Circular hike from Celorico da Beira to Ribeiro de Salgueirais. Freezing water dip. Portugal
Distance 16.1 km (gpx) , Elevation gain 411 m, Elevation loss 413 m This hike is dedicated to water, its primordial power and ultimate calmness. It's about the roaring sound of hidden waterfalls and the gentle whisper of streams meandering through valleys. Water usually returns to this land in late autumn after a summer drought. In winter riverbeds are full and deep, and currents are strong and fast. They draw their power from the snow-capped mountains of Serra da Estrela. As part of this journey we pass a tiny village of Mourela where an old woman greets us in the street. We always find her lingering at a sunny spot near the porch of her house. Her face is lined with deep wrinkles like the earth thirsty for rain. Her smile is soft and her eyes are shining. When the woman sees us marching with our hiking poles along a cobbled alley, she looks surprised. Very few people get to this place at all, not to mention foreigners. The other day there was a younger local lady there who r...