adventure travel – Page 7 – run for your life

With the Peneda-Geres National Park crossing behind me, I now had my sights set on the historic city of Guimarães, which was just a little less than 50km away. However, I’d have another rather tough climb to start the day, as I exited Geres to reach the high plateau starting at the 11km mark, but just like the day before, the spectacular views would make it all more than worthwhile.

After my usual morning coffee and cerveja break, which today was in Póvoa de Lanhoso, I decided to push the second half of the day’s ride hard, so that I could reach Guimarães around lunchtime, leaving me the entire afternoon to explore the city on foot. Soon enough, I’d arrived at my accommodation for the night, the very welcoming Guimarães Living Hostel. Then, after a quick clean up and snack, I was off!

Over these stone walls,
a heart of gold, therein lies.
Dare you climb to see?
‘Castelo’ by Jyri Manninen

Apart from just being happy to admire the amazing historic architecture, for me, the highlight of my walking tour was visiting the Castelo de Guimarães. The Countess Mumadona Dias ordered the construction of the castle in the mid 10th century, and it’s closely associated with the Counts of Portucale, and it’s related to some symbolic moments in Portugal’s path to Independence, such as the Siege of Guimarães in 1127, as well as the the Battle of São Mamede, which was fought nearby on the 24th June, the following year.

Fortunately, I also had enough time to visit the hilltop Santuário de Penha, which I reached by cable car. That was an amazing excursion on its own, and so I’ll be posting a separate addendum, which will include images and more details about this magical and tranquil place, especially due to its unique microclimate and flora. It truly was the perfect sanctuary to escape the hustle and bustle of all the tourism and everyday life below in the city.

Be blessed,
Jyri

It would be a relatively short ride of just 54km to Carreço, which is just north of the major northern coastal city of Viana do Castelo. However, it would be all the more significant, because this was the final destination of my 4220km long Finland to Portugal Trans-European bicycle tour back in 2018. I departed Póvoa de Varzim in idyllic conditions, with clear skies and a wonderful, fresh coolness in the air. It wouldn’t be long before I arrived at my first key destination of the day, the small historic town of Fão by the Cávado River. From there it was just a few kilometres more to Esposende, a popular tourist coastal location.

As I continued north towards Viana do Castelo, by pure luck, I crossed the Camino Portuguese walking trail. I took a moment there to take in the calmness of the water crossing, and to enjoy reminisce about my own Camino Portuguese, the original trek that had led to the birth of Life on the Run. Soon enough, I found myself at the southern bank of the Lima River at Cabedelo, with Viana do Castelo coming into view on the opposite side, and after a short ferry crossing, I was back in Viana do Castelo once again. However, I still had an additional 8km ahead to reach my day’s destination of Casa do Sardão at Carreço, where I had spent the penultimate night of my Finland to Portugal bicycle tour. To this day, this albergue still remains the most amazing guesthouse that I have ever stayed at, and it is run by the most gracious of hosts, Hugo, who is also a seasoned world traveller.

Seven year cycle,
from broken to renewed soul.
The boss speaks to me.
‘El Jefe’ by Jyri Manninen

When I’d started this current tour, I’d always planned to spend an extra day at Casa do Sardão, to not only catch up with Hugo, but to also have some valuable down time to re-explore Viana do Castelo and surrounds. After having picked up Matilda from Viana Bicycles in the morning, where Matilda had had a few of her rear spokes replaced, we rode through town and then up the coastal pathway back to Carreço. For the remainder of the day I just chilled out at Casa do Sardão, chatting with some Camino Portuguese pilgrims about their own experiences. Then, in the evening, I spent some quality alone time, lying in a hammock watching the sunset, as I sparked up my ritualistic El Jefe cigar, which had been especially gifted to me back in Finland for my birthday by one of my closest friends.

It was now time to set my sights forwards to the Pe–neda-Geres National Park, which I would reach the next day by following the Lima River inland. This would then also include a reconnection with my original Camino Portuguese trekking route at Ponte de Lima. As the sun finally descended beyond the horizon, and the night sky lit up with a myriad of hues, my El Jefe gradually transformed into smoke and ash. In this moment, I felt that I was, once again, truly home.

Be blessed,
Jyri