Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)I must confess that it had never occurred to me to write about Forjães, this small rural gem in the municipality of Esposende, better known, at least to me until that afternoon, as “that place where the GPS told me to turn right without much explanation”. But sometimes, the best moments are not the ones we plan, they are the ones that happen to us when the universe decides to shuffle our schedule and offer us an hour of peace, stretched legs and an unexpectedly beautiful view of the river.

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)I believe that there are places that you visit not with your eyes, but with your heart. And Vila do Campo do Gerês is one of those places that, as soon as you enter, you immediately start rummaging through the drawers of your memory. It's as if the air there had something nostalgic about it, a kind of childhood scent mixed with burning wood, roasting cabbage and freshly baked bread. If my memories had a smell, they would smell like this.

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)Who would have thought that on a seemingly ordinary afternoon in Celorico de Basto, in the green heart of northern Portugal, I would end up posing (without filters or editing) for a photo on the Moon? Well, I didn't become an astronaut overnight, but I can assure you that my short visit to the Freixieiro Urban Park was a true odyssey, worthy of a galactic or rural chronicle, or both :)

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)There are places that stay in your memory for their natural beauty, typical architecture and tranquility, and there are others that stay because you almost broke a rib. Fortunately, Sequeirós, in Chamoim, right there, nestled in the valleys of the majestic Serra da Peneda-Gerês, knew how to combine all these elements masterfully. Even the scare was kind of funny, but let's go with it. It was one of those typical mountain days at the end of winter, with cloudy skies, light rain falling non-stop and that damp cold that sticks to your clothes and penetrates to the bone, even with three layers of thermal clothing. Nothing new here. However, for me, who had still left my soul in the city, that atmosphere had a certain mystical charm.

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)Sometimes, all you need is the desire to get out, the right company and a little corner of the country with a sea view. That's exactly what happened on a recent getaway to Leça da Palmeira, a coastal parish in the municipality of Matosinhos, known for its seascapes, good beaches and, of course, its historical relics. One of the points of interest that captivated me on this tour was the Forte de Nossa Senhora das Neves, better known as Forte de Leça da Palmeira. The day started with clear skies and a timid sun, enough to motivate us to go out and enjoy the morning outdoors. However, the typical wind of this Atlantic area soon made itself felt. It was one of those steady winds that remind us that we are by the sea, and that in the blink of an eye drags heavy clouds across the horizon. Even so, confident, we continued our journey.

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)I feel like I'm repeating myself, but it's still true that the best destinations aren't always the ones we plan, as I've said before and I'll say again. Sometimes it's the ones that come without warning that surprise us the most. That's exactly what happened that afternoon when we were driving along the road towards Castelo de Arnóia, in Celorico de Basto, when, on a sharp bend without much signage, the GPS lost its direction and we literally lost it too. We were in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by greenery and silence, when we found ourselves passing right next to an old and imposing building, appearing discreetly as we approached. Curious, we stopped the car. It was then that I realized that we were in front of the Monastery of São Bento de Arnóia.