Marco Polo? No, Marco de Canaveses!

Thursday marked the beginning of our two-day, 35,000-step trek (more on that from Micheka).

As a test run for our day trips, we decided to walk into the nearby Marco de Canaveses town. It was a 40-minute walk (mostly downhill) to get into the valley, then up some 60-degree inclines back up into the town centre! While I did feel a bit winded by the experience, I’m hoping that in no time our endurance will build up.

Walking is also proving to be a bit of an interesting activity in the countryside. While Tabuado, the village we are staying in, is quite manageable, at times it feels like you are playing dodge-the-car in some busier areas closer to Marco where there is less of a shoulder and no sidewalk! This would have been an impossible task just a couple of years ago with the girls but they have been amazing listeners and they follow along and listen just fine.

After climbing into town, the gateway street for Marco was quite pretty! The transportation planner in me had to rejoice a little inside! And, at least the sidewalks here were very comfortable. Next, we found a pretty park in the middle of town where the girls were able to play while we sat to watch while drinking some cappuccinos in hand.

Once we finished exploring the town for a while, we found a great restaurant to eat at. Apparently, lunchtime meals are the big meals of the day in Portugal. Many businesses seem to close down between 12:30-14:30 every day for siesta time. This seems to be a bigger social gathering time for families and communities, which is an interesting change to experience compared to North America.

Anyway, we tried some local dishes including cabbage soup, grilled pork belly, grilled chicken, grilled ribs, rice, and salad. All in all, an amazing experience that was so large, we even had leftovers for home!

We debated taking an Uber back to our place but opted to walk back for another 40-minute walk (this time mainly uphill). Katia was a real trooper and just wanted more and more! Emmeline on the other hand was a bit more reserved about the experience but she pushed through and did amazing. We can all definitely feel our endurance growing over the past week in this mountainous terrain!