Trails from Geres, Portugal

  Some new pictures from the lake of Vilharino das Furnas: Vilharinho das Furnas.      
  Last Sunday I visited Geres again. This time it was the Eagle's trail(Trilho da Águia do Sarilhão). It was really nice and I enjoyed the hike and the swimm in the lake. Here are some pictures: Eagle's Trail Geres.
There are many trails on Geres and I hope to make them all: Geres trails.
         The next hiking in Geres was in Trilho dos Currais(The corral trail). It was great. If you want to look for yourself, here you go: Trihlo De Currais.
        One other place to see is the church of Sao Bento in Geres: Sao Bento Geres. In 15 august was the time to visit Geres again and to hike on Trilho de Sao Bento. Well part of it, because I missed the trail and had to make a bigger walk instead. Anyway, here are the pictures: Trilho De Sao Bento.
     Another trail is the Trilho de Preguiça, a bit more up from Villa do Geres: Trilho de Preguica.
     A new Sunday, another trail: Trilho dos Miradouros.
    In another weekend I made a trip from Villa do Geres to Sao Bento Villa do Geres to Sao Bento. It was a great trip although I lost the buss and had to make the trip back on foot for must of the way...
     Second day of October brought on another trip to Geres, to Arado waterfall, from Geres to Pedra Bella, the waterfall , Ermida and back to the main road on Villa de Veiga, around 20 km in total.  It was a nice trip but I hope to see the waterfall again, because I spent so much time getting there that I did not had time to see the area around the waterfall. Here are some of the pictures: Arado waterfall.
      A few new pictures from Trilho dos Corillos done on 22 October: Geres Trihlo De Corillos Going Of Course.
         On 30 of October I made a new crossing between Villa do Geres and Sao Bento: Villa do Geres Sao Bento second. I took another way this time and went to one of the peaks. On the bright side, I did not lost the buss this time :).
          Six of November, a very sunny day and another trail between Villa do Geres and Sao Bento: Villa do Geres to Sao Bento, new way. It was good at first, but on the last part I tried a new way and by the time I finally got through I had the feeling I would need a machete to cut through all the blackberry bushes :).
        A new trail, from Portela do Homem, along Rio Homem until Minas dos Caris. It is an amazing view even on bad weather, which included a snowfall :). Here are some pictures: Rio Homem.
       Another trip to  Vilharino das Furnas  to see the ruins and other things: Vilarinho das Furnas ruins. A new visit to Arado river and his surroundings: Rio Arado.
A short trail around Casa de Leonte: Leonte.
A great trail starting from Portela do Homem towards a peak which I still did not identified yet on the north side: Portela do Homem. Since this was the first time I used a GPS device is also the first time when i provide a GPS file of the hike, which can be seen in the BaseCamp software or Garmin GPS: Portela do Homem GPS trail. A new trip to along Rio Homem Minas dos Caris.
Another trip to a peak close to Portela do Homem, a bit more higher then the other one at 1228 m: Portela do homem peak 1228.
A trip along rio Arado to the river source: rio Arado source.
This time it was a trip to another part of Geres, around rio Conho, close to Fafiao. Great views along the way and nice trail: rio Conho. A trip to Carris peak, the second highest peak in Geres, going to the old road and coming back on the cliffs at the border with Spain: Carris peak. Some pictures from a canoe trip on Rio Caldo: Rio Caldo.
Another trip close to Fafiao, this time along Fafiao river: Rio Fafiao. A week after another trip along the river, going to a dam: Rio Fafiao dam.
In the last weekend of September I went back to Vilharinho das Furnas, on the first hike on the right side of the lake. The views from the mountain range are amazing: Vilharinho das Furnas antenas. The passing through Geres next to the from Villa do Geres to Campo do Geres: Geres crossing. New pictures from the epic Erasmus trip to pico de Nevosa , highest one in Geres, going through Minas dos Carris: Nevosa peak. The GPS data can be found here: Portela do Homem-Minas dos Carris-Pico de Nevosa. A small hike arround Portela do Homem and some place over the Spanish border: Spanish border. A small trek from Leonte towards Varzela: Leonte Varzela. A canoe trip to the Southern corner of rio Caldo lake, where i have seen the Arado river and the a dam which is on Cavado river Canoe trip on rio Caldo lake. A circular trail from Leonte to Borageirro and coming back to Leonte: Leonte Borageirro Leonte. A new trail from Leonte it was in the opposite side of the road going to Pe do Cabril, with an excellent view of the lake of Vilharinho das Furnas: Leonte Pe do Cabril. Another good trip was in Fafiao, after the rain when allot of waterfalls were full of water: Fafiao after rain. A trip to Castro Laboreiro, enabled me to make really nice photos, including on the way back through Lobios in Spain: Castro Laboreiro.

