Portugal has intrigued us for quite a long time. If we had had more time when we were in Spain in 2013, we would have taken a side trip across the border. So when we decided on our more extensive travels, Portugal was high on the list of must-see countries. But where? Northern Portugal is festooned with parks and gorgeous mountains, while the middle of the country has attractive cities like Lisbon and Oporto. In the south, the Algarve with its beaches and Mediterranean feel was equally compelling. However, Schengen visa requirements placed some time limits on us; we'd already spent nearly a month in Iceland, which meant we had a bit over two months to explore Portugal. We had to make some sacrifices.

So, for this part of our journey, we decided to get a taste of northern Portugal, then move on to Coimbra. We'll talk about Coimbra in the next section, but for now let's focus on the little town of Soajo (pronounced "So a' zhu", in Portuguese), in the northern Portugal mountains.

Soajo resides in the Parque Nacional Peneda-Geres, in northern Portugal. It's one of several tiny towns perched on the heights north of Oporto, right on the Portuguese border with Spain. It subsists in large part on small farms, viticulture, and tourism. It's a village of quaint houses, narrow streets winding up and down steep hills, a church that dominates the center of town, and sweeping vistas of the surrounding countryside. It's a beautiful place to hike and commune with nature.
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