Geraz do Minho Travel Guide

Our small Budget rental car, a Fiat Punto, served us well on our 10-day driving excursion around Portugal. It was just big enough to hold our two suitcases, small enough to negotiate narrow village streets and fast enough to handle the super-highways at 130 kph (80 mph) with ease. Having a standard transmission was no problem because I have one in my own Honda Accord! As far as air conditioning goes, I enjoyed driving with the window rolled down enjoying the breezes! Unlike in England, at least you do not have to contend with the extra complications of using the 'other' hand to shift and driving on the left side of the road! On the day that we toured the Minho, starting from and returning to Lamego, we put 300 km (190 miles) of often slow and twisty driving on our little car.

As we wound our way up and down the switchback roads to make our way through the Parque Natural do Alvao, just north and west of Vila Real, we could not help but notice how far down it was if you happened to go over the edge! These red and white stone blocks embedded in the ground were there to do 'guardrail' duties - and we saw quite a few of them that had been knocked out of the ground and were lying on their side! At one high point, we came around a turn to find the traffic stopped while a shepherd rounded up one of his wayward goats. I meant to get a photo of this fine beast as he walked down the road toward me but he suddenly bolted as he got closer. I guess that I should have had the shutter button partially depressed to prime the focus. It was too late when the camera finally decided to obey my command to SHOOT.

Once we had reached Cabaceiras de Basto, a few km east of Fafe, we decided to turn directly north into the Serra da Cabreira to have a closer look at the mountains in this area. As we began our climb out of the town, we passed by this older generation of highway bridge, gradually becoming overgrown. It spans the Rio Douro, not the one of Port wine fame, but just a small trickle flowing down off the mountain. Route 311 from here was very scenic as it wound up to the ridge at the top of the Serra which divides the Minho area from Tras os Montes.

Favorite thing: Located in the far north of Portugal, the province of Minho holds great significance for Portugese as both the birthplace of their country, with its first capital at Guimares, and its main religious city of Braga. The region is heavily populated on its western edges, but further inland toward the mountains the area becomes very rugged.

Fondest memory: We chose to veer off easterly into the less sparsely populated areas to see some of the inland mountains. It was a good trip, but we ran out of time before we could make it all the way to the remote Parque Nacional da Peneda Geres along the Spanish border.