Last Saturday, 9 October 2010, another Jeep Adventure edition took place for the third time, offered by Jeep Portugal, to gather it's clients in an exclusive event.
Despite heavy rains that hit the whole country the day before, nothing dissuaded the 200 participants and more than 80 vehicles to come to Arouca. Again the aim was to provide a day full of emotions and adrenaline, where the watchwords were: adventure, freedom, fun and mastery behind the wheel of a Jeep.
Territory of schist and granite, and about a 1 hour drive from Oporto, Arouca Geopark was the venue for this event, which, in addition to all the natural beauty, also brings an interesting geological heritage, especially with the famous stones and breeders trilobites giants.
From 8:30 am, early participants started to gather in the rendez-vous starting place. Despite the rather gray morning and some rain, they all were prepared well for this edition of the Jeep Adventure. The enthusiasm was great, and there was a choice of several routes with increasing difficulty; the bravest participants could even opt for a more demanding alternative route shown as "the hard track".
Towards the Sierra Montemuro we could enjoy superb views over the village and valley of Arouca. The steep increases provided a challenge to the participants and gave stunning views in return. As the day went on and with the sun starting to come out, a growing enthusiasm and anticipation started to rise among the participants, to see what the next challenge and obstacle would be obstacle to overcome, and to see what natural beauty awaited them.
Around noon, a brunch break demanded a mandatory stop. The venue for this was the viewpoint of the "Senhora da Mó", with its 711m altitude offering superb views across Arouca valley. At lunch time, the participants were able to taste the regional products including the typical "bread with honey." Everyone took the opportunity to exchange views and comments with each other about what they had seen, and experienced in their vehicles. We could see that everyone was happy, even with the heavy rains of the previous day, that gave some additional "bite" to this day of all-terrain driving.
Back on the road, and passing through quaint villages of Shale (Vila Nova do Pisco), some of us took the opportunity to take pictures and enjoy nature. In the ascent of the Sierra da Freita, new off-road difficulties arose again, with the passage of some streams. Nothing could stop our participants, and everyone tried to tackle all obstacles and track challenges with the utmost skill and above all, a lot of fun.
In the afternoon, there was also a possibility to make contact with local animals, being the cows that graze freely on the Arouquesa plateau, and it was sometimes necessary to wait for the willingness of these animals to stray from the road and to give way to the vehicles. Adults and children took the opportunity to get closer to the animals and this made this ride a real full day of family surprises, in a quite relaxed and different form.
Near the Castanheira village, many participants made a stop to enjoy the view over the horizon to the "Ria de Aveiro", as well as the impressive "Frecha da Mizarela", a waterfall of Caima river over 60m in height.
Back in Arouca, near the evening, a final lunch was organised at the Monastery of the Village. The enthusiasm was great, as everyone was satisfied with this Jeep day, so the the meal was a welcome stop to experiences of this beautiful day. The day was closed with a lot of excitement during and a thrilling moment when the five Jeep awards for the day were awarded to the winners.
After this great day, there was only one question on everyone's mind on the way back home: "When will there be a next Jeep Adventure?".
