spectacular coastal scenery.
Inland, there are cork forests, eucalyptus groves, white-washed villages, lakes and rivers.
Despite this being our third Christmas in the Algarve, I still have to pinch myself when I gaze out of the window at blue skies and sunshine. Incredibly, the BBC weather was promising temperatures of around 17 degrees today. And … Continued
One of the most enjoyable things about hiking is the interesting people we meet along the way. Not all are fellow hikers, of course, some are locals going about their daily lives, others may be visitors who have stopped to … Continued
It was probably just as well we’d gone to bed at such a ridiculously early hour (8.30pm) because the clocks went forward last night and we might otherwise have overslept. After a pleasant but unimaginative breakfast of warm bread rolls, … Continued
Who could have guessed that the Algarve weather would have gone downhill so rapidly just as we were anticipating the warm sunshine of spring? With one storm swiftly followed by the next, it was beginning to look as though … Continued