Geres, Portugal

This last weekend i finally visited Geres, the national park near Braga. First we we visited the fortress in the hill next to the Povoa de Lanhoso: Povoa De Lanhosa. After that we visited Geres and Rio Caldo, where we made a boat trip and went in the park. Here are some pictures: Rio Caldo and Geres.

Coimbra, Portugal

My first visit to Coimbra was during the Queima Das Fitas, a big student celebration Coimbra Queima Das Fitas (Burning Of The Ribbons). It was a huge celebration and a great party which was celebrated not only by the students, but by the parents and the entire city how it seems. It seems a nice city and I should visit that again when is more quiet :). I finally made that trip at the end of October 2013: Coimbra.

Diving in O Grove, Spain

Diving in Spain was great. It was the  first time on Spain for me, I joined the Barcelos diving school on a trip to O Grove, just a bit north of Vigo. Here are some pictures from there: Diving Spain.

Guimaraes, Portugal

A short visit to Guimaraes, the ancient capitol of Portugal. There was a great day, and some wonderful landscapes from the old fortress: Guimaraes. One more trip to the city during the medieval festival: Guimaraes medieval festival. I have also some pictures from nearby hill of Penha, close to Guimaraes toghether with some beautiful views of the city: Penha, Guimaraes.

Douro Cruise, Portugal

I made a trip on 9th of April on Douro river from the Port Caves in Porto until Regua about 100 km away, where the Douro vineyards start. It was greatly organized by  Projecto MEET(international community in Braga) and i had the opportunity to meet some very nice people. Here are some of my pictures: Douro Cruise.

Porto, Portugal

A  short trip to Porto. No doubt there will be more in the future, but for the moment: Porto. More pictures from the boat trips from Porto in: Porto Boat Trip.

Skagen, Denmark

My trip to Skagen in the weekend of 9-10 October 2010. It was quite late in the year but the weather was still good enough. I managed to get some good photos and the cycling between the dunes was great: Skagen. It was amazing to see the dunes tamed by the diverse vegetation and how nature was preserved in a quite a touristic place.

Trip to Romania

Summer is here again and I took my vacation for home in Romania. We did some trips around our place and one the first trip was in small village of Ponoare. Here there is a calcareous zone and there is a cave and a system of karst therefore the regional name in Romanian Ponoare. You can see some of the images here: Ponoare. Next was a short mushroom trip to the home village of my father, Ciuperceni: Mushroom trip. Another day trip was in a nearby region, crossing the Godeanu mountains: Godeanu Mountains, going along the: Cerna Valley, making a boat trip on the Danube: Danube Trip and making the return home through another road less beautiful, but more gentle to the car. The next trip was in Transylvania. The first stop was in the old capitol of roman Dacia province Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa: Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa. The next stop was in Hunedoara, where we visited the Huniad castle: Huniad Castle. We concluded our trip with a visit to the capitol of old Dacia Sarmizegetusa Regia, and to a fortress which was a part of the line of the defense: Costesti Fortress.

