Serra da Lousã. Although I live in Porto, I have lived almost all my life in Coimbra, and therefore Lousã (which is nearby) is extremely familiar to me. However, I had never been to the mountains there.

I mean, I must confess to you that I am not the greatest lover of saws or too quiet places. It’s cool to go from time to time,  but I would never see myself living in an isolated place with only the surrounding forest.

But as I had seen an over-loving swing in the mountains (on the Instagram), we used the excuse of going to Coimbra to visit my dad to go there.

And what began as just a visit to the swing to take a picture, ended in an adventure through one of the region’s most loving shale villages, and the passion for this unique and special place.

But, let’s start from the beginning. The swing is absolutely beautiful and walking in it with that breathtaking view is such a unique experience. The bad part is that there are a lot of people there and so there is a queue to take pics. Consequently, one can not stay an eternity swinging (which is what really feels like doing). Anyways it’s worth it mainly because of the beautiful view.

Our second and last stop was in Talasnal, a tiny but charming shale village.

The houses, all made of shale, looks like they have been taken from a movie, and walking in the tight streets is a perfect family walk on a Sunday afternoon. There are a cafe and a tavern there and several lovely places to take pictures.

Our day there ended when the sun lay over the village and the day turned into night. I loved it so much that I’, quite curious to see other shale villages and more nooks around.

If you have suggestions of places there share in the comments. I’d love to know more magical places like these.