Walking in Spain, day 1, 6.8km around Rupit

Rupit is an historical village on the border of the Garrotxa region of Catalunya in Spain, north east of Barcelona. Its our base for a few nights and the start of our walk in the Hills of Girona.

This is the view from our bedroom window up the narrow street which clings to the hillside.

Our hosts, Susanne and Louis, of Hostel Estralla are warm and have made us very welcome. They have been part of the ATG Oxford walking route for over 10 years. The photo below is of the hotel and it is the hub of the village - tonight is a big event, soccer, Barcelona vs Inter Milan and the flags are out and we are joining in the festivities too. I am enjoying the regional bean dishes and a desert called mel i nato, a simple curd cheese drizzled with the local honey, lovely way to lighten the palette after the heavy bean and sausage stew.

Day 1 was a circular walk from Rupit to the Catalan Romanesque church of Sant Joan de Fabregues - built in the 10C....

View of Rupit along our walk......

The views along the walk today were a wonderful start to our week, river 'Riera de Rupit' winds its way through the town and has some impressive waterfalls along its path as it drops into the plains far below. We saw Griffon Vultures on the thermals high above the cliffs.


On the trail with Bernie and Martie crossing over the river and waterfall.

Arriving at the church in its spectacular setting. Sitting in silence in the church was a special moment to take in its history and presence in a field in Catalan.

Spring flowers abound and are a joy along the route.

A Day in the Serra de Estrela, Portugal

What a pleasure to see the Cuckoo at last. I have heard its iconic call so many times in the UK but have not seen one ever. On the drive back from our day in the Serra de Estrela I saw the Cuckoo from the car, calling its heart out from the top of a pine.

These last few days we have being taking in more of the countryside here in Portugal and enjoying the long spring days and flowers in bloom, like the azaleas in the gardens of the Quinta da Aveleda above and below. I was disappointed to have missed their wine tasting and of course the shop, but did I did find their cheese in nearby Penafiel.

I had aspirations to hike up to the waterfall high above Manteigas, a town (above photo) in a glacial valley in the Serra de Estrela and by a strike of good luck we could not find the trail - would have done me in for sure to attempt a 1000 ft climb, as it is I am feeling less than ready for our upcoming walk in Spain with Bernie and Martie.

Fortunately we found a track and drove up instead.... Fred enjoying the cool air off the water at Hell's Well.

As Henk and Jan wing their way back to South Africa, Bernie and Martie are on their way to Spain and we fly early tomorrow morning from Porto to Barcelona to get to the start of our walking holiday in the north-east of Spain.

Our final lunch spot in the village of Amarante.....

A Foodie in Portugal

I am unashamedly a foodie, so any new country is a joy for me to explore the markets, to dip into new flavours and some old favourites. As we arrived in Porto yesterday the first place we stumbled upon was the Mercado do Bolhao and here I am trying to shop with no Portuguese at all.....

One of my finds was the huge piles of shredded kale ready to make soup. As I am blogging the soup is simmering on the stove for dinner later today. I first tasted this soup when Anabela brought over her Mom's homemade version and I fell in love with the simplicity of the dish with its deep flavours.

Caldo Verde Soup:
1 onion, minced fine
1 garlic clove, minced
4 Tablespoons olive oil
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 quarts cold water
6 oz. dry, garlicky sausage (linguica, chorizo, even pepperoni), sliced paper thin
2 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 lb. collards, kale, or turnip greens, washed, trimmed, rolled up and sliced into extra fine shreds (in a pinch, slightly defrost frozen kale and finely shred it with a sharp knife) In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in 3 Tablespoons of oil for about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and saute, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes. Add water, cover, and boil gently over medium heat for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are mushy. Meanwhile, fry the sausage in a skillet over low heat for about 10 minutes, until most of the fat has drained out. Drain well and reserve.
When the potatoes are soft, remove from the heat and either mash them in the pan with a masher or puree them--then add the sausage, salt, and pepper. Return to medium heat, cover, and simmer for 5 more minutes.
When ready to serve, add the shreds of greens and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes--until they are tender and the color of jade. Mix in the last Tablespoon of oil, taste for seasoning, and ladle into large flat soup plates.

