July 2017 - Trekking tour in the Pyrenees, Aigüestortes National Park, Spain

Trekking tour in the Pyrenees, Aigüestortes National Park, Spain - July 2017

Moderate/Challenging Level - level 3 in 5 max
7 days of moderate hiking, 6 nights in mountain huts + 2 optional nights in Barcelona (hotels)
Tours in 2017: 1st Jul 2017 - Reservation Deadline: 15th May 2017
or gather your group and select your own schedule

Check our photo gallery from previous tours

Aigüestortes National Park (Spanish Pyrenees)

Aiguestortes National Park is located in the central area of the Spanish Pyrenees and is the only national park in Catalonia.
Its territory is divided between the municipalities of Vall d’Aran, Pallars Sobirá, Alta Ribagorça and Pallars Jussà, about 200 km’s West of Andorra.
Was created in 1955 and today covers an area of approximately 40,000 hectares also considering the peripheral protected areas.
Is a natural space of great beauty where both water and granite appears in their maximum splendor in surprising combinations.
With a high concentration of ridges often around 3,000 m high, as is the Punta Alta (3,015 m) and the Contraix (2,960 m), you will find a high contrast with the deep green valleys where streams flow with crystal clear waters.

The trail

The trail is approximately 75 km long and is divided into 7 journeys/days.
Is a 7 days long loop trail which goes through hills and valleys where you will find crystal clear water lakes that reflects the silhouettes of impressive granitic mountains.
The average elevation of the route lies on the quota of 2,500 m, sometimes reaching very close to 3,000 m.
During the course the hike you will have the opportunity to visit 8 mountain refuges among which 6 we will use to spend the night and dine.
The use of mountain huts allows you to do not have to carry excessive weight in your backpacks because there you will find very good food, shower and a place to sleep. More than that, these huts are also a meeting point for travelers from various points of the globe and the talking and exchange of experiences creates unforgettable moments.
The comfortable pace and moderate distances make this an accessible hike to most trekkers, even with little experience.
The map image above gives you an idea of the trail we will walk where the each colour corresponds to each journey/day.
The 1st and 8th nights will be spent in hotel on the outskirts of Barcelona Airport.
The remaining nights will be spent in mountain huts in Aiguestortes National Park, in the Spanish Pyrenees.
In each hut is possible to sleep and they will provide dinner, breakfast and the lunch for the next day.

Questions & Answers

How does it works?

You can join me for a pre set tour or gather your own group and establish your own schedule.
Reservation forms and respective payment will be received until Reservation Deadline.
Reservations are only considered effective with the respective payment.
I will provide all required information’s in order to help client’s to prepare their travel.
Clients will be meet at the Barcelona Airport upon their arrival and, at the end of the tour, they will be taken to the airport as well. Different arrangements (ex: pick up and drop off at a certain hotel) can be agreed case-by-case.

Accommodations and meals

The included six nights will be spent in mountain huts during the trekking tour.
Extra/optional nights in Barcelona, or any other location, can be agreed. Please contact us for more details.
In the mountain huts you will find a place to sleep, ward style, where you will get a mattress, a pillow and blankets. We suggest you to bring your own light sleeping bag.
In these huts you will be served with very good meals. You can have both breakfast and dinner in the hut and lunch is provided early in the morning, picnic style for you to carry in your backpack.
From Day 1 dinner to Day 7 lunch you will have all three meals per day included in the base price.

Luggage and backpack

Each client has a volume/weight luggage quota of 60 liters and/or 30Kg.
During the walk you will carry your backpack with only what you will need for the duration of the hike.
Your remaining luggage can be left in the town's lockers.

Clothing, footwear and other individual items

We will be glad to provide you all the information you may need to help you to better prepare your travel.

Transfers during the tour

There will be a logistical support vehicle allocated to the tour.
The transfer Barcelona/Tour/Barcelona is included in the price.

Detailed Program

The Detailed Program is part of the documentation that the participant receives when the tour is confirmed.

Plane flights

You can purchase directly your plane flights.

Please bear in mind: last minute reservations can result in increased costs and booking difficulties.

Mountain huts

There are many kinds of mountain huts and the experiences we have had in some places are not necessarily equal to the experiences we will have in Aigüestortes National Park.
In the context of mountain huts at an European level, we will find a set of huts with very good conditions, very good management and very well attended.
Some are stone and masonry construction, with wooden interior for greater comfort level and most of them providing warm water for showers.
With capacities to between 20 and 70 people, depending on their size, they offer a set of miscellaneous services not losing their mountaineer charisma.
Each hut has its own management so you can find small differences in the rules. These rules are extremely important when so many different people get together in small places.
The photographs here used can give an idea of the appearance of some of the huts used during this tour. To those that do not have previous experiences using mountain huts, this is an excellent opportunity to start.
We can provide you all informative support to help you to in the preparation of your travel.
Those who already have other experiences will be probably pleased with the conditions they will find here.

