Guest Diary: From Barcelona to Portugal Active

This is the “Guest Diary”, a series of guest reports and pics of their experiences through our Lodges, Services and Adventure Experiences. At our company, we love to share good times!

Check this one from sports lovers, Frederico, Núria and Enric;

BLOG #2

It was in mid-June 2018 that me and 2 friends headed from Barcelona to Viana do Castelo.
When we decided to go to Viana the aim was to do Kitesurfing and Mountain Biking, but in the end this trip was much more than that.

In search of accommodation we found the Portugal Active Lodge that seemed to us the ideal place to meet our objectives. It was then that we got in touch with Ricardo who from the first moment helped us with everything.

We arrived on Monday afternoon and from the time we opened the gate we thought, “This place is really as spectacular as it looked”, “we’re starting well”.
Curiously, it was a cloudy and cool day which is not at all normal for the month of June.
Ricardo was waiting for us with the fireplace burning and some treats which gave the lounge of the house a warm yet impressive atmosphere, made us feel very welcome. We stayed there to talk and exchange impressions and then we went to a restaurant nearby to try a delicious cod roast in the live coal with baked potatoes, for sure the best I ever tasted. “Taberna Afonso” is the name of the restaurant.

On Wednesday, early in the morning, we woke up with a typical great summer day, with the regrets of having eaten too much the night before, we decided to go out with the mountain bikes to burn some calories! We rided down the road  in the direction of  Lima’s river to catch the eco-route that connects Viana to Ponte de Lima. Fantastic ride, beside the river between fields and trees. Super clean and raw. The perfect start of the day!
Arrived at Ponte de Lima we did not resist having a coffee and a cookie!!

Upon returning home the subject was just one. The choice of which would be the climb we wanted to attack to reach the active lodge.
I explain better, there is the easy option, where the ramp is easy and long or the hard option that lasts, 0.6km with 20% inclination!! We did not resist and we decided to measure our strength by the hardest ramp, the momentum was memorable, with the three agonizing in the last turns, the heart to the maximum and without being able to speak !!! We arrived at the top with the smile of happiness and satisfaction for having achieved !!! What a feeling!! It’s Magical to arrive in that beautiful panorama with the birds singing all the time..
Ricardo prepared us a very energetic breakfast and that was exactly what we were needing. We talked to him about the morning ride, we exchanged some ideas about the trails nearby  and the amazing first vibrations that the week was leaving.

After a morning of MTB, we decided to enjoy the afternoon of a magnificent day and went to Cabedelo beach. We were keen to go out to sea, ride our kites and start sailing in such a cool spot. Fantastic evening with great conditions, typical of Viana where you can not ask for more!!
On Wednesday we had a big surprise. Some friends could not resist seeing the photos we were posting and two more surprise friends appeared .. Directly from Barcelona !!! Come on!!! We were very happy and of course, the more the better.

Summed up:
The days went by and the recipe was always the same !!! Fun to the max !!
Our stay was amazing.. Mind-blowing scenery, maximum comfort, great support, nature, sea, beach, adventure, friends, sports and lots of fun. We all hope to return ASAP 🙂

Frederico, Núria and Enric