The path is strewn with dry oak leaves, and the air smells of warm sand and scrub. That’s how the day begins from Nisa: open, quiet and unhurried.
This is an easy stage. You’ll be on your feet for almost six hours, but you descend more than you climb. The highest point is nothing much. It’s the descents you’ll feel later in your knees, so take them gently.
Vila Velha de Ródão lies on the Tejo. After a day without much going on, it’s lovely to see the water. Behind you is dry country of holm oaks and low hills; ahead lies the river, glittering in the afternoon sun.