Tours in 2017

Tour Dates / Reservation Deadline
1st Jul to 7th Jul 2017 / 15th May 2017
or gather your group and select the schedule with lower prices, ask me :)

Price and reservations

Tour Base Price: 700€

Includes: Accommodation (6 nights in mountain huts during the tour), breakfasts from Day 2 to Day 7, lunches/picnic from Day 2 to Day 7, dinners from Day 1 to Day 6 - all provided by the mountain huts. Vegetarian options must be informed upon reservation.

Does not includes: plane tickets and everything else that is not expressly mentioned as included in this information page.

Single room supplement:  not available because there is not such possibility in the mountain huts where we will stay.

Reservation value and procedure: 350,00€ - Remaining amount paid in full until 90 days before tour’s first day.

All above mentioned prices includes guide, insurance and VAT plus usage of the equipment if needed and if that is stated in the specific information of the event.

Cancellation

The costs of cancellation are as follows:

90 days before 1st Tour Day – 0% of reservation

89-60 days before 1st Tour Day – 25% of reservation

59-45 days before 1st Tour Day – 50% of reservation

44-30 days before 1st Tour Day – 75% of reservation

29 days or less before 1st Tour Day – 100% of reservation

To cancel your reservation it is mandatory that an e-mail is sent from the same e-mail address used for the reservation.

The amount will be transferred back to the same account used to the reservation.

Informations and reservations

Email - david.monteiro@iberactive.com

Cell Phone: +351 914 794 553 (also in WhatsApp)

Skype: monteiro.david

Legal information

“Iberactive” is a registered trademark of the Travel Agency
Iberhills – Eventos e Viagens, Unipessoal Lda
Rua Professor Mira Fernandes, Lt 1543 – 5Dto
1900-383 Lisboa
Portugal

Tax Identification Number (VAT number): 513 891 099

Bank Account:
Novo Banco SA (Lisbon, Portugal)
IBAN:  PT50 007 0000 0031 3261 0162 3         SWIFT / BIC: BESCPTPL

Also payable via PayPal

Operating with the following licenses: RNAVT: 6246 and RNAAT 338/2016 of the Portuguese Tourism Authorities
Certified as "Turismo de Natureza" by ICNF

Check our photo gallery from previous tours

What to do and what to visit at Porto in one day?

What to do and what to visit at Porto in one day?

The most common answer you will have when asking such question to a “tripeiro” is: “you can’t”.

“tripeiro” - the natives of Porto are known in Portuguese as "tripeiros"

You will understand that the answer results from loving too much the city and when you will visit it you will easily get the reason why, it’s a gorgeous city, very photogenic in fact.

However sometimes the reality is that we only have one day so we will have to cook with the potatoes we have.

By reducing the time to just one day we will have to select only a few places to go in a wide variety of interesting sites.

My suggestion for you is: a morning walk, a lunch with products from a local market and a monument/museum visit during the afternoon.

Does it seems like a plan?

Yes, it will be a busy day.

Morning walk in Porto:

Please download a map that will guide you on a walk where you can visit some of the most iconic sites in Porto. Please  print the map in a A3 format or use it in your smartphone as a pdf.

Is a 6,5Km (4mi) stroll, perfect for a sunny morning and it will leave you enough time to stop for pictures and a coffee on the way.

The suggested walk will take you to several spots where you can take panoramic photos from Porto.

In a future post I will describe what can you see during this walk by identifying the numbers you can see written on the map.

Lunch with products from a local market:

During your morning walk you can visit a market identified as number 3 on the map, is the Bulhão market.

There you will find fresh products like fruits and vegetables and around there you will also find some old traditional groceries shops. I’m sure you can get there plenty of items to arrange a snack for you.

Monument/museum visit:

During the afternoon I suggest you to visit one of the following monuments/museums:

Museu Soares dos Reis, Palácio da Bolsa, Torre dos Clérigos, Museum and Gardens of Jardins de Serralves or Casa da Música.

Enjoy your day and do not hesitate to send me an email you case you need to exchange some ideas.

David Monteiro

Link to the original source

Escaroupim, some days are forever

A day at Escaroupim, Portugal, and you will feel that some days are forever.

