Day 73 – to Carrascalinho (Fornos – Douro)

It was only a few kilometres north long the West Bank of the Douro to where I wanted to hike, a circuit into a rocky wonderland in a protected area of the Natural Park. It was one of those hikes that is more spectacular than usual even when approaching with the late autumn morning sun behind, giving the rock’s colours their chance to show off. For a week or so now, I haven’t seen any visitors to the areas I have been in, no hikers, cyclists or campervans, and today was the same. This path dates back to the sixteenth century, as there were chapels in a couple of places around these hills, including at the peak I visited.

On the descent I spotted a white landrover on the track I was headed to, with a German registration. Two young guys were working in the bush a few metres below. When I got closer we chatted, I was the first hiker they had seen on the track for 4 weeks. They were German interns working in conservation, attempting to remove the invasive acacia trees, which do not belong here, actually from Australia. They do damage the endemic species. They also make the soil less fertile. The guys told me that the Park was now owned by a German, who they worked for, and lived in a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. I had actually walked past it. They told me a little about the birds in the area; the many Griffon Vultures, a new pair of nesting Golden Eagles, and otters.

I drove on for an hour or so, parking up a kilometre or so off the road, at a viewpoint near the village of Fornos, with great views of the mighty river below.