After two weeks of being confined to the condo, we finally got out to see the countryside on Monday. We started by taking care of business at our bank and then proceeded to head towards a restaurant with outdoor seating and good reviews. What the reviews did not tell us was that this restaurant was several valleys over and that we would drive up and down mountains to get to it…or not. We made it very close, and then the Google Maps lady told me to turn right on a road that led off the ‘main’ road at a 45-degree downward slope. In addition, the connection between the ‘main’ road and the side road was about a foot off, so I couldn’t risk taking our car (Ford Focus) down that road due to undercarriage worries. So, we didn’t go to that restaurant.
Regardless, we passed lovely scenery and empty roads, so we pulled over several times just to look and wonder. Of course, I have attached pictures and will follow this email with more emails with more pictures.
The granite mountain scenery is Penameda (41°59’05.1″N 8°15’49.6″W), a rocky mountain surrounded by greenery-covered regular mountains. It was interesting to turn a corner and see it there. We got out and walked around on some easy-to-reach rocks. The dogs loved it. Chris took a panoramic picture where you can see the tree-covered mountain on one side and the exposed-granite mountain on the other side. Plus, me and the dogs in between.
Further along we found a different restaurant next to Castelo de Lindosa. The food was good (the pups and I ate grilled pork, but I didn’t take a picture of it) while Chris had fish and Jamey had steak. Then, we drove to the castle. The dogs and I couldn’t go inside (I wasn’t banned, the dogs were) and Jamey just didn’t feel up to walking around a castle without the correct shoes, so the four of us waited outside and Chris went in to take pictures. He also flew his drone up and got a video. It is in the Videos folder on this website.
Next to the castle is a field of what I call ‘Burial Bungalows*’. They are little buildings set on rock stilts. I don’t know why. We aren’t below sea level, so I don’t understand the need to have the crypts four feet off the ground. But they were interesting. I marveled at them while I marveled at how narrow the road I was on (the road that leads by the castle) was getting. I took a picture of how quickly it narrowed as I waited for Jamey and Chris to snap a few pictures. When I worked up the nerve to continue forward, I realized that the narrowing had not completed. I found myself twisting between stone houses with barely an inch or two to spare on either side of the car. I got plenty of encouraging words from Chris, and I hate reversing, so we continued down this narrow path until it eventually opened onto a real road that was plenty wide-enough for one and a half cars to drive down. No scratches on the car! Unfortunately, I was too busy looking at all my mirrors and inching forward that I did not remember to take a picture. Maybe next time, and there will definitely be a next time. This is not the first time I’ve been in this situation.
So, a wonderful day. A four-hour trip (per Google) took us ten hours to complete, but who’s in a hurry? Not me! I’m retired.
Back in the real world, we are still set for Chris to go to the hospital for surgery next week. He shows up by 6pm on Monday night, has surgery (reportedly) at 8am Tuesday morning, and then stays in the hospital for ~5days or until the surgeon approves his release.
Later,
Nola
EDIT: I have learned that the Burial Bungalows are actually granaries. They are called ‘Hórreo’ and are used to store grains, not remains. That makes sense with them being off the ground (to keep rodents and rot out). Totally unnecessary for bodies to be interred above ground in the mountains. No threat of flooding here!