10 May 2019 From Meia Legua to Pomar de Rocha, onto the Levada do Lombo do Mouro and descent via Furnas

Course

I had long wanted to take on this ascent from the football pitch in Meia Legua to Pomar de Rocha, but after the fires it was closed for a long time. Now the moment had come, as a farewell walk with my wife, who was leaving a week earlier, together with Issi and Piet.

The start is comfortable, but the quality of the steps falls off sharply after only a short time. In general I would recommend this stretch only in ascent; there are already a few critical spots where the drop and the ground underfoot are concerned. You gain height quickly, and the views straight down are fascinating again and again.

About halfway there is a large rock overhang, a natural place to stop and catch your breath. After a traverse comes a big field of reeds which, looking back, would have been easier to bypass on the left-hand side as seen from below. The path, though, leads straight through the reeds, extremely steep and without steps; you have to haul yourself up on the base of the reeds.

After that you stand under a rock face, follow it southwards, and then face another somewhat delicate ascent on slippery ground to a further traverse.

Here the dangerous spots come to an end. You reach the first fields, which are worked from Pomar de Rocha, and the path is correspondingly in good condition.

The last steps up to Pomar de Rocha: the first intermediate goal is done!

From here, in the valley of the Ribeira dos Fontes, on a path that Issi and Piet had already explored once before, and a traverse to the end of a road that finishes at a few houses above Pomar de Rocha. We followed that road briefly and chose the direct ascent along a levada. Very steep and slippery, but we made good progress. Here too, looking back, an ascent from the first house at the end of the road would have been easier. In the end we stood on the road in Fonte Cruzada.

Up that road to the road to Furnas, and on to the large water tank at the end of the Levada do Lombo do Mouro.

On the lombo the levada runs mostly parallel to the gravel track, but it is well worth following the levada itself, which flows here surprisingly peacefully through the woods.

We came to the point where in 2014 we had climbed from Furnas up onto the levada. A road is also being built here that will lead from the Tabua valley up onto the lombo.

I had settled in for an easy descent on the track as far as the fields above Furnas, as you would have expected after our ascent 5 years earlier. But quite a lot has changed: trees lay across the track, and the track itself was completely overgrown. Nobody had come through for a long time. We had to unpack our heavy gear and fight our way through the labyrinth. It was reassuring that the track was relatively wide and that it does not drop away here; otherwise it would have been far harder and also more dangerous. Slowly we worked down the valley, and at some point we spotted the house with the green roof, which had already been our reference point on the 2014 ascent. A few last small bits of tree-felling, a little trampling and flattening of plants on the path, and we were back on a path that people walk.

From here, over very steep steps, first as far as Furnas. There we still took on the obligatory detour to the miradouro. On the way back we saw a shortcut across the stream with newly painted bright-red railings, which showed us the way onto the classic Furnas stepped path. From here another 1000 steps down to Meia Legua and, after a short pit stop in the little bar by the car dealer, back through the road tunnel to the car park.

Distance: 12.2 Km, 850 Hm ascent, 850 Hm descent

Start: 10.05 Meia Legua

End

18.00 Meia Legua

Condition

A physically demanding walk. The path to Pomar de Rocha is in poor condition, which is why it is recommended only in this direction. Along the Levada do Mouro the path is in places a little grassy and ferny, but the higher you get, the better the condition becomes. The path from Lombo do Mouro to the fields above Furnas is in a miserable state; you only get through with a serious machete. The field paths and stepped paths in Furnas are in excellent condition. The Furnas ascent has been thoroughly repaired and fitted with railings.

Remarks

In this state I would advise against the descent from Lombo do Mouro to Furnas, unless you are equipped for it and prepared for a lot of effort and cutting work!

Thanks: Thank you to Issi for scouting above Pomar de Rocha beforehand, and to both of you for coming along!