Head to the hills

The plan was to have a quieter day and do less driving. One look at the weather forecast and the plan changed. We took the "quick" route to Santana. It rained as we reached the coast and the mountains were covered in clouds, not quite the forecast.  We had a good look round and treated ourselves to our first meal out,  both having the local espada. See extra for Santana houses.

After lunch the weather was changing for the better and the clouds were lifting.  We headed up into the hills through Ribeiro Frio. This picture is "somewhere" along the road!  A friend had told me of a road I "must drive" so we again took the turn up to Pico do Arieiro. Just before the summit there is a relatively new road that doesn't appear on the maps,  the one we were instructed to take.  It is a wonderful road with amazing views and they even remembered to create good stopping points. One in particular is Paredao, where there is a walkway and viewpoint down into the Nun's valley.  Wonderful view and so peaceful,  I could have stayed for ages. Mountain views always give me a real boost and I've seen a few this week.  

The forecast was right and I'm so pleased we took advantage of another sunny day up high.