Castle of Lousã
Today’s program was quite intensive. So we started with a good breakfast on the terrace of the restaurant. Then we drove to Lousã where we visited the local castle. From there it was possible to undertake several walks to some schist villages in the neighbourhood. We decided to do the PR2 hike that would pass by Talasnal and Casal Nova.
Schist Villages Talasnal and Casal Nova
We walked along the ridge of the mountain towards the first village, Talasnal. Lucky for us it was almost completely in the shade. But it was climbing climbing climbing… so taking a bottle of water was really necessary !
The village was completely rebuilt for tourism, but who cares. Even if hardly anyone lived there, it was really picturesque and a nice place to visit. The houses were constructed in a kind of slate.
We found a little café with a terrace with a view. It was super beautiful. We had some refreshments and then we set course towards Casal Nova, another schist village still under construction.
Here we did not find any restaurant nor café. It was a pity, so we had to continue our descent towards the castle. We had to be very careful, because straight down on sandy ground with pebbles and boulders …not easy !
On our way to the castle, we passed another place where we could have a swim but we did not bring our swimwear so we walked further to the car and drove back to the hotel. We were very happy that we could take off our walking shoes !
Dinner at ‘No Tacho’
After a siesta, we walked back to town for dinner. We had made reservations at “No Tacho”, a tiny restaurant with Portuguese specialties. Again a recommendation of the hotel! And whether it was worth it ??? It was superb !
Where yesterday we had dinner in a big tourist restaurant, this was the complete opposite. We thought the owner and the waiter were two brothers, just like the French couple at the table next to us. But the waiter said it was because of the masks that they resembled each other.
The food was sooooo delicious! I proposed them to move to Belgium, so we could continue to enjoy their dishes. The starters were mackerel and octopus, the main course was Iberian pork and the desserts was again a pudding (but now with port). On top of that, we also ordered a dish of Portuguese cheeses.
The owner gave us a card of Porto as a token of appreciation. Fortunately, we had to walk back to the hotel because we had eaten too much, so a stroll would help with the digestion :-).
We were very tired but also very satisfied of our day. Looking forward to the next one…
