Day 21 – to Terras de Bouro, just up from Campo de Geres

I only drove 3 kilometres today, the least ever in a change of stopover on my van courses. My idea originally had been to go to Geres, 15 km away. I had thought of topping up the solar with a hook-up, but their was more sun than I had expected today, and up at the pass it was tranquil and with 360 views. A day without rain, which makes a change, also.

I had planned a circular hike around the mountain peak of Lamas, with a quick visit to a viewpoint beforehand. The outward section, the first 5 kilometres or so, was spectacular, even with cloud still hovering over the peaks across the valley.

Being a Sunday there were a few other people around. I met an intrepid Estonian couple with a 5 year old and a 1 year old, travelling with a tent of six months, and the odd self-catering accommodation. They were at the start of their trip, and clearly outdoor types, though still, a 1 year old in a tent for six months must present some extra challenges.

It was on that outward section I spotted a caterpillar train, or to be more accurate after a bit of research, a line of pine processionary caterpillars, probably 250 of them. My initial reaction was of awe and wonder, though that faded a bit later on after reading more. It was certainly fortunate Roja had not seen them, or maybe he had, and stayed clear.

Any contact with them causes a nasty sting, worse than a bee, and dangerous to children, those with allergies, and dogs. Their nests (image below) house hundreds of them crammed inside. They emerge to feed on pine needles. Their voracious appetites strip the tree of its needles which can eventually seriously damage the tree, even kill it.

The problem with this is that the caterpillar is covered in microscopic urticating hairs which when touched leave a painful rash. In the case of dogs or cats, they will then lick the itch which transfers the hairs to their tongue exacerbating the situation and in extreme cases causing necrosis.

Here’s a still from the video I took, which is in a separate post..

On the brief section of road we needed to take we ran into a shepherd with his 200+ goats, and their associated four goat-dogs. I am always a bit wary when I come across sheep dogs, but so far on this course all that I have met have been at ease, and even friendly. I chatted with the shepherd for a while in broken Spanish, which I know Portuguese don’t like to use, and the respective dogs had a good sniff of each other.