On the last Saturday of November, on a sunny but very cold morning, I entered a small and beautiful forest, cool and humid, along a valley formed by the courses of the Sousa and Ferreira rivers.
Previously instigated by a colleague, a veteran of these wanderings, I moved towards the personal discovery of a Small Route (PR) - a linear route with a length of 5.4 km - included in the set of routes and trails in the “Serras do Porto”. Previous research identified this route as having a trail known for the water mills on it.
This Small Route has the official name of “PR1 GDM – Linha de Midões e Moinhos de Jancido”. It was inaugurated on May 1, 2021, duly approved by the Portuguese Camping and Mountaineering Federation (FCMP).
Contrary to the good safety rules for hikers, I embarked on it and its trails without any traveling companion (on my first foray), encouraged by its proximity, the information about its beauty and, above all, the classification of “easy” as per its physical demand.
For those who don't know, this valley is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the Sousa river, a tributary of the Douro river, into which it flows from its right bank, about 10 km from the city of Porto; and the Ferreira River, the main tributary of the Sousa River, flowing into it very close to its mouth (on the Douro River).
This pedestrian route is based on the old Midões railway line, which operated between 1856 and 1927. This line served the old coal mines of Midões, as well as the antimony and gold mines of Montalto. Coal was transported along this line to the mouth of the Sousa River, where it was loaded onto boats that went down the Douro River to the city of Porto.
The main attraction of this pedestrian route are the Jancido mills, which are around 200 years old. There are currently 8 (eight) existing caster mills, with their millstones driven by water. His work in the past consisted of transforming corn and other cereals into flour, used mainly to make bread.
Throughout the 1970s, these mills progressively stopped being productive, due to the advent of grinding operated based on electrical systems. In 2017, at a time when these mills were in ruins, a group of local volunteers undertook a process to restore this historical and social heritage. Thus, the “Amigos dos Moinhos de Jancido” (Friends of Jancido Mills) emerged.
Having parked my car next to the western entry point into the Small Route, I started the route at around 11 am.
Even before I delve into the leafy area of the forest, I see a huge building in the distance, next to the Sousa River.
After traveling a few more meters, I can better visualize it, photograph it and understand, later, what it was about. This is the building of the old Sousa River Water Collection Center. Imposing, located on the right bank of the river (that is, on the other side of the river from the route started).
This plant is closed, deactivated and has fallen into disrepair over the years. It is classified as a monument of public interest. In July 2021, the municipality of Porto, the municipality of Gondomar and other public entities signed an agreement so that an innovation and knowledge center could be created in this space. I don't know the evolution of this agreement... but the plant remains closed and without visible recovery works.
Along the way I came across a bird with a completely black body and wings, with only a lighter beak or face, and with large open wings. It is much bigger than a duck, with elegance and no difficulties in its flight.
I'm fascinated just by seeing it, because I don't remember ever seeing it... Not that I'm an expert (I understand little or nothing about birds), but this is a bird of a size that I didn't expect to see there, just 10 km from Porto.
And yet, there she is, sunbathing, drying her wings, in the company of another of the same species. And I saw many more, along this route, not at all shy or fearful, flying along the Sousa River, very close to its mouth.
This photograph - on the left - was taken at the end of the complete route. To do this, I crossed the Sousa River to the other bank, parked the car next to the old water collection plant and obtained this image, approaching, with slow steps, the riverbank.
Already at home, through research on the internet, I realize that it is a white-faced cormorant.
It is an excellent swimmer that dives to catch the fish it feeds on. In Portugal, it mainly stays during winter (from September to April), and can be seen in humid areas, in concentrations of dozens or even hundreds of birds from the same family. They can be seen more frequently in dams, reservoirs and medium and large rivers. It likes to dry itself in the sun, in the company of its family, spreading its huge wings, which can reach 1.50 meters.
Having photographed this rare bird (at least for me...) from a distance , I continued my journey. A little further on, but still in the first few hundred meters of walking, signs on the path put me in front of two options: continue on a trail further away from the river or opt for the "mills path" ("trilho dos moinhos"), which runs very close to the river bank.
I don't hesitate and take the downward path towards the river...
And I found this as I entered the forest, on a route increasingly closer to the left bank of the Sousa River:
There the humidity is high, as the river is very close, the banks are low, flooded and muddy, the forest is made up of multiple trees, with leafy crowns. And, at that moment when I'm walking, the sun's rays still don't fall on the left bank of the river (which they will do later, with the sun positioned to the south-west).
The trail takes me very close to the riverbank.
Uncovered face and hands are my most direct contact with the cold that is beginning to penetrate my body.
My senses are wide awake by the cold... and the beauty of the nature that surrounds me.
On the other side of the bank I see a spit of sand, forming a small river beach.
Dozens of ducks glide over a clear mirror of fresh water, swimming up and down the river, leaving behind them a trail of lines and curves that fade with time.
A lone fisherman fishes in the river from the bank. What? I don't know... I want to ask him, but I don't dare, because I would have to raise my voice for him to hear me and that would break the enchantment of the peaceful sounds of nature around me.
