Hi,
I’ve got two sites to tell you about this week. They are close to each other but are very different. The first is a chapel on a hill overlooking a valley that surrounds it on all sides. The church has a congregation and is used regularly. However, visitors are welcome to drive up and enjoy the view (of course, you should respect the church members and not intrude on their worship services).
A group that is particularly interested in making the climb seems to be cyclists. Not just motorcyclists, but bicyclists as well. You will see the bicyclists on the road leading up to the church on beautiful days. I’m told they enjoy the challenge of the steep road. I don’t understand that at all, but I wish them the best. And I hope all the motorists on the road will treat them well!
The Santuário da Senhora da Graça de Mondim de Basto (C38M+HM Mondim de Basto, Portugal) was our first stop of the day, so the dogs were quite eager to explore and walk all around it. There were no signs posted saying the dogs could not be on the grounds, and they took advantage of that (as did several other dogs). The girls pulled Chris all around the chapel while I took photographs of the view and the buildings on top of the hill. Of course, we didn’t try to take them inside the church; the grounds were sufficient to keep them entertained. Opal and Onyx were not the least bit interested in the view, but I think you might be. It was awe-inspiring to stand up there and look at the world laid out at my feet.
Our second stop was the Miradouro da Pedra Bela (PR8W+8P Gerês, Portugal). Technically, there were several miradouros at the top of the mountain, but who cares. They were all beautiful sites with beautiful views. Well, the dogs and I cannot attest to the last miradouro, because I didn’t trust myself on the ‘stairs’, nor did I trust the dogs on the crowded deck at the top of the stairs. But Chris made his way up there and took a video of the surroundings, so none of us are truly missing out.
I hope the videos that were taken from the miradouros turn out special. The view from the mountain top down to the reservoir below was spectacular. I can see why Gerês is such a popular vacation destination. We were just lucky to get to it early this year, before the summer months arrived. We were able to get a primo picnic table near the edge where we could eat lunch*, and we could walk right onto the viewing decks without standing in line. We had a great time!
On another high note, I am officially through with my physical therapy. I have regained about 90% of my range of motion on my left wrist, and I am pleased with that. Of course, I need to keep doing my exercises so that I don’t lose what I have gained, but that is on me, not my physical therapist.
In addition to my arm, I have also been having difficulty with my heart. I finally got around to seeing a cardiologist, and he confirmed that my ‘occasional’ atrial fibrillation has progressed to where A-fib is my ‘standard’ and that is not good. I knew it wasn’t good. I have been having difficulty with dizziness and headaches and light-headedness. Adding all that to my right leg that comes and goes on me, and I have had trouble getting around and climbing stairs. But my cardiologist seems certain that I can be cardioverted with medicine, so I am taking new drugs now. Hopefully, this will be what I need!
Nola
P.S.: Both of the videos this week include the drives up the hills to each site, so don’t be surprised when they don’t start at the chapel or the miradouro. Give it time, we get to them. But the drives up to the sites were so interesting, we decided to include them. You will see bicyclists on the way up to the chapel and you will see where we had to stop and let a biker gang past us on a hairpin curve on the way up to the miradouro.
*Lunch was a treat. We had stopped by Café/Restaurante Nova York on our way up to the miradouro and picked up a few bifanas for us and the dogs. The ‘bifana’ is a traditional Portuguese sandwich made with pork. They are delicious and inexpensive (if you know where to get them).