#21 - The Fantastic 4

This week the article will be a little different. It is not specifically about a trail, an adventure, an emotion, but several contained in four books that I read and that I would like to leave here the recommendation for everyone who likes nature and hiking.

The first is one of my favorites and my biggest suggestion for those who like to walk in nature (and not only):

"A Arte de Caminhar"  

This book gave me such a great pleasure to read because it details with such simple and logical examples the importance of walking and the good that this activity does to our well being. The author is Erling Kagge, one of the greatest adventurous explorers of our time, Norwegian, born in 1963, he was the first person to reach the South Pole alone after a solitary crossing, without any means of communication, in Antarctica for 50 days. Before I had traveled to the North Pole and climbed Everest.

In this book Kagge talks a little about his personal experiences and through a philosophical reflection he presents the walk as one of the most important actions of the human being and keeps us away from passivity and sedentary lifestyle.

"All my walks were different, but, looking back, they all have a common denominator: inner silence. Walking and silence are interconnected. Silence is as abstract as walking is concrete"  

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"The 200 Best Trekking Courses in Portugal"

Miguel Judas presents in this book the 200 best routes for the practice of walking in our country. The book is divided into zones (North, Center, Lisbon and Setúbal, Alentejo, Algarve and Islands) and subdivided by districts. The routes indicating the starting point, arrival, distance, difficulty and coordinates are briefly described. In each of them it is still specified by what type of areas it takes place (historical heritage, archaeological heritage, natural heritage, village, city, mountain, river, beach, dam and protected area).

Some examples of routes that can be found here:

- North (Pedra Alçada Trail in Caminha; Ecopista do Rio Minho; Caminho dos Mortos in Monção; Miliário Trail in Paredes de Coura; Sacred Mountain Trail in Viana do Castelo; Águia do Sarilhão Trail in Terras de Bouro; Rota da Citânia in Guimarães, etc, etc)

- Center (Schist Route in Arouca; Serra das Meadas in Lamego; Três Trilhos Route in Viseu; Dão Ecovia in Santa Comba Dão; Loriga Gorge Route in Seia; Glacier Route in Manteigas; Veterans March in Oliveira do Hospital; Vultures Route in Idanha-A-Nova, etc, etc)

- Lisbon and Setúbal (Castro do Zambujal Route in Torres Vedras; Cabo da Roca in Sintra; Biodiversity Route in Lisbon; Serra Route in Grândola; Rota Vicentina; etc, etc)

- Alentejo (Arribas do Tejo in Gavião; Route of Reguengo in Portalegre; Ecopista do Montado in Montemor-O-Novo; Ore Route in Mértola; etc, etc)

- Algarve (Balconies Over the Sea in Portimão; 7 Hanging Valleys in LAgoa; Route of Paderne Castle in Albufeira; etc, etc)

- Islands (GR de Santa Maria in Santa Maria; Return to Caldeira - Furna do Enxofre in Graciosa; Caminho dos Burros in Pico; GR Faial Costa a Costa in Faial; Levada do Caldeirão Verde in Santana; Footpath of Ponta de São Lourenço in Machico ; etc, etc)

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"Beyond Lisbon Hiking"

Robert Butler, adventurer based in Portugal since 2010 and Andy Mimford, professional photographer of landscapes and trips, compiled this book that presents us 19 walking routes to the west and south of Lisbon. Contrary to the previous suggestion, here the information for each route is more detailed. In addition to illustrative photos, we can also count on detailed maps, information on coordinates, signs, difficulty, duration, elevation, parking, summary of the route and information on how to get to their starting point.

Some examples of routes that you can find here: Lomba dos Pianos; Anços waterfalls; Fojo and Pedra de Alvidrar; Cabo da Roca and Praia do Louriçal; Penedo da Amizade; Arriba Fossil of Costa da Caparica; Chã dos Navegantes; Arrábida Rift; etc, etc

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"Shinrin-Yoku - The Japanese Art of Forest Therapy"

Here goes a suggestion unlike any other for the end, a book by Dr Qing Li that introduces us to Shinrin-Yoku, or the so-called Forest Therapy. This is just an excellent practical guide on this therapy from Japan that helps us to have more energy, reduce stress and increase immunity.

In Japanese Shinrin means "forest" and Yoku means "bath" so, translated to the letter, shinrin-yoku means forest bath and the focus is the direct contact of the human being with nature, absorbing with all the senses what this is in us. Can give.

Through several scientifically proven examples, Dr. Qing Li, one of the leading experts in forest medicine, proves that being surrounded by trees or plants plays a crucial role in our good health, explaining why forest bathing reduces blood pressure, decreases stress, increase energy, boost the immune system.

This book thus becomes an excellent complement to the first one suggested (The Art of Walking) because we will understand the importance not only of walking but also the importance of doing it in direct contact with nature

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