We start the day with Fred and Henk picking oranges from the orchard terraces below the Quinto, they are heavenly sweet, its a long time since I enjoyed oranges this much.

Even more exciting for me is hunting down the perfect pastel de nata. Each evening we end off our day with a huge mug of coffee and these yummy super-sweet, flaky-pastry custard tarts. Must admit the ones we buy at Vida in Parktown are good as well.

One of our visits was to the village of Cinfaes down the way from our Quinto for a meia de leite and a pastry, the cafe's have a wonderful range of sweet treats. Jan and I were puzzled about the one ingredient in our almond tarts, a smooth delicate sweet paste, turns out to be chila which is a Malabar Gourd and this is one I found in the market - complete unknown to all of us!

The Belle Epoque Cafe Magestic in Porto is a must do visit, just seeing this magnificent coffee machine is worth the visit and the pastries were good too. Apparently JK Rowling sat in the cafe and did some of the Harry Potter writing ....

Well Portugal is about fish and two images that dominate are the huge slabs of dried, salted cod, bacalhau, found everywhere, markets, vegie shops, supermarkets and the ubiquitous sardines.

I am too intimidated by fish to consider buying these huge pieces of bacalhau so we bought the ready made fish cakes instead and Fred fried them for dinner. They were good.

So the plan for Porto was to have sardines for lunch, which all four of us did .....proof in the picture... I am circumspect when it comes to fish, so to have 4 whole sardines on my plate with loads of raw onions and boiled potatoes was novel. They did 'repeat' all afternoon as we walked the steep narrow roads in the old town of Porto.

Oh and in between we ambled around Porto, took in the Ribeira, the old town, climbed the Torre de Clerigos for a great view, looked at the churches with their tiled facades and took a short boat ride along the Douro....

An excursion to learn about Port.

A Quinta is a wine estate and one of the well known spots to learn about port, have a port tasting and to walk among the vines is Quinta do Panascal. It took us a few hours to cover the 70 kilometers to get to the Quinta as the roads wind and twist their way along either the languid Douro River or climb the steep hills sides.
The estate is quite beautiful and the wine tasting was the first priority as it was drizzling - weather has been variable from chilly with rain to balmy and sunny.

The white port was a revelation and a winner with me! Its drunk as an aperitif as well as a cocktail with tonic and mint. The Fonseca brand of white port is Siroco and is tucked away in Fred's suitcase ready to be enjoyed back home with friends.

Was interesting to understand the different port processes - large vats ports like the Fonseca Bin 27 vs smaller vats for the 10, 20 and 40 year old tawny's vs using bottles for the vintage ports. We choose a 20 year old tawny for our tasting, is was deeply textured and wonderfully aromatic.

The boys taking in the details on the vats and the vines as we walked on the estate.

In fact we had a glorious walk after the rain and climbed about 1000 ft up the steep hillside among the vines before scrambling down.

Arriving at Quinto do Loureiro, Portugal

A 4 hour ferry to Dieppe arriving at 2.30am, 2000 kilometers of roads and 2 days after leaving London we have arrived at our destination here in northern Portugal - fortunately with no border control after the ferry, one advantage of the EU.

Quinto do Loureiro our base for the week is blissful, the property has been in the Neto family for 3 generations and the house dates back to 1680. The position is inland from Porto, about 90 kilometers up the Douro River in the north-east of Portugal. The hills surrounding the river are intensively farmed with vines clinging to the steep ledges carved into the hills. Olive and fruit trees abound and we are picking sweet, juicy oranges from the terraces below the house.

The setting high up above the Douro River makes for breathtaking views.

I am thankful to be here and Francisco Neto has graciously moved our week to accommodate the travel chaos, so we are settling in, breathing deeply and pottering in a beautiful place.

I am looking out of this door as I blog and the lights are twinkling and reflecting in the river. We all agreed that one of our objectives in Portugal is to find the best Pasteis de Nata - first one from the bakery at the Inter Marche in Baiao was yummy....

