Have T@b will travel: Walking the Galegos Trail… or not?

We decided to put our hiking shoes to good use the other day! I picked up a trail map in the village of Marvão when we first arrived, and have been itching to spend the day in the great outdoors, walking the medieval cobbled stone roads, and searching for old settlements of the Iron Age! Getting a glimpse of one of the many rare animals that call this area home wouldn't be so bad either! Songbirds like the Ring Ouzel, the Blue Rock Thrush or the Black Wheatear perhaps! No, I didn't just pull those names out of thin air, and no, sadly I have no idea if we came across one either, but it does sound impressive… non!? There are reptiles, frogs, lizards, otters, deer, and wild boar also roaming… ok, maybe we didn't want to run into any wild boar! The landscape is covered with Cork trees, Chestnut trees, old Oaks, Pines and Olive trees! This magnificent area is called the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park and is truly a beautiful part of Portugal! Thankfully it is mostly untouched by man and has been protected by the Portuguese Government since 1989. So! Back to our hike, how did it go you might ask? Well, we left the house with our trusty map and plenty of water, in search of one of the many pedestrian friendly green and white poles marking our way! That is where we ran into problems… there were no green and white poles, no arrows, and no signs. We were lost. Well, kind of lost. We knew where we had come from, and we knew where we were, or more specifically, where we weren't! However, approximately 5 km along the way we started to notice small red and yellow painted lines here and there. Perhaps the person who created the map was colour blind? That still doesn't explain the absence of the poles. OK, in defence of the trail-marker-person… maybe it was us? Is it possible we didn't see the elusive poles? Anyways, we never did complete the 12 km loop trail, but did get in a 10 km walk that was breathtaking. Perhaps another day we will attempt this walk? That is, after we have Google Earthed this elusive trail! Here are a few photos of our day wondering the Serra de São Mamede Natural Park… I think I just like saying that name! Serra de São Mamede Natural Park!!