Not too far from Lisbon, driving around 45 minutes north, you will find a tiny little village called Escaroupim.

It sits at the left bank of the river Tagus, Tejo in Portuguese.

Escaroupim is one of the several “aldeias avieiras” along the river. I guess you don’t know what an “aldeia avieira” is but in a later article I will explain.

At this traditional village you can take a boat that will drive you through the several river channels where most of the birds go for their late afternoon bug meal … amazing scenario.

On top of all we get to know more about the local birds with the entertaining explanations.

It really doesn’t matter if it’s cold or warm because the boats have covers that can be putted on or off.

What it really matters is the time of the day and sunset is king.

A day to remember.

David Monteiro

Link to the ariginal article

Cliché photo of a waterfall at the Azores

Some shots are irresistible.

Cliché photo of a waterfall in the Azores

I was at Flowers Island, at the Azores archipelago that belong to Portugal, spending days of vacations and, contrary to the rest of the year I was not in the mood for physical activities, which I do all year round. I wanted to enjoy being there, the place and the tranquility.

But, after two days of heavy rain and being confined to this cheap hotel room the relaxation was starting to annoy me a great deal.

We had planned to spend two days at Corvo island but it was impossible to go out or to arrive to Flores, boats and planes are not running because of the bad weather. So, that tour went down the drain.

After this two days the plan were to go spend some more days at Fajã Grande, the opposite extreme of the island.

With so much rain the soil couldn’t absorb more water and the creek and waterfalls were pumping of life in movement and colors.

On our way to Fajã Grande at a certain moment I saw another waterfall but without realizing how far I was a didn’t pay too much attention, it was just another one and … who care for pictures of water falling from a cliff?

I was not for cliché photos were at that time until I reached the road that is close enough ear the water falling and that was really far anyway.

Ok, I was totally convinced to stop and photograph the scene.

David Monteiro

Location: Waterfall of the “Ribeira Grande” and viewpoint of Fajãzinha, Flores Island, Azores archipelago, Portugal

Link to the original article source

Aigüestortes National Park at the Pyrenees - Spain

The Park's correct name is Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park but usually is referred as Aigüestortes because the name is quite long.

Is located in the central area of the Spanish Pyrenees and is the only national park in Catalonia.

Its territory is divided between the municipalities of Vall d’Aran, Pallars Sobirá, Alta Ribagorça and Pallars Jussà, about 200 km West of Andorra.

Was created in 1955 and today covers an area of approximately 40,000 hectares also considering the peripheral protected areas.

Is a natural space of great beauty where both water and granite appears in their maximum splendor and in surprising combinations.

With a high concentration of ridges often around 3,000 m high, as is the Punta Alta (3,015 m) and the Contraix (2,960 m), you will find a high contrast with the deep green valleys where streams flow with crystal clear waters.

The first time I visited this park I didn’t know what to expect, I thought this was another Pyrenees park as beautiful as the others I knew. I was wrong.

In between my circle of friends it was not very known and back then I couldn’t find much information about it so it took me a while to be interested in going there.

I remember to join a group of friends to climb the Vignemale and after that, because I still had a few days to spend so, together with my friend Carlos Queirós we decided to visit the park.

The first two days was quite foggy so I couldn’t really appreciate the place but on the third day it was just amazing, it was like walking in a postcard, I

My company logo was inspired in the mountains of the park and my active tourism entrepreneurial endeavor was begun, important landmarks for me.

Have fun,

David Monteiro

Link to the original article source

A hard day at Sierra de Gredos - Spain

A hard day at Sierra de Gredos - Spain

The wind was blowing tremendously strong intensifying the wind chill effect and the fog was preventing us to see more than 50m ahead.

I knew the summit Almanzor was not too far from the point where we was standing but we were still missing the most difficult part to climb.

The team was not prepared to overcome such a difficult task and, on top of that there was no point to continue.

I knew everybody was eager to reach the top … we were so close …

"THAT IS IT GUYS … WE HAVE TO RETURN"

It's hard having to "stop the fun" especially when I knew that everybody had traveled from so far away to climb this mountain but I know today that was the right decision at that time.

(one day earlier)

I can't say the day before was sunny and with a blue sky, was not. Was kind of foggy day but good enough for a ice climbing introduction and I had the opportunity to explain all the techniques I was supposed to and, at the end was a wonderful working day.

We spent the night at the Refúgio Elola, the local mountain hut and I remember the substantial dinner we had, was something like a goulash in a Spanish way, whatever that is.

The climbing day was supposed to have better weather but Nature has its mysteries and during the night the Gods might had some disagreement in between them.

I slept regularly, in mountain huts I never sleep deeply but the fair amount to rest. Anyway, inside the mountain hut one cannot have the perception of the weather outside.

We left the hut around 5am, just before sunrise. It's always better to start walking with hard snow.

There was no way to see the clouds and or to assess the weather for the next hours.

Around 8am the weather was already giving us a hard time and we was right before being exposed to the most severe area, we was about to be at the north face of the mountain, the windiest part.

Half an hour later I had all the team tide up to a rock, all prepared to climb the last section but there was when I realized the team couldn't continue and you know the rest.

I'm joining a picture of the place but with god weather so you can understand where was we :)

The mountain is still there so we will try another day.

David Monteiro

Link to the original source

Walking from Fuenterrabia to San Sebastian - Spain

Walking from Fuenterrabia/Hondarribia to San Sebastian/Donostia, Basque Country, Spain.

I loooove to walk … that is obvious … however is not an absolute truth because there are walks I love more than others and some walk I hope not have to do them.

Each walk has its charm but for a walk to enter into my favorites gallery the walk has to have something special like a story, History, superb views, extraordinary places or, something less objective, has to have that je ne sais quoi that will make it special.

The Spanish Basque Country is widely known by its gastronomy and there there is also a quite long and beautiful coastal line.

When I first started to analyze the trail from Hondarribia (Fuenterrabia in Spanish) to Donostia (San Sebastian in Spanish) I didn't know what to expect so I was open to whatever I could find.

Hondarribia is a Spanish Basque village at the border with Hendaye a French Basque village and, in between these two Basque villages, you can find the river Bidasoa. Is a village full of life where you will find a lot of bars with amazing pintxos.

There's a trail here that will take you directly do Donostia, always along the Cantabric coast and that was the trail I first thought about doing. Has 30 Km with 1400 m of elevation gain, challenging but not too difficult.

In the meantime, I realized that not too far from the trail there was quite a good number of elements that are quite interesting to visit while doing the walk and that could increase the charm of the walk, decrease the length, reduce the elevation gain a little bit and increase the charm ... looks like a good deal.

The trail ended up having 27 Km with 1100 m of elevation gain. Is still a challenging walk but with added value. Not too bad, I knew that some of my clients would love to do it.

Now I know that I can either do the trail in one shoot or split it in two wonderful walking days.

During the trail you can visit/see:

• Higuer lighthouse 
• Guadalupe Sanctuary
• Jaizkibel
• The six Carlist Towers
• Donibane de Pasaia
• Cross the river Oiartzun in a cute little ferry
• La Plata lighthouse

And, before crossing Donibane de Pasaia you can have lunch in a wonderful terrace by the river Oiartzun mouth looking to the sea.

Arriving to Donostia will be time to have a deserved bath and a nice meal. One thing that you will find in abundance in Donostia is restaurants where you have a superb dinner.

I already did this walk with clients and they loved everything. For sure I will repeat it.

Enjoy yourself.

David Monteiro

Location: San Sebastian, Spain

Link to the original article

Walking in Ervamoira wine farm - Portugal

Walking in Ervamoira, a wine farm in the Douro Valley, Portugal where they produce Port wine and table wine.

It'spectacular and unexpected to see a planted vineyard where is so warm and so dry that only olive, almond and fig trees could grow and nothing else can.

The merit belongs to Ramos Pinto the famous Portuguese wine makers.

José Ramos Pinto was looking for a more flat estate to able to have a mechanized vineyard structure and found this estate that, at that time was called Quinta de Santa Maria.

The farm was "re"baptized as Ervamoira, like the book from Suzanne Chantal.

This is one of the warmer and dryer areas in Portugal so you may want to avoid the summer months because it will be to hot to walk. During winter it can also be too cold … extreme temperatures, very characteristic of inland regions of the northeast regions.

This area, called Fôz Côa, is quite known due to an impressive set of prehistoric drawings. In case you want to visit the engravings you will need to go to the Tourist Office at Vila Nova de Foz Côa and get a guided visit.

Remember, above all this is a wine region so taste the wonderful wines you can find here, both table wines and Port wine. I tasted (several times) their white Port wine and is delicious. 

A special thanks to Sónia Teixeira the official guide of the Ervamoira and a lovely host.
From Chãs to Ervamoira's premises is a 7,5 Km walk with 390 m descent (blue line of the map) and from Ervamoira's premises until Chãs is a 9 Km walk with 375 m  ascent (red line of the map), taking into account that you might want to see the engravings in the meantime.

Enjoy yourself.

David Monteiro

Link to the original article