Day 6: From our mountain lodge in Encumeada, we climbed the short, steep road to the first track, which gently undulates and ascends along the slope of the mountain. Then we began a steady climb with switchbacks toward Boca do Cerro, the high point of the pass between valleys of Serra de Agua and Curral das Freiras. The path then descends rapidly through many switchbacks, ending in the village of Faja Escoura. The description in the route book notes that the terrain has steep slopes (it seemed this way every day), which are heavily eroded with deep ravines, crossed by wooden footbridges. At the end of one, the guide rail had been knocked down by previous falling rocks.

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