Trip to Florence, Italy

I had to make a trip to Florence, Italy for a conference. The conference was great and i meet allot of old colleagues and new friends but i managed to squeze some time to visit the city: Florence. I managed to get also some time to visit Pisa: Pisa. Before my trip home i went to the beautiful city of Siena: Siena.

Møn, Denmark

A trip to Møn, a island in  south of Copenhagen. A beautiful place, with the exception of the difficulty to find a place to camp. the view was so spectacular that i had problems thinking we are still in Denmark :). We slept in a tent next to the sea and we heard the wave through the short nordic summer night. You can judge by yourself : Møn.

Trip to Sweden

It was a great trip, with a lot of things to see. We left from Aarhus, got the ferry from Frederikshavn to Goteburg and we rented a car there and just drove. We started with the national park in the wetlands: Store Mosse Natural Park and then we drove to the big lakes: Kinnekulle. The best part of the trip was the visit to Smogen on the west coast of Sweden and to the nearby  Ramsvik Natural Park. I love the rocks next to the ocean, they seem always so wild and powerful.

Braga, Portugal

My first visit to Portugal it was great. I was lucky to benefit from a beautiful day and a helpful friend,  and I visited also Esposende, a small city next to the Atlantic ocean: Esposende. I had time to visit the city itself, and I hope I will have a great time living there for the next two years: Braga. In Braga the church is powerful and it has the high ground in the hills surrounding the city. There are two big churches at: Bom Jesus and Sameiro, which are nice and have a great view of the city. I made another trip to Esposende on April 2011: Esposende and Apulia. Sometimes there are some exhibitions on the city like this one: Car Show. New places to go hiking are around the San Marta church on the hills. It seems that the church go that hill too. Here are some pictures from there: Braga San Marta. Also there are interesting places around Braga which you can find when you get lost: Lost around Braga. A series of pictures in taken in the Braga during the night: Braga night. Another hike from Braga to Guimaraes enabled me to take more pictures: Hike Braga Guimaraes.

Gran Canaria, Spain

I wanted to see the sun and to feel a warm breeze so I went to the Canary islands for the new year. I stayed in Playa del Ingles, in Gran Canaria: Playa Del Ingles. The weather was great for the New Year period and I had time to visit Las Palmas: Las Palmas, but not enough time to see the mountains. I managed to make a short visit to Tenerife, where I visited the capital, which is much bigger then I thought, but allot less interesting: Tenerife. My favorite time was the visit to the central volcano in Tenerife, Teide peak. I was only able to reach 3555 meters because I did not managed to get the permit to claim the last 200 meters... Nonetheless the view was breathtaking: Teide Mountain.
My second trip to Gran Canaria brought me to another resort: Taurito. I had the opportunity to visit new beaches and resorts around the island: Puerto De Mogan, Maspalomas. My personal favorite was a drive in the mountains where the Teide peak from Tenerife was clearly visible from Mount Roque: Mountain Drive. Also a great view was around Soria: Soria Lake, Soria Waterfall. The last trip was a boat trip from Puerto Rico to Puerto Mogan: Boat Trip.
Am vrut să văd soarele şi să simt un o briză caldă, aşa că am mers în insulele Canare pentru anul nou. Am stat în Playa del Ingles, în Gran Canaria: Playa Del Ingles.Vremea a fost grozavă pentru perioada de anul nou şi am avut timp să vizitez Las Palmas: LasPalmas, dar nu suficient timp să văd munţii. Am reuşit să fac o scurtă vizită la Tenerife, unde am vizitat capitala, care este mai mare decât am crezut, dar mai puţin interesantă: Tenerife. Momentul favorit al întregii vacanţe a fost vizita la vulcanul central din Tenerife, vârful Teide. Nu am reuşit să urc decât până la 3555 metri pentru că nu am reuşit să iau permisul să urc ultimii 200 de metri... Oricum, priveliştea îţi tăia respiraţia: Teide Mountain.
A doua călătorie la Gran Canaria m-a adus la altă staţiune: Taurito. Am avut ocazia să vizitez plaje şi staţiuni noi în jurul insulei: Puerto De Mogan, Maspalomas. Favorita mea a fost o călătorie cu maşina în munţi, unde