The wisteria is in full bloom, is known as the easter flower according to our host, Senor Neto, Jan and I have been noticing the blooms wherever we drive.

Spring flowers make for pops of colour among the vineyards which are just starting to send their green shots out of the ancient vines.

White Storks in Spain and Tapas ease the European Travel Chaos

'An act of God.'

One way to describe the impact of the erupting Volcano in Iceland on our holiday plans. As Fred and I converged from Suffolk and Yorkshire respectively on the 15th April, news was filtering through to us about the cloud of volcanic ash that was grounding all of the UK airspace. So odd to experience an empty airport concourse as well as the board with every flight cancelled.

So instead of getting to Portugal we were walking the Brighton Promenade. We hung around for a few days in East Sussex trying to make sense of how to respond to the total shutdown of the airline industry. The village of Battle is a charming spot to amble and we found a great little foodie deli too, made a change from fish and chips.

Ferries, trains and buses were heavily impacted almost immediately. Been on an island is in itself a challenge too. Eventually we got past all the indecision, booked a late night ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, organised Henk and Jan's hire car to leave the UK and we started the road trip down the length of France, across the breadth of Spain to make our way to Portugal.

Some surprises come from adversity, not least of which was a hurried baguette with jambon/fromage at a road side stop in France washed down with the perfect cafe au lait.

The drive along the Way of St. James in Spain seeing some of the pilgrims walking the Camino was insightful.

The village of Fromista was a gem and a joy for me to see breeding White Storks on their huge nest of sticks on the roof tops of the churches. I sat and watched their bill-clacking and mating, special sighting.
Getting some insight into the Camino as we whipped along in the car, made me appreciate my friend Natalie Uren all the more for having done the pilgrimage on her own some years ago.

The stark beauty of the church in Fromista:

And the night scene of the cathedral in Leon.

Just as much fun was bar hopping in Leon to sample the pleasure of the Spanish Tapas tradition. The tiny bars are packed with early evening patrons, we drowned beers and wine with potato wedges smothered in garlic and cheese sauses, tortilla and cheese croquettes. Loved it!
Not to be outdone the chef at our hotel in Leon, La Posada Regia which is housed in a 14thC building in the old quarter, roasted us lamb shanks which are a regional speciality.

Red Hawks over Yorkshire

The Red Hawk is successfully breeding again here in Yorkshire and it is a joy to watch flying deftly over the fields. It must be one of the most impressive hawks I have seen - white wing patches, grey head and a rich sumptious red colouring.

I loved my friend Anita's comment when I ask her what the difference is been the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, 'the same but different'!

The Moors were windswept, icy cold, vast expanses of gorse, heather and bracken fields, the austerity appealed to me. The Dales felt more gentle, rolling green hills with miles and miles of rock walls and the meadows dotted with sheep.

Views along our walk in the Yorkshire Dales from Bolton Abbey along the Strid Nature Trials.

The birding was a real treat, Anita and I saw over 60 species along our walks and drives and I added another 12 lifers to my international list.
So enjoyed reseeing all the more common birds too like the Nuthatch, the Tits as well as the Chaffinches.

The impressive Red Grouse was displaying on the Moors and we had lovely sightings as they popped up out of the heather and gorse.

The bright yellow of the Yellowhammer in the English hedges was another new find for me and a delightful bird.

Took us a while to find a Dipper along the walk but they did eventually oblige us.

My lifers: Dunnock, Song Thrush, Red Kite, Goosander, Nuthatch, Green woodpecker, Teal, Green Sandpiper, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow, Red-legged Partridge.

Thanks Anita for showing me your countryside!


Malham Cove is an iconic landmark
in the Yorkshire Dale where we found the breeding Peregrine. Looks markedly different to our Peregrin both in size and colouration.
This quote from Adam Walker in 1779 describes the landscape better than I can:

"This beautiful rock is like the age tinted wall of a prodigous castle, the tone is white and from the ledges hang various shrubs and vegetables, which with the tints given it by the bogwater and c. gives it a variety that I never before saw so pleasing in a plane rock."