Things are great now, but we had an iffy start to our hiking tour. A heat wave swept in bringing temperatures to the mid-80s vs. the typical 60s and 70s for this time of year. Day one consisted of getting everyone in town and assembled, then lunch, then a walking tour of Lisbon which I think all of us would have just as soon skipped. The sun was intense, and it seemed to me there were twice as many tourists in Lisbon as there had been when I arrived the previous week. After a night in a Lisbon hotel, we had 4-hour ride across the country for our first real hike, which started at 1:30 pm under high sun. Like California, Portugal had plentiful winter rain after a drought, so the wildflowers are out in force which makes it beautiful. But our trail this day had yet to be maintained by whoever does that in Portugal – it took a fair amount of bushwhacking through shoulder-high grasses and flowers with little shade.
We were all hot and prickly by the time we arrived at our hotel which is noted for its beautiful and humongous pool. Alas, it was “closed for maintenance” and empty – a blow that took all of us multiple evening cocktails to overcome.
It was obvious that we were struggling to remain good sports; therefore it was a great relief to guides and guests alike when day three got underway. The temperatures were still on the warm side, but our hike route was relatively shady and freshened by a cool breeze throughout the day. Plus, the hike had some challenging climbs through spectacular scenery.
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