Horsens, Denmark

A medieval festival in Horsens. A amazing attention to details, down to the way the food is prepared, the clothes some people wore and the chopped twigs on the street. A few attractions like a jousting tournament were kind of expensive, but you could still see allot of things on the streets, like a slave vagon and a mock fight in a small ''castle'': Horsens Festival.
Un festival medieval în Horsens. o atenţie fantastică la detalii, până la felul în care este pregătită mâncarea, hainele pe care le poartă nişte oameni şi ramuri tăiate pe străzi. Câteva atracţii cau un turnir erau un pic cam scumpe, dar poţi vedea multe lucruri pe străzi, ca un car cu sclavi şi o luptă înscenată îmtr-un "castel" mic: Horsens Festival.

Norsminde, Denmark

A new bike trip to Norsminde about 20 km from Aarhus. A small harbor for boats, a sea restaurant and nice surroundings but not exactly what you expect when you hear the word fjord: Norsminde.
O nouă expediţie cu bicicleta la Norsminde, la aproximativ 20 km de Aarhus. Un port mic pentru bărci, un restaurant maritim şi împrejurimi frumoase dar nu exact ceea ce aştepţi când auzi cuvântul fiord: Norsminde.

Strange and odd pictures

Sometimes i come across somethings that i just need to take a picture, just to not lose this moment: Strange.

Câteodată întâlnesc un lucru pe care trebuie neapărat să îl fotografiez, ca să nu pierd momentul: Strange.

London, Great Britain

On the way back from my vacation I had 10 hours break between flights and I managed to squeeze in 5 hours of effectively visiting London. From the many attractions, I managed only a 40 minutes trips on Thames, the rest being just wandering around between Westminster and the Tower of London on the river-walk: London. I add here as well few pictures from the flight toward London: Flight to London. Another trip made in April 2010 got me in Hyde Park: Hyde Park and to British Museum British Museum. November 2011 a trip to London enabled me to make just two short trips on London museums, one to the London Tower and one to London Natural History Museum. I have here some picture from my walk around Thames: London Thames path and some pictures from London Tower. That was a good show from the tour guide but i was disappointing with the level of access on the fortress, you don't really have a sense of history inside. Here are a series of pictures from inside of the tower: London Tower, London Tower medieval weapons.  Although it was free I found out the Natural History Museum was much better and a great way to spend a day, and these are some sections where I spend some time in: Dinosaurs, Birds, Marine life, Rocks, and Gems.

În drumul înapoi din vacanţă am avut o pauză de 10 ore între zboruri şi am reuşit să introduc 5 ore efective pentru vizitarea Londrei. Din multe atracţii, am reuşit numai o călătorie de 40 minute în Tamisa, restul fiind doar o hoinăreală între Westminster şi Turnul Londrei pe malul râului: London. Adaug aici de asemenea câteva poze din zborul spre Londra : Flight to London. Altă călătorie făcută în aprilie 2010 m-a adus în Hyde Park: Hyde Park şi la British Museum British Museum. În noiembrie 2011 o călătorie la Londra m-a ajutat să fac două călătorii scurte la muzee din Londra, una La Turnul Londrei şi una la Muzeul de Istoria Naturii din Londra. Am aici nişte poze din plimbarea mea în jurul Tamisei: London Thames path şi câteva poze din Turnul Londrei. Acesta a avut un spectacol bun din parte ghidului dar am fost dezamăgit cu nivelul de acces în fortăreaţă, nu ai un sens al istorie înăuntru. Aici sunt o serie de poze din interiorul turnului: London Tower, London Tower medieval weapons. Deşii era gratis am considerat că muzeul de Istorie Naturală a fost mult mai bun şi o idee fantastică pentru a petrece ziua şi acestea sunt unele secţiuni unde am petrecut ceva timp: Dinosaurs, Birds, Marine life, Rocks, Gems.

