4 October 2022 - Peneda Geres National Park

Miles driven today = 47

Total Miles to date = 1,968

After due consideration we came to a decision this morning that Lima Escape probably didn't have enough in the way of attractions to detain us for a further 24 hours so we upped sticks and headed further up the Lima Valley (I know I called it Limia yesterday and it seems both are correct but Lima seems to be the more popular so I'm going with that henceforth).  

First stop was the village of Lindoso, which like so many villages in these parts, involves a steep cobbled diversion from the main road in order to reach the centre.  So we left the van parked in a lay-by and clambered up the hill.  

You'll remember the little stone granaries called Horreos, which I got all excited about in Galicea.  Well they've got them here too, except her they call them Espigueiros, and Lindoso has got the biggest concentration of them to be found pretty much anywhere.  Imagine my unbridled glee when I found that out!

There are literally dozens of the things, all stood in a group in the centre of the village.

Some of them are dated with the year of their construction.  The oldest we saw was from 1810.

Most of the Espigueiros seemed to be empty but this one was open and obviously still very much in use.

The other reason to visit Lindoso is it has its own castle, which was built in the 13th Century, during the reign of Alfonso III.

The keep is under restoration but you can walk the ramparts and there is an intact (albeit probably a replica) drawbridge.

From its position the castle held a fantastic viewpoint across the Lima Valley.

We continued eastward.  The Lima is dammed again further upstream but this section seemed to be nearly empty.  In some places we could see walls and even bridges which had been submerged but are now exposed again.

We crossed the border back into Spain, but only for a short time and certainly not long enough to bother with re-setting watches.  We made a very brief stop in the pretty village of Lobios.

We then turned south and stopped at a