71.01 Portugal: Geres: Opening with a superb lake: Canicada, a multi-faceted body of water.
Sitting on the dock of the bay...well almost, more like a couple of thousand feet above the Canicada Lake. Geres' own Stonehenge has a wonderful view of the lake. We returned to Geres, some eighteen months post our first trip to Portugal. We think this is a region, the only national park in the country, where a person is able to capture tranquility that seems to be fast disappearing from Mother Earth. Of course, there are many similar places (unlimited actually), but one has to seek them out, and of course, they are invariably remote. Be that as it may, the scenery is lush, colorful and contains many lakes and mountains, the latter less common in this country. We found over the course of our earlier visit that we would take to the mountains, and as we climbed, feel ourselves meld into the environment. The fact that it is devoid of cars, except for those traveling along limited roads through the park, as well as few hikers about, gives us many opportunities to a...