Inspired by the fabulous Restless Jo we headed north to Furnazhinas last week for our regular Tuesday walk in the hills. Now Jo had been wooed by the Odeliete we however were keen to get close to the Foupana, one of our favourite rivers, and so we continued north from the village on PR10, following the smell of the Almond Blossom, rather than south in Jo’s footsteps on PR9.
Furnazhinas is on a hill so whichever way you go you are going to end up going down only to come back up again. Neither way though is particularly steep or difficult, however do NOT attempt this walk in the wet season or even after recent rain in the drier months. There are so many streams and rivers to cross that I lost count, and even last week after a month or more of no rain there were sections we needed to use crossing stones. We also strongly recommend photographing the map outside the school as there are a couple of places where it will be the only thing that enables you to stay on track! So with these warnings in mind, let’s head off on our 7.7km hike!
It was a cloudy day for our walk and so unusually for me I wasn’t snapping the views every few minutes or so, however there was a silver lining amongst all the grey clouds. The lack of blue skies meant I was more aware than usual of the flora at my feet. There was a surprising amount considering we are in the middle of winter.
The footpath continues its slow descent until eventually you reach a section which despite being inundated with sign posts is incredibly confusing. First you are told not to cross the river but to head left despite there being no footpath in sight. Another sign peeks its head above the cistus so you scramble through, before then being told to cross the river bed. Within seconds of crossing you are told to cross back, but it doesn’t make sense as on the other side there is sign telling those walking the other way round to cross too! So we didn’t, instead we headed down the river bed and got out the map. As we did so I spied a very old sign painted on a rock, we were heading the right way we just needed to cross the riverbed further down. Totally confusing, but fortunately as the riverbed was almost dry not a problem. I think I would have been less than amused in the middle of a flowing river!
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves crossing the river bed again, but what a bed! I asked MrB to try and describe it for me, and this is what he said “schist overlaying shale”.
I know nothing about geology, but was fascinated. And the geology didn’t stop here. In the multiple riverbeds that followed this one there were smooth pebbles of every colour possible. It was like a walk in geologic time. It is also as you can see not a walk to attempt after rains, as the crossings are wide in places and there are no discernible points to cross without getting your feet wet. Fortunately for us it has been a very dry winter and so we were fine.
By this point we realised we were nearly half way round, and we were feeling hungry. The clouds also seemed to be dispersing and the sun was out, so a perfect time to stop for lunch.
Of course though by the time we found our perfect picnic spot the clouds had returned!
After our picnic it was a steady but easy climb under cloudy skies. There are plenty of spaces to stop to enjoy the view, and on a sunny day in spring when all the cistus is out it would be absolutely glorious.
It wasn’t long before we found ourselves on the road. You have a choice here you can following the Via Algarviana path back to the village or you can continue on the PR9. There is a difference of just over half a kilometre. Feeling energetic we decided to take the longer route. It proved to be fascinating as it took us through multiple small holdings as well as bed of watercress and mint. However the path at times felt like one only ever used by goats, so not recommended if you are feeling tired or have weak knees or ankles.
Back in the village we decided to see if the cafe might be opened. Someone had mentioned they thought there might be cake! Unfortunately there was none, the cafe wasn’t open. Still we did meet Jo’s braying donkey and also spied a basket weaver at work. I can totally understand why Jo has fallen in love with this village, and the lovely walks which are accessible from here.
This post rocks Becky 😀
Lol! It does rather 🤣
The wildflowers are beautiful B. Did the donkey ask to be remembered to Jo? Congratulations on your residency, does that mean more time there and less here?
Thank you, and yes it never stopped braying!!
Probably not as we’re close to the tax limit on days, but at least it means we’ll still have the flexibility after 29th March, and not have to worry about visas and such like 😊
What a pretty walk this one is but no cake at the end – disaster! Don’t tell Jo 🙂
It was she who told me there might be cake!!!!
Well, she is the cake expert! Perhaps you’ll need to do some research and go back on a day when it’s open.
I know! Think next time I’ll take cake with me 😎
In meanwhile I’ll have cake with Jo somewhere else when we meet up next week!
You and Jo certainly sell the Portuguese dream with your lovely posts. I’m not sure about a track that is best suited to goats, but I do like all the wild flowers you find. Love the new theme too. Very smart and with the blue and white colours also very Portuguese 😀
oh I am so so glad you like the new theme, thought my five year residency should be celebrated with some new colours!!
PS MrB is with you on the track, think he regretted deciding we look the longer route.
Lovely walk. I like seeing different rock formations. I did a geology course once but, like most other stuff I have learned, I have forgotten most of it 😟.
I can’t remember what I read the previous week, let alone courses from years ago!!
I feel I walked it with you!
oh what a lovely compliment 🙂
What a great walk, and I love those tiles
oh I am so glad you enjoyed the walk too, and they are rather lovely aren’t they 🙂
Sure are!
A fascinating walk and just my type of thing although I think the river crossing would definitely have me confused – my recent ‘river crossing’ on a walk through the woods was fortunately by a simple little stone bridge 🙂 I love the shot of your picnic spot, it looks very pretty and will probably be even more so in spring and summer, and the donkey (mule?) looks quite sweet 🙂
Oh thank you so much for your lovely comments. The river crossing was just bizarre, profusion of signs until the critical moment!!
Fantastic! Thanks so much for this, Becky 🙂 :). I’m awfully glad we did the other one. We’ve not had time for this yet, so thanks for blazing a trail. You picked one of the only 2 grey days in the last month, but you found plenty to look at. I love the ‘schist’ and patterned rocks along this trail. Meg would be in her element 🙂 We had a bit of a wade on Tuesday but it was bright and warm and I soon dried off. Hope things are ok with you folk. Off to the market soon?
Morning, so glad you enjoyed despite the cloud!
We well, place full of guests as one of my lovely stepdaughters here 😀 and yes off to market imminently. Cupboards bare!!
I don’t know where you make the time to post 🙂 🙂
Hee hee, neither do I!!!!
Meg was the first person to spring to my mind as well, she’d be vey happy there!
😊oh I so wish she had been