Olá friends👋

February in the Minho asks us to slow down. The rain lingers, the mornings are grey, and even the sea feels a little quieter. 

So this week’s letter is an invitation.

A reminder that, not far from here, there are places where steam rises from the earth, where conversations happen in low voices, and where winter softens its grip for a while.

Let’s step into it together. 🎭✨

🎁 Special Feature: Where we go in winter to feel human again

🗞️ Community News: From our coastline

🎉 What’s On:  Local theatre + a date for the summer calendar

🥾 From Viana Walks: Trilho da Rota da Murta

☁️ Weather & Tides: Most moody weather forecast…ever

(Those who wait, eventually receive.)

A very Minho winter mood.

Hot water. Cold air. Steam rising into grey skies.
These are the places people from Viana disappear to on winter weekends and come back softer.

Not spa days.
Winter rituals.  

📍 Ourense
🚗 ~1h20 from Viana

📍 https://maps.google.com/?q=O+Tinteiro+Ourense

A small, rustic pool right on the riverbank. No big complex, no fuss just warm mineral water and the sound of the Miño moving beside you. The kind of place you walk past if you don’t know it’s there.

Vibe: local, raw, hidden
🎯 Perfect for: quiet resets, solo mornings, nature lovers

📍 Bande (Ourense)
🚗 ~1h15

📍 https://maps.google.com/?q=Aquis+Querquennis+Bande

Hot springs beside ancient Roman ruins, surrounded by trees and open sky. History, water, silence all in one place. On misty days it feels completely outside of time.

Vibe: cinematic, slow, elemental
🎯 Perfect for: long conversations, reflective afternoons, anyone who loves places with a story

📍 Salvaterra de Miño
🚗 ~45 min

📍 https://maps.google.com/?q=Termas+de+Salvaterra+de+Mi%C3%B1o

Large outdoor thermal pools in a small riverside town most people drive past on the way somewhere else. Cross the bridge, slip into hot water, and watch the river move between Portugal and Galicia.

Vibe: easy, spacious, social
🎯 Perfect for: spontaneous half-day trips, families, first-time thermal explorers

📍 Near Ribadavia
🚗 ~1h15

📍 https://maps.google.com/?q=Termas+de+Prexigueiro

Wooden walkways, outdoor pools arranged in a circle, steam rising through the trees. Each bath a different temperature. Go slowly. Stay as long as you need.

Vibe: intimate, restorative, spa-in-the-woods
🎯 Perfect for: couples, small groups, full switch-off afternoons

Go early morning or after dark for the quietest experience.  Check conditions before you travel as riverside pools sometimes close after heavy rain.

Sometimes the winter reset you need is an overnight stay, not a day out.

📍 Ponte de Lima
🗺️ https://maps.google.com/?q=Carmo’s+Boutique+Hotel+Ponte+de+Lima

🚗 25 minutes from Viana

A warm, intimate retreat for when winter starts to feel a little heavy.
The hotel blends old Minho soul with quiet luxury antique pieces, soft light, art books, and views over the misty Lima valley.

🧖 Why we love it in February
The spa is made for this season.
Their signature goat’s-milk bath taken slowly with a glass of local sparkling wine is the kind of ritual that shifts your whole mood.

🔥 The winter feeling
Fireplace lit. Candlelight. Long dinner.
No reason to rush back out into the rain.

🎯 Perfect for
A one-night reset
Birthdays and anniversaries
When a day trip isn’t enough and you want the world to go quiet

If you’d rather stay close to home, there are also beautiful ways to warm up right here in Viana.  We’ll share our favourite winter treatments below. 

📍 Viana do Castelo
📱 939 270 579
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svetlana.marques/?hl=en

A calm, private space and treatments tailored to what your body needs that day.  Deep release, gentle relaxation, or skin care after weeks of wind, salt air, and rain.

The kind of place you walk into tired and walk out lighter.

🎯 Perfect for
Storm recovery • regular self-care • gifting yourself one quiet hour

After the recent storms, hundreds of papagaios-do-mar (puffins) have been found along the beaches of Minho.  Many birds are suffering from starvation and exhaustion after being unable to hunt in the rough seas. 

Small bodies on the sand, carried here by rough seas and long journeys they couldn’t finish.

It’s a quiet reminder of how hard this winter has been not only for us, but for the ocean and the life that depends on it.

If you come across an injured bird, the advice is simple: don’t touch it, keep dogs away, and contact SEPNA (GNR) so it can be safely collected.
📞 808 200 520
🔗 https://www.gnr.pt/ambiente.aspx

Even in the colder months, this coastline keeps teaching us the same thing:
to walk gently, to look closely, and to care for what we share.

