25 October 2022 - Mertola and the Parque Natural Vale do Guadiana 

Miles driven today = 55

Total Miles to date = 2,673

The Rough Guide reckons the N265 road from Serpa to Mertola to be "among the loveliest in Portugal".  It skirts the Eastern edge of the Vale do Guadiana Natural Park before veering westward through its heart.

The scenery certainly seemed very pleasant with Cork trees, olive groves and grazing sheep giving way to red earthed scrubland as we progressed.  But in all honesty I was rather too concerned with the abysmal road surface and scanning ahead for potholes and areas of subsidence to enjoy the surroundings particularly.

Occasionally we would come across a smooth area of tarmac but after 100 yards or so it was back to the bone shaking stuff.  We wondered just how bad a stretch needs to get before they actually do something about it.

With a fair amount of relief we reached the Guadiana River and our planned lunch stop at the walled town of Mertola.

Fortified with cheese and crackers we clambered up the steep streets towards the castle.

Before looking at the castle itself we had a wander around a settlement of some 20 homes which archaeologists have exposed.  The buildings date back to Moorish times in the last century before the Knights of Santiago retook the area in the name of Christianity.  They benefitted from a full drainage system.

Next door, this baptismal font goes back to a time before the Moors invaded and is thought to have been an integral part of an Espiscopal Palace which stood on the site dating from the 6th Century AD.

According to the info boards, this fragment of mosaic shows classic Byzantine influences.

This enormous underground gallery is 32 metres long and 6 metres high.  It dates back to the 5th Century AD.  It was used as a water cistern and a storage area as well as providing support for the Espiscopal Palace which was built above it.

We continued on up to the castle itself.  The original fortress would have been built in the Islamic period but little remains of that.  What we see now is predominantly a 13th century replacement.

The Castle was abandoned in the 18th Century but the keep is still fully intact and holds a small museum of local artefacts.

There are great views over the town and the surrounding countryside.

We moved on and thankfully the N122 which carried us onwards was in a much better state of repair than the N265.

In a little over half an hour we had reached our destination.  We've booked ourselves in for 2 nights at the Shamwari Hilltop Retreat.  It lives up to its name.  We have panoramic views all around and the place is run by a Zimbabwean lady who prides herself on her sundowner G&Ts.

The Guadiana is only a mile and a half away from here and forms the border with Spain from here down to the coast.  We will get our walking boots on tomorrow and go for a look.

26 October 2022 - A walk on the wild side