Cilnic, Romania

This is the village were my grandparents live and were i lived until i was 5 years old. I spend almost all my vacations and my weekends there until I finished my university studies. Is not a big village, has no industry, so the people are working in agriculture or in a nearby stripe mine of coal wich is used in a huge power-plant. This caused 2 nearby villages to be moved, and some hills appeared as a result of residual material from the mine. There are now almost recovered for cattle grazing, but you can still see the edge between them and the mine: Calnic.

Acesta este satul unde trăiesc bunicii mei şi unde am trăit pâna la vârsta de  5 ani. Mi-am petrecut acolo toate vacanţele şi sfârşiturile de săptămână până când mi-am terminat studiile universitare. Nu este un sat mare, nu are industrie, aşa că oamenii muncesc în agricultură sau în exploatarea minieră de suprafaţă de cărbune, care este folosit în termocentrala din apropiere. Aceasta a cauzat mutarea a 2 sate şi unele dealuri au apărut ca rezultat a materialului steril din mină. Ele sunt acum aproape recuperate pentru păşunat, dar marginea dintre ele şi mină încă poate fi văzută: Calnic.

Vacation in Romania

It was time for a short vacation, so i went home. It was part vacation, part work, helping my parents and grandparents. I was able to squize in few day of real vacation so i went with my parents in a few road trips.
In the first one we went to a small river Pocruia and we visit Tismana monastery, both situated  in my native Gorj county: Pocruia and Tismana Monastery. In a series of roadtrips we drove to the nearby Valcea county, were we stayed for three days in Voineasa resort in the south of Carphatian mountains. We went there passing through Olt Valley, were we visit also the Cozia monastery: Olt Valley and Cozia Monastery. After that we got a room in Voineasa resort: Voineasa. We continued to make a drive to Vidra lake through the mountains: Road to Vidra Lake, and we finally arrived to the lake, one of the bigger artificial lakes in our country. It was partially empty at that time, but still impresive: Vidra Lake. One of the best parts of the trip was Latorita valley, were we visited also the lake Petrimanu. The views are incredible: Latorita Valley. On the way back we crossed the mountains passing through Lotru valley Lotru Valley (the river wich gives water to Vidra lake) and we come down to the other side passing next to Jiet creek Jiet Valley, one of the precursors of river Jiu. We followed Jiu river all the way home to Tirgu Jiu.

A fost timpul pentru o vacanţă scurtă, deci am mers acasă. A fost parte vacanţă, parte muncă, ajutându-mi părinţii şi bunicii. Am fost capabil să storc câteva zile de vacanţă adevărată deci am mers cu părinţii mei în câteva călătorii cu maşina. În prima din ele am mers la pârâul Pocruia şi am vizitat mânăstirea Tismana, amândouă situate în judeţul meu natal: Pocruia and Tismana monastery. Într-o serie de călătorii cu maşina am mers la judeţul învecinat Vâlcea. Am trecut prin valea Oltului am vizitat manastirea Cozia: Olt Valley and Cozia Monastery. Dupa aceea am stat pentru 3 zile în staţiunea Voineasa: Voineasa. Am continuat să facem o călătorie cu maşina la lacul Vidra prin munţi: Road to Vidra lake şi am ajuns în sfârşit la lac, unul din cele mai mari lacuri de acumulare din ţara noastră. Era golit parţial în acel moment, dar încă impresionant: Vidra lake. Una din cele mai faine părţi ale călătoriei a fost valea Latoriţei, unde am vizitat de asemenea lacul Petrimanu. Priveliştelile au fost incredibile: Latorita valley. Pe drumul înapoi am trecut munţii prin valea Lotrului Lotru valley (râul care duce apă la lacul Vidra) şi am ajuns coborât pe cealaltă parte la pârâul Jieţ Jiet valley, unul din afluenţii râului Jiu. Am urmărit râul Jiu tot drumul spre casă în Târgu Jiu.