another thing off the list! totaling 100km in hikes wasn’t terribly difficult, and now i think that maybe i could have been a bit more ambitious with the number… something to keep in mind for the next list.

early this morning, we grabbed my cousin daniela and did the last few kilometers going up the senhora da graça.

the path up the hill is mostly through the forest, bordered by granite slabs and pine trees with their sap slowly dripping into collection bags.

the hill is infamous for being one of the hardest climbs of the “volta a portugal” (our national cycling race), and whenever the trails cross the road you can see the painted cheers. in august, people camp on the sides of the road to see their favourite cyclists ride by.

the view from up there is magnificent, the border between minho and trás-os-montes regions stretching ahead of us. i feel a bit drunk on all this green, which seems so different from the muted shades from the south. here in the north, green is everywhere we look, luscious and deep and beautiful.

a friend once said that this must be heimat: to see beauty where others see just rocks and trees. these are the things that give us roots. i think she’s probably right.