Green, green and more green... This is the dominant color of the palette that paints the landscape around me.
Further ahead the trail moves away from the river bank. Denser vegetation accompanies it, leaving the bank more uncovered and allowing the sun to come into contact with the humid land, warming it without drying it out.
The trail remains beautiful, inviting me to discover it, insinuating itself into curves that follow the river.
And here I am at Longras Bridge ("Ponte de Longras")... A bridge that, some say, is centuries old and that had been in ruins for 20 years, before being rebuilt in 2012 by the inhabitants of Jancido.
A bridge that allows crossing to the other bank, which is more illuminated and warmed by the rays of the morning sun.
A place of unique beauty... leaving me speechless.
And Nature keeps amazing me, revealing itself along the way.
And more... and more...
The directions along the route create me the expectation of ever closer proximity to the famous windmills...
I see the first mill in the distance... and I follow the path that leads to it with doubled anticipation.
After visiting the "Facho and Garrido mill" (each mill has a sign with the name by it was known, the name of its former owners), I continue the walk, crossing a small wooden bridge, following the rumor of a waterfall .
And here I am in front of a waterfall, which surrounds and flanks another of Jancido's mills, known as "Caiáguas Waterfall" ("Cascata do Caiáguas").
The crystal clear water that flows down the slope, in a cascade, flanks a mill that uses it for its function. Its route is marked by white lines on black stone, well polished by the amount of water that passes through it. The 'singing' of the water that flows, leaping, down the slope, towards the river, is the soundtrack of a unique painting.
The sign photographed below is placed a few meters from the site. These are words written by Francisco Sousa Viterbo (poet, archaeologist, historian and journalist, born in Porto) that well illustrate what I am experiencing:
(Translation:
"Two leagues from Porto I had the opportunity some time ago to observe some mills, whose picturesque situation would give a talented painter the occasion for the most delightful landscape painting. It was at the confluence of the Sousa and the Ferreira, running between alpine mountains that seemed to lean over curiously and jealously to watch the engagement of the two rivers. An ylide by Florian in a scenario by Salvador Rosa."
in "The Portuguese archaeologist" 1986
Francisco Sousa Viterbo»)
Stone stairs, placed on the slope, direct me to the mill that flanks the waterfall.
A rope is strategically placed along the staircase to allow greater safety on the route covered in moss and damp foliage.
The signs on site point to the need to climb this slope to continue following the "mills trail".
And so I do.
On the way up I see, below, the Facho e Garrido mill, which I have already visited, the small wooden bridge beneath which the waters of the waterfall join the river. The landscape remains admirable!
The interior of the mill reveals part of the remarkable restoration work that the "Friends of Jancido" carried out in these mills and on these routes.
These mills were small, but efficient (until a certain period) working spaces for grinding cereals and converting them into flour.
The mills, their millstones and the gears that made them move are there, as testimony to a time that is worth remembering and understanding. To better understand ourselves today.
Further up I come across a third mill, another that harnesses the power of the waters of the Caiáguas waterfall.
This is the "Almeida mill" ("Moinho do Almeida"), as indicated on the sign. On one side of the column that supports a large flat stone - which creates a kind of porch at the entrance to the mill - something is engraved and I can't make out what it is. But my imagination flies away...
The setting of the mills in the landscape has something “magical”... something truly “magical”...
The feeling I have, ever since I entered this forest, this valley, is that I am truly in an enchanted place. If there are such places in our world... this is certainly one of them.
The "mill trail" continues to lead me down a stone staircase...
And I reach the top of the stairs to immediately realize that I am now on the upper trail, further away from the river (do you remember that at the beginning of the walk I chose to follow the "mill trail" next to the river?...).
But I realize that the "mill trail" doesn't end here... Well, after all, aren't there eight "Jancido mills"? And I go back up the stairs in obedience to the signs that guide me towards the remaining mills.
I look down and contemplate the narrow valley with dense forests, the Sousa River meandering through it.
Further along the route, I captured something in a photograph that I couldn't explain, but which made me smile: a rope stretched between two trees where more than a dozen bras of different colors and sizes were hanging.
The reason for them to be there?... I don't know, until today.
I find myself further away from the river, but again in a leafy and very green forest, where the sun's rays have difficulty penetrating, with streams of clear water flowing down the slope, foreshadowing its end, much further down, in the Sousa River.
«(...)
What is needed is to be natural and calm
In happiness or unhappiness,
Feel like someone looking,
Think like someone walking (...)»
(Fernando Pessoa)
I realize there is an initiative by "Amut" and "Agir pelo Planeta" that spreads poetry throughout the forest.
In a literal sense.
This whole place is poetry... so there would be no better place to do it.
Further up the trail I find the "Oliveira's mill" ("Moinho do Oliveira") with its "levada" that carried the water from the stream to move the millstone.
This part of the "moinhos' trail", well above the river level, is covered in a circular configuration.
