Northern Portugal to the Spanish Border.

We headed north from Porto without much of a plan, which I quickly realized works fine when traveling solo, but less well when two people are involved. We had nine days to explore Portugal, and though it is not a big country, we still had to prioritize. Serhii wanted to visit Lisbon and Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of the European continent. I wanted to visit at least one national park in northern Portugal and explore the country’s iconic beaches and natural areas in the south. Coimbra, near Lisbon, houses the oldest library in Europe, which we both were interested in visiting.

First stop became the scenic town of Viana do Castelo, situated along the coast with the iconic Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church perched above it. By the time we arrived in the late afternoon, we were starving and found a restaurant to enjoy our second proper meal in Portugal. Embracing last-minute decision-making, we opened booking.com while enjoying our early dinner to figure out where we would spend the night. In some bit of fortune, we found a remarkable spot perched in the forest that was available last minute and one that we would end up adding two more nights to our stay, as it became the launch point of much of our Northern Portugal exploration.

October blooms enjoyed while exploring Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal.

The Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church perched above Viana do Castelo.

From Viana do Castelo, we set off for Ponte de Lima, a town known for its medieval Roman bridge spanning the Limia River. Enjoying the perfectly warm, low-70°s (21°C) weather, we wandered through the beautiful gardens attached to a historic church before exploring the old city.

View of Ponte de Lima from the medieval Roman bridge.

The iconic medieval Roman Bridge in Ponte de Lima. Part of this bridge was built in the medieval period, while another part was built later by the Romans.

On the drive back to our guesthouse, I reflected on how different the environment in Portugal was from what I had envisioned. To be honest, my vision came from nothing more complex than its proximity to Spain and the ocean. I pictured an arid climate, like what I gathered Spain to be, when in fact Portugal is quite lush. The hillsides and countryside were dense with forests, and everywhere was quite green. Cactus, sand, and palm trees were nowhere to be found. Northern Portugal had almost a mountainous vibe. I would discover farther south to be a bit more arid, but still much more lush than most areas of Spain.

The next day, we were off to Braga to explore the Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte. I have seen many churches in my travels, but this one stood out among the rest. It is surrounded by huge gardens and lakes that we wandered through before first laying eyes on it. Though it is a popular tourist attraction, the crowds did not bother us because the church demanded our full attention. The inside was beautifully constructed with wonderful, colorful murals and interesting geometric shapes. But what captured my attention the most was what we witnessed after walking down the many steps to view the Sanctuary from below.

The Sactuary sits perched on top of this unique Baroque staircase.

If you look closely at the section between the top of the lower staircase and the sanctuary, you will see diagonal lines with people’s heads sticking above. Each diagonal line represents one flight of the 381 feet (116-meter) stairway, which zigzags back and forth up to the base of the sanctuary. You don’t notice this beautiful and functional marvel until you get to the bottom and look back upon it, which makes it all the more striking.

This sanctuary, which began being built in 1722, is a Christian pilgrimage site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and was elevated to Minor Basilica status on 5 July 2015 by Pope Francis.

Our final exploration in Northern Portugal would take us to Peneda-Gerês National Park. We packed up from our beloved guesthouse in Viana do Castelo, said our goodbyes, and made the three-hour drive to the town of Gerês, where we checked into the Gerês Guest House, which boasted quite the balcony view.

Our balcony view from Gerês Guest House.

On our first hike, we found ourselves trekking along the Via Nova, one of the best-preserved Roman roads on the Iberian Peninsula. Ancient stone markers, placed by the Romans, still stood intact. The bridge above sits along this ancient Roman road, though it was most certainly not built by the Romans.

After walking in the footsteps of the Romans, we finalized our adventure by walking into Spain. This was a very exciting moment for me, having never traveled to Spain before. It is a bit of a cheat, admittedly.

We culminated our time at Peneda-Gerês National Park by enjoying a longer hike into the backcountry and discovered some spectacular scenery. Again, this was not matching my vision of Portugal in the least, but as a lover of mountains, I was quite happy.