RELAX

BEDTIME STORY – A TRIP TO GERÊS

In the extreme north-east of Portugal, between the Alto Minho and Trás-os-Montes, there are the Serra da Peneda and Serra do Gerês. It is a world apart, a real paradise on earth, where human activity and nature coexist harmoniously, where ancient values and traditions are preserved, where the picturesque villages remain their calm way of life.

It’s easy to lose yourself in the city, with the everyday hurries and worries, the constant alarms and notifications, that email you have to reply to, that call you have to answer, that place where you have to be.

The constant look to the watch. Sometimes you just don’t know what to think and what to feel anymore because you are just too tired. When I really need to relax, there is only one place where I want to be. I turn off my phone to stop all that noise and go to Gerês, where I can forget about the time and focus on the sound of the birds and the waterfalls, where I can feel the cold mountain fresh air. I look around and all I see is the exuberant vegetation covering the mountains, exhibit every shade of green.

I see the Gerês lily, gracing the fields with its blue-violet colors. I sit by the river, listening to the birds with my eyes closed, and everything looks so much simpler. It’s not a problem to lose yourself, as long as it is in beauty and calm.