That is, I can see that the trail is taking me back to the starting point, much closer to the Sousa River, next to the Caiáguas waterfall.
In this area of the route, a rope placed along the route leads me in the right direction.
"Cinema in the mills", says one of them. Now there is an objective for a next visit.
Wooden tables and benches, strategically placed along the route, invite you to rest and calmly contemplate the surrounding nature.
I see and approach the "Capela's mill" ("Moinho do Capela"). Its setting in nature is different (as each of the others is different...), but equally beautiful, next to a stream that runs gently down the hillside.
Further down I will find another enchanted and enchanting mill...
And yet another mill...
There are eight mills in Jancido: "Moinho do Quintas", "Moinho do Oliveira", "Moinho do Capela", "Moinho do Alves", "Moinho do Caralhitos", "Moinho do Almeida", "Moinho do Crestina" and "Moinho do Garrido". In an ordering from river source to mouth.
They inherited those names from the families that owned them.
They are positioned along the Caiáguas river, in Jancido.
This flow of water that will flow into the Caiáguas waterfall is formed by water from springs along 1,000 meters of course.
Water, in this region, was once used as a traditional irrigation system and as a lever for grinding cereals, having been shared through the consort system in the village of Jancido.
These mills are over 200 years old, small buildings built in schist stone, fed by the waters of the river brought to them by "levadas" and dams.
And the "mills trail" takes us through them all, on a truly magical route...
But now it's time to move on...
I go back down to the trail right next to the Sousa River...
...and I come across a strange swing.
Aesthetically beautiful, strategically placed, but it doesn't seem functional to be used and enjoyed by anyone.
Is it really a swing... or does it have another use? I remain in doubt until the end of the walk, leaving the answer to this question for further research.
Does anyone know the answer?
Meanwhile, time passes, the sun travels its arc across the sky (yes, I know it is the Earth that moves...), the forest is not so dense and there is more light on my path (yes, literally and also metaphorically...).
The landscape remains admirable. Successive paintings, all different, all equally beautiful, parade along my path...
Yes, the trail is this way...
I arrive close to the Linha bridge ("Ponte da Linha"), which connects the two banks of the Sousa River. This is a metal bridge with a thick plywood floor, replacing the old bridge on the Midões line, which collapsed.
I cross it.
I enter a new stage of the journey. The trail takes me away from the riverbank and takes me to more open and bright fields. But the proximity of the river and its humidity can be seen in some muddy paths that the sun has not yet dried.
Entering and traveling through a small gorge, I come across a road bridge beneath which holds the trail I am following.
I find myself underneath a motorway: the A43, or IC29 or also known as the Gondomar expressway. It is an imposing landmark of human presence in a landscape that, until now, was almost exclusively rural
Further ahead I notice an intersection, where I will have to choose between continuing towards the "Biodiversity Variant - Private property with permission to pass" or towards the "Parque de merendas do Covelo", which is located 250 meters away.
I realize that the first option will take me to the Midões and Montalto mines.
But hunger speaks louder... Even though I carry a backpack with something to eat and drink, the truth is that I long to find a quiet place where I can rest and eat.
I knew this in advance, but at that moment I realized that I still have to make the return journey, since this Small Route is a linear route (and not a circular one).
I no longer hesitate and continue towards Covelo picnic park...
...or at least, so I thought.
The truth is that 250 meters from the intersection I can't find any park, much less a picnic area.
But the landscape... it never ceases to dazzle me.
I walk... way... and walk... in search of a picnic park, or something similar. But I can't find it... I no longer notice any marked trail along the way, the vegetation thickens as I get closer to the riverbank.
I decide to stop and go back, along the same route. I try to get back on track and understand where I went wrong. But, without realizing where I went wrong, I return to the intersection where I made the decision to continue to the picnic park.
I make my resting bench from a log on the ground at the edge of the trail. And I regain strength and energy, drinking and eating part of my provisions.
I choose not to continue towards the Midões and Montalto mines and start the journey back to the starting point.
The way back serves to better record in my memory - and on my cell phone - some more of the enormous beauty that this enchanted territory allowed me to see and enjoy.
When I finish my walk - around four hours after starting it - I promise myself to walk this Little Route and its trails again.
But I want to start it much earlier, to watch the effect of the first rays of sun on the river and absorb the effect of light and shadow from the rays that enter the few clearings that the dense forest allows.
Anyway, the idea is to return... again and again... to watch Nature awaken in this true enchanted valley.
The following week I go back there a second time, this time accompanied by Daniela. We planned to walk the part of the route that I hadn't yet completed (the trail towards the Montalto and Midões mines) and understand where I went wrong when I wanted to take the trail to the Covelo picnic park. But various circumstances did not allow us to do so.
There are no two without three (this is a Portuguese expression)... I'm sure I'll be back there soon. But beauty like this is to be shared with anyone who can and knows how to admire it...
Do you want to join me and a small group of ‘hikers’ and set out to discover these trails? Or other trails around this country?
Then don't hesitate to contact me:
Marco Moura Marques
+351 967 035 966
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