Hi,
Sorry for the weeks without a post. We haven’t actually done anything lately, so I didn’t see the need to bother you. Nothing going on, just in the doldrums. But, we had to shake it off and get out yesterday, seeing as how it was Mother’s Day as well as Opal’ birthday. Something had to be done to celebrate both!
After a consultation, we decided that Opal’s birthday must take priority. So, we hopped in the car and headed up to Aveiro (the canal town where we enjoyed a Christmas Market a few months ago). Chris found three different dog parks on the map near Aveiro, and we thought touring them would be the best birthday for a wonderful husky. Plus, we would all enjoy getting out and seeing something new.
Sunday was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the temperature was perfect. With Aveiro being on the ocean, the breeze was enough to keep us comfortable even while walking in the sun. Perfeito!
Our first stop was at Parque Canino Caminho do Praião, also known as ‘Parque canino da Gafanha da Encarnação’ on Google Maps, but the sign at the park said ‘Parque Canino Caminho do Praião’ so I am sticking with that (J757+CX Gafanha da Encarnação, Portugal). I have to say, this park made me so very happy. I will be writing an excellent review for it. The park was clean, had poop bags (many parks have a holder for poop bags, but they are always empty), there were plenty of agility structures for the dogs to play with/on, and the view was incredible. There were no water fountains in the dog park, but I can forgive them that. We always carry our own water for the dogs, and maybe being so close to the ocean makes fountains rust easily? I don’t know, and I don’t care. The view overruled that.
The park abutted the Aveiro Lagoon. Honestly, it was just a few feet away from the lagoon. The dog park had an entrance from the road and an entrance from the trail that skirts around the lagoon. This is great for folks who live there and can walk around the lagoon, stop and let the dogs off leash to run around the park, and then back on the lagoon trail to home. It was also nice for us. We let the dogs run around the park and then took them on a short walk around the lagoon. Fresh air and sunshine went a long way to driving off my habitual ennui. I highly recommend this dog park…even though there were no other dogs there for Opal to play with. But we had promised her another dog park, and off we went in search of new friends for the birthday girl.
Not far away (5.8km away per the map) we found Parque Canino de Ílhavo (J84G+Q4P, Ílhavo, Portugal). We crossed a bridge over the River Boco and the dog park was on the right, nestled inside a bigger people-park. The view from this park could not rival the view from the first park, but I can confidently say that most parks would struggle. But this park did have its own charm. It was constructed in much the same style as the other park. Full of agility equipment and long enough for Onyx to enjoy running after the ball. Both parks utilize a shorter wall than usual, which could be a problem if your dog jumps. But our girls did not try to get out of the parks. This park also did not have fountain water for the dogs. I’m not sure if water is not routine in all the Aveiro-area dog parks or not. I’ve been to parks in the outlying areas of Portugal that don’t have water for dogs, but usually the parks inside the urban areas have access to water lines and they run those lines to the dog parks. But maybe Aveiro water authorities just don’t think they are wanted or needed? Was it just not a consideration?
Anyway, we headed for the third park. Neither of the first parks had other dogs for Opal to play with. This is unusual, seeing as how it was a beautiful, week-end day. But we hoped the third park would have dogs. We drove to Parque Canino da Forca-Vouga (J9Q5+52 Aveiro, Portugal), but there was no one else there so we didn’t stop. Plus, we weren’t sure where to park to get to the park. We began to think that Sunday afternoon was not ‘dog park’ time for Aveiro-ans, so we decided to change tactics. We were right near the main canal, so we drove on and parked there. It was not an ‘off-leash’ place for the dogs, but at least Opal could flirt with passersby and get plenty of oohs and aahs and ear scratches. I think she was happy with our choice.
Not bad for a day out, in my opinion. We didn’t live up to our promise of three dog parks for the birthday girl, but I think she was satisfied. She and her sister slept most of the way back home. Tired and happy. If I hadn’t been driving, I’m sure I would have joined them.
Nola