Our last hike in the north of Portugal lead us from Ponte de Lima back to Viana do Castelo. Ponte de Lima, is the oldest vila in Portuga and it is part of the district of Viana do Castelo. It should not be missed on a visit to the north. It has a beautiful old center to wonder in and is also famous for great restaurants in town.
Ponte de Lima to Viana do Castelo
Our today’s 27 kilometers planned hike – crazy, turned out at the end to become 35 kilometers hike but more to that later. We started at the waterfront near the center of Ponte de Lima. First we followed the Arched trees among the waterfront into the center of Ponte de Lima. We just wandered around for a while and enjoyed the narrowed streets. As well as the charm of this ancient town. If you are in the area for hiking or on a road trip, set this town on your agenda.
Halfway through the hike, after 12 kilometers, we choose to visit the winery Sobrinho do Arcipreste. Which turned out to be another detour of 5 kilometers to the hike. The winery looked from the outside really nice, to our disappointment it was closed. So no Vino Verde for us and also no rest. But we were able to hike again some parts of the Camino Santiago. Which usually lead through tiny path, in this case through a wine-growing area.
Back on the normal path to Viana do Castelo we saw that the last part of the hike among the Rio Lima was overflowed. We tried a couple of reroutes in order to walk back for two kilometers to a busy road. Which was again adding kilometers to our tour. After 29 kilometers of the day I called for rescue to our agency. Which picked me up and brought me to the hotel, which saved another 8 kilometers. As descubraminho was really helpful with the planning and transport of our baggage, we booked just another trip to the Geres National Park with them. Upcoming in the next week.
