We planned our trip to Portugal looking for somewhere "new" that we hadn't been. We prefer to explore new places and cultures, not necessarily the typical tourist spots. That being said, we followed up our trip to Castelo Branco with a few days of beach relaxation in the Algarve (where we were clearly tourists!).

We wanted to find somewhere in Portugal where our youngest son (eleven) could learn a bit about geology. He has always had an interest in rocks, fossils, and the like, so we thought we would try to find a place where we could spend a day or so volunteering on a geology project, while getting some local culture as well. I was able to locate Geopark Naturtejo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a gentleman named Carlos Carvalho, who was more than appy to oblige. The park itself was just amazing, and is worth investigating. Carlos and his assistant, Vania (sp?), were wonderful guides. Our older son (thirteen) was diagnosed with Lyme disease shortly before... more