Step by step, stone by stone

It's hard to resist admiring misty lakes, isn't it? Especially at the golden hour.

Even in a #monomad challenge, where colours lose its importance.

Funny thing is, I stumbled on this forgotten photo while I was gathering photos for this post; I rarely take photos of people, but this scenario caught my attention. And why did I stumble on this photo? Because near the lake, a lot of scenic places were seen, and photographed.

Inspired by @xrayman's awesome post about a beautiful portuguese village, I remembered the little villages and towns near lake Como, in northern Italy, and the hiking trail that connects quite a few of them.

The trail, greenway del lago di Como, even has this beautiful symbol, that can be used as a guiding point.

See?

And along the lake's margins, you can find pearls like this.

I love the charm of stone buildings, from imponent (or not so imponent) churches in a lake margin, to simple houses in a secluded village. And villages wise, Portugal has beautiful examples.

Schist was one of the used stones in ancient times in many portuguese villages, especially in the center of the country; and fortunately in the last years, efforts were made to preserve the original facade of some of these villages; Talasnal, the one depicted here, is one of them.

Hiking trails connect some of the schist villages, making a visit to these locations a mix of hiking and nature trails, with a sprinkle of culture and tradition. More than enough reasons to travel, right? ;)

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