The white needles of the Isle of Wight

The needles are a tourism attraction in the Isle of Wight, located in Alum Bay. Apparently the name of these rocks made of white chalk was originated from a fourth rock with a needle shape called Lot's wife and which collapsed in a storm in the 18th century. Getting a 24 hour bus ticket to visit the island is a good way of reaching most attractions without having to rent a car. It takes ages but it is worthwhile.

Grey sky in Belmonte

Together with Monsanto and Sortelha, Belmonte is one of the historical towns of Portugal. It was the cradle of Pedro Alvares Cabral, the first European navigator to set feet in Brazil and because of that the village hosts the Museum of the Discoveries. But the most curious and interesting fact is that Belmonte is home of an important community of Sephardi Jews who established here in the XVth century to freely express their faith, after a law implemented by king D. Manuel enforcing the Jews to become Christians. While walking around the town the Jews coming from other parts of the world (probably Israel) to visit Belmonte (perhaps their relatives or to find more about their roots?) were noticed. It was also possible to hear the songs in a celebration at the Mosque. Judging from the number of beautiful stone house available for sale, it seemed that many of them wanted to depart, following the call of Israel.

Colourful houses in Covilha

Covilha is the city to see the snow in the winter in Portugal, taste the famous Queijo da Serra (mountain sheep cheese), manufacture textiles and learn at the University da Beira Interior. The lack of public transport on Sundays and no maps of Serra da Estrela on sale can be semi-compensated by great street art spread around the city.

Orange sunset in Viseu

In Viseu I could write about the cathedral which started to be built during the rein of the first king of Portugal D. Afonso Henriques, or about the Grao Vasco museum, built in homage to the Portuguese XVth century painter of the same name. However, this sunset with the hills on the background and appreciated from the cathedral square, deserves to be the focus of this post.

Green Serra da Estrela and its glacial valley

Travelling in Portugal with a rucksack on my back was something I have been longing for a while. There is a variety of landscapes and interesting cities to visit and diverse food to try. There is also under inhabited regions to explore and mountain trails mainly travelled by shepherds and their sheep. One of these places is Serra da Estrela and its glacial valley. The walk started at around 11am with a shining sun. We went through Covao da Ametade, a badly drained depression in the glacial valley. We started climbing up in Cantaro Magro, and then we walked and walked, we passed by Lagoa dos Cantaros and we started to speed up after missed the turn of the trail (it did not help to have only half of the map with us). We arrived at 7pm down in the valley, having another hour to walk through it and to find a way out to the car park. We left the valley to the main road at 8pm when it started raining the first rains after 4 months of summer. We felt we underestimated the power and difficulty of this mountain but the sensation of having survived was good. - Next time with a full map.