Well, it was more like the sixth day. And despite how I act on occasion, I really don’t think I’m God (or G-d, or even a god).            

The view above is from our patio at Quinta do Barranco da Estrada, the last stop in our Portugal perambulations (not counting Lisbon, which we added on to the Macs Adventure itinerary). The website for the Qunta is fittingly, “www.paradise-in-portugal.com.” Couldn’t agree more.

About an hour further north and inland from our last stop near the Rota Vicentina, the Qunita is in the Alentejo region, a place of lakes, rolling hills and forests of oak and eucalyptus. As soon as we arrived and plopped down on the patio in front of our cottage, I knew that we were taking the rest of the day off to sit on the patio, gaze at the lake, read, and pet one of the four dogs that live there,

 and explore the lodge and flower-flecked grounds.

We also took a short hike around the area to check out the views of the lake from different perspectives. We did go for 6 mile hike the next day along the roads and through a forest to a little village, but for the first time in the entire trip, we did manage to get lost. Well, maybe not lost, but we did miss an overgrown leg of the trail and ended up backtracking and continuing our hike on the dirt road connecting the Quinta to the outside world. The views from the road were not as dramatic as the Rota Vicentina, but matched our relaxed, easy going pace and mood. We never found the village but I did find some of the most interesting forest fungus I have ever seen.

I’m not sure how they would have been sauteed with some butter and garlic — or if I would have even been around to write this blog if I had tried them — but they looked just perfect where they were.

(Don and Katherine’s trip was hosted by Macs Adventure)