Pequeno paraiso (little paradise) is a small private property with a pool and a terrace where you can have a drink and take a swim. Today I did not stop by, but my first trip was like my small little paradise :)
Today, after more than a year, I took mountain bike again.
It was a short trip, I did not want to punish myself too much, I used my "very old" bicycle, it is more than 30 years old. I left the farm at 7.30am, after watering the fruit trees and the vines.
Temperatures here are quite warm to say the least, you basically can only do physical activities until 11 am, so I usually wake up around 6 to take care of all the work I need to do on the farm, plus do all the little things still needed in the house.
I was checking different routes online last night, but as it was my first day, I decided to try one I did last summer with a friend and forget about GPS. I had to spend more than 30 minutes looking for my biking shoes as the house is full of tools and materials. Finally, after finding them, I could not find the water bottle so I decided to keep the bag, get a regular water bottle inside, and hit the track!
As you can see, everything is quite dry; the last rain was two months ago, and no rain is expected until late September. Cork oak trees are all over, and some local companies take the cork to send it to facilities that produce wine bottle tops.
There are also many small eucalyptus forests; right now, some of them are being harvested to produce paper. It is sad to see how the scenery changes when those little areas full of trees are all taken away, but hopefully, in a few year,s the trees will be high again.
After driving by several olive trees and vine farms, I stumbled upon a cattle farm.
On this shot, you can barely appreciate the big city of Castelo Branco at a distance
After some smooth uphil, I ended up reaching the path to the neighbour village.
Here's one of the nicest buildings in this village.
Finally, just 1km before reaching the farm, I could stop to take this second shot of the city.
All in all, it was an 18km trip, stopping for a few minutes at a friend's house. It was hot, but I ended the trip at around 11 am, so the temperature was still above 30ºC.
Here's a screenshot of the trip, just before having lunch and taking a nice 30-minute siesta :)
