Distance: 5.1km (229.8km), time spent: 1:22.
Weather: Sunny.
Unable to keep the thought of the Castelo de Germanelo out of my mind, I just have to climb up to it. This is somewhat of a normal occurence when I am out on my walks. I see something, and then my curiosity kicks in and I just have to go there. Having disposed of my backpack at the Casa de Turismo do Rabaçal, I stock up on water and put whatever little else I need into my tiny foldable backpack. Ciaran has no intention of joining me on this venture, did not expect him to either.
Looking up at the Castelo de Germanelo from Rabaçal, you can see the path going up to the top.
I have however no real idea of how to find the proper path leading up to the top where the ruins are located. And the maps in the guidebook are not detailed enough either. I could, on the other hand, see a path twisting its way up to the top from the Camino. The trick is to get to that path. I make a gamble for a road going in the direction of the hill.
Approaching Castelo de Germanelo on a track through some cultivated land.
The road is clearly not the correct way, as it starts to veer off in a wrong direction. Seeing my target moving away from me, I go trespassing across a field, before having to brush my way through a scrubland. After some twists and turns to avoid thorny bushes, I finally find a proper path to walk on. This leads me to the path that I saw from the Camino. Here the proper climb up to the ruins begin.
Looking back down at Rabaçal and the valley below.
The last climb up to the top and the castle ruins.
Built in 1142 between Penela and Rabaçal, the main purpose of the Castelo de Germanelo was to protect the Christians in the area that suffered frequent attacks from the Moors. The Moors often came this way when they were attacking Coimbra and the neighbouring towers and castles could not provide enough protection for those living on this stretch of the road. As a frontier territory, Germanelo became a safe refuge since it gave pardon to lawbreakers who managed to reach it.
The top of the hill with views and Monte Jerumelo in the background.
Of the castle, originally a small irregularly shaped enclosure, and refuge nothing really remains. The current northern wall is a reconstruction from the 20th century. Also on the top is a small round stone, probably a triangulation feature, and an observation deck. The views from the ruins are good and offer almost a 360 degrees view, only blocked by the ruins itself (but it is possible to go around the wall and see the missing angle). I sit down on the observation deck and admires the view, looking down at Rabaçal. I am glad that I did the climb up.
Castelo de Germanelo.
The reconstructed North Wall of Castelo de Germanelo. The castle was in ruins when it was aqcuired by Dr. Salvador Dias Arnaut in 1941, who carried out the reconstruction.
From up here, I could get a better view of the paths leading up to the castle. I plot a way down again, but find myself unable to follow my intended course. At first, I choose to go down from what appear to be the normal entry path, which is on the other side of the hill from Rabaçal. Here I deviate on a path going steeply down, with loose rocks underneath my feet, causing me to stumble and fall. Fortunately, only a light scratch is what I get from my recklessness.
View south from Castelo de Germanelo, the prominent feature is Monte Jerumelo.
Not going where I intended, I end up back at the same path that I came to after I had walked through the scrub earlier. This time, however, I can follow a path taking me more directly towards Rabaçal. The path comes to the same road that I initially took, but it comes out next to a house. I had mistaken the dusty track to only be the 'driveway' to the house. To others that wants to climb up, there is a little improvised water source next to the 'driveway' where the path begins from.
Looking up at the remnants of the castle when leaving.
Beaming, I return to Rabaçal to finally get the dust off my body. With the visit to Castelo de Germanelo and the wonderful walk today from Alvaiázere, this was truly the best day by far.
Descent from Castelo de Germanelo.
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