Continuing very slowly up the coast. On the way to Aveiro we saw a sign by the road and stopped at the Castelo Montemor o Velho, a large old fortress dating from the 10th century. We enjoyed walking around the walls and viewing the inside of the church which was initially built in the 11th century but substantially modernized and improved in the 15th.
Aveiro is a larger city than we usually visit, and driving in to our accommodation was a bit of an adventure. We made a few wrong turns but eventually arrived at the parking lot our host recommended, a five-minute walk from the apartment. Aveiro is just starting to develop tourism. There are lovely canals in the city (we passed on the boat rides) and we enjoyed walking around to check out the old buildings. The pedestrian bridges over the canals are decorated with colored ribbons.
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| Check out the fancy presentation on this cake. |
After spending an afternoon and evening exploring the city of Aveiro, we decided to visit a nearby wooded area on the coast north of town known for hiking, Sao Jacinto. What we hadn't realized is that to drive there is an hour around an inland lagoon. On arrival we checked in at the visitor center before hitting the trails. They told us that, due to recent rains, the trails were flooded but we could try if we wanted. We made it in a km or so with no problems, but at trail junction we encountered four wild dogs who really didn't want us there. Lots of barking, growling and snarling. We picked up large sticks for protection. The dogs threatened but didn't get too close. Soon after that the trail was truly buried by a lake, so we had to walk back by the dogs again. We took another trail (away from the dogs) which hooked up to a dirt road and eventually out to the beach. Walked up the beach a while, then returned on some other trails. We hit flooded areas a couple more times, so there was a lot of back and forth, but eventually we made it back to the car. Only took 45 mins to drive back to our place in Aveiro.
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