Arouca and Serra de Freita

Hello, hope everyone at home is well. We are all good here. Today we headed to the mountains behind Joaquim and Teresa's place. 

We arrived first at a town called Arouca. The town is known for the old convent so we organised a tour and had a quick look around town. Ed didn't take many photos but the town is pretty with some interesting old buildings and a lovely park. 

The tour guide was South African and met and fell in love with a Portugese man from this area. Twenty + years and she has only been home once. 

The convent has been occupied by Brothers since 1920. The last nun died in 1886 and the caretaker looked after the convent until she died in approx 1907. 

The site was firstly occupied by Benedictine Monks and Nuns until the Mother Superior converted to the Cistertian Order. The nuns came from wealthy families and were often daughters of the nobility. They arrived at the convent with two servants who carried out domestic duties. The nuns carried out religious duties. Once they entered the convent they never left and they had no contact with the outside world - a bit harsh! Despite this they lived well and were surrounded by luxury. They had a model replicating their individual cells and they were quite lavish for the 16th Century. 

We viewed one third of the monastery. The other two thirds are closed awaiting restoration - they have plans to turn it into accommodation. They guide said they have been waiting a long time. 

After the tour we went and bought some bread for our picnic lunch and some local pastries. 

After a quick morning tea we drove to Serra de Freita. The mountain is very high and we felt like we were on top of the world. The hills are alive with the sounds of only birds chirping and the odd cow bell!

The kids had changed some settings and things do not look that yellow. 

After checking out the view and looking at the windmills up close we headed for warmer ground and a picnic table. 

We had a lovely view of the mountain and enjoyed listening to the birds. 

Mitchell and Sabrina grabbed their lunch and went to look at the cows roaming around the country side.

I don't think he is very impressed.  We ruined his peaceful afternoon.

We went for a walk and saw a waterfall and a couple of streams. The water is pristine and not as cold as I thought. If we had our swimmers with us we would have gone for a dip. I settled for a drink and washing my hands and face. 

We headed in the direction of home and stopped in Murtosa. Mitchell and Sabrina's Portugese teacher is here too. Said a quick hello and will organise to have dinner later. 

Headed home and saw that Paul had tried to call me. He tried calling using the Austrian country code. I tried the Aussie code and was able to leave a message. I think we will have to wait until we are back home to talk to him and Lachlan.