It was a long thirsty 19 k to Vale Seco. Lessons learned — get up early to beat the heat, and carry lots of water!
For most of the day, I hiked along what amounted to forestry roads. But the forestry practiced here doesn’t involve cutting down trees. Instead, the bark of the cork tree is sustainably harvested every couple of years, by stripping the outer layer. Judging from the age of some of these trees, they don’t seem to mind!
There are a labyrinth of criss-crossed roads used to access the cork. I was very grateful for the excellent Rota Vicentina signage – and also for the GPX track of the route I had downloaded. It would be very easy to get hopelessly lost here.
The forest was full of glorious spring flowers. I am missing Ann who might have been able to identify them. Without a flower book, I can only admire how pretty they are!
Glad to have survived my first real hiking day. My legs are tired — but not too sore. 23 k tomorrow….. and repeat for the next month.