Important news from the Câmara: Viana do Castelo 

Viana do Castelo is beginning to use artificial intelligence to speed up building and renovation licences. A quiet change that could mean less waiting and more certainty for residents and small projects across the city.

Not headline-loud, but for many in our community, a very welcome step forward.

Guided with care by Janaína Oliveira and Bárbara Jorge Machado,  a sacred, safe, and protected space, where each participant is held with presence, chants, and prayers, honoring individual rhythms, boundaries, and processes.

• Opening of the sacred field and intention setting

• Consecration of the Breath Medicine (deep cleansing)

• Sound journey and medicine songs

• Integration and sharing circle

A cinema screening at the municipal theatre — a quieter cultural possibility during Carnival week if you’re looking for an indoor option that’s calm, creative, and rooted in local programming.

📍 Location: Meixedo, Viana do Castelo

📅 Date: March 7

How to join?
Send us a DM on WhatsApp +351 961 863 966 to receive all information about preparation, energy exchange, and registration.

VÁLVULA — António Jorge Gonçalves

📍 Teatro Municipal Sá de Miranda, Viana do Castelo
🗓️ 28 February 2026
🕘 21:30

🎟️ Tickets: ~€10
Available via the theatre box office or online
🔗 https://tmsm.pt

A visual and performative piece that blends live drawing, music, and storytelling into an immersive stage experience. Contemporary, unexpected, and quietly powerful — the kind of evening you leave still talking about.

🎯 Perfect for: lovers of visual arts, experimental theatre, and intimate cultural nights in Viana.

Mistério Da Vinci — Teatro Municipal Sá de Miranda

📍 Teatro Municipal Sá de Miranda, Viana do Castelo
🗓️ 10 February → 7 March 2026
🎟️ Tickets: €5 – €10
🎫 Buy at the theatre box office or via the official website
🔗 https://tmsm.pt

A playful and imaginative production that blends story, science, and curiosity — ideal for families and anyone who enjoys theatre that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Why go:
An easy cultural night out in the heart of the city — warm seats, beautiful setting, and something a little different for a winter evening.

🎉 Romaria d’Agonia 2026 — Dates Announced

📅 12–20 August 2026

Viana’s biggest celebration returns for eight days of processions, concerts, parades, fireworks, and the iconic Desfile da Mordomia.  The moment when gold, tradition, and identity fill the streets.

📍 Viana do Castelo
🗺️ Map: https://maps.google.com/?q=Campo+da+Agonia+Viana+do+Castelo

💛 From Viana note: It may be months away, but locals already plan their summer around these dates.  Consider this your early reminder.

 Many of you told us you wanted us to include local trails and hikes.  So we're starting gently, one path at a time.

Would you use a From Viana walks map  or would you like to join us for occasional community walks? Just hit reply and write “map” or “community walks” — we’re listening.

A beautiful circular trail in Vilar de Murteda that follows ancient water channels through oak and chestnut woodland.  One of those walks where the air feels different the moment you arrive.

📍 Start / End: Igreja Paroquial de Vilar de Murteda
🗺️ Map: https://maps.google.com/?q=Igreja+Paroquial+de+Vilar+de+Murteda
📏 Distance: 7.4 km circular
⏱️ Time: 2h – 2h30
🥾 Difficulty: Easy

What makes it special
• Cascata do Pereiro, a small waterfall tucked into native forest
• Old cereal watermills and stone levadas that once powered local life
• Views from Monte do Castro, an ancient Iron Age settlement

🎯 Perfect for:
Slow weekend mornings, families with older kids, anyone who wants a gentle reset in nature.

💚 Why we’re adding walks
You asked for more ways to explore the region — and this feels like the most natural one.

Monday to Sunday:
Prepare for the sky to perform its yearly audition for “Most Moody Weather Forecast Ever.”

☔️ Rain takes center stage every day — from gentle drizzle to “oops there go your plans” showers.

💨 Wind is the enthusiastic supporting actor breezy at times, gustier at others like a dramatic movie soundtrack.

🌡️ Temperatures: Mild-cool overall (around 12–16°C), as if the weather can’t decide whether to be warm or just vaguely disappointed.

📅 Day-by-Day “Mood:

If you enjoyed this please forward it to a friend who loves Viana… or wishes they did.

Thanks for being part of this community. 

With love

From Viana

P.S. Want to get your business in front of thousands of local Vianense ? Email us at [email protected]