Blogs from Guarda, Portugal, Europe

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Europe » Portugal » Guarda » Gouveia April 18th 2017

17th April Last evening a drum band started up to accompany the singers. I wandered down the hill through narrow streets into the village to have a look. The band, mainly children were marching around the streets now without the singers. Back to camp but which way? Took a wrong turn & came across a huge long haired Alsatian, barking at me & generally going ape outside the kennel...but thankfully he was tied to it. Adrenalin hit again. I just couldn’t bring myself to go past it, the rope looked more than a little weak. Woke to a cuckoo this morning instead of dogs, cockerels or babies. Got up to a misty morning with wet grass, went to get the bread & then sat with a cup of tea & watched the mistake clear from the ... read more
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Europe » Portugal » Guarda » Gouveia April 18th 2017

18th April So up & mustered for 10am, 12 of us plus the lady owner. All Dutch except us & a German couple. Introduced ourselves which seemed a bit ‘Ramblers’ to me but all smashing people. Off in an ancient Range Rover to a nearby town, round a couple of little streets & off up the mountain. We walked using a very old Roman path comprised of huge rocks basically which were uncut & we could see ruts in stone from the carts over the centuries. With a couple of small rest breaks we walked for over 2 hours to the top & thank goodness it wasn’t in the heat of yesterday – today was 21* but overcast. On the top it was a lot cooler; a couple of us were only wearing a t-shirt so ... read more
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Europe » Portugal » Guarda » Gouveia April 16th 2017

15th April Just before we made tea yesterday, 3 identical Spanish rented motorhomes turned up. They drove round at least twice & 2 of them found pitches they liked & eventually parked up. The other chap, let’s call him Dick , faffed about still driving around, parking up, moving again, reversing in, driving in... what a dope, moving again. Kept us entertained for 20 minutes. What a disturbed night, mainly due to small dog yapping most of the night. I was tempted to go out with pointy pole. Early in the morning the dog stopped barking & a baby started crying. Baby stops, cock starts crowing then the dog starts up again. Before breakfast I walked around to find the dog only to find it outside a cottage behind reception; I went in & gave the ... read more
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Europe » Portugal » Guarda May 17th 2014

ANOTHER STANDARD BREAKFAST AND WE WERE OFF TO TRANCOSO, THE FIRST AND PROBABLY MAJOR VISIT FOR THE DAY. I'D HEARD TRANCOSO HAD THE MOST TO SEE, SO WE DECIDED TO HEAD THERE FIRST, THEN SEE HOW MUCH OF THE DAY WAS LEFT AFTERWARDS. TRANCOSO IS LESS THAN 30 MILES SOUTH OF VILA NOVA DO FOZ COA, MOST OF IT ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY, IP2. WE ARRIVED THERE AROUND 10AM AND WERE IMMEDIATELY IMPRESSED BY THE WALLED HISTORIC SECTION AND ITS CASTLE. OUTSIDE THE WALLS WAS A MUCH BIGGER AND MORE MODERN TOWN. ALMOST ALL OF THE ORIGINAL MEDIEVAL WALLS STILL STAND, WITH A NUMBER OF GUARD TOWERS AROUND THE PERIMETER. THE WALLS CONTAIN AT LEAST 4 OR 5 GATES AND ONE TINY WALK-THRU WE FOUND. IN THE BACK SECTION OF THE WALLED TOWN ARE THE REMNANTS ... read more
THE IGREJA MATRIZ AND THE TOWN PILLORY
VIEW ALONG THE EASTERN (?) WALLS OF THE TOWN
TYPICAL STREET WITH PLANTS AND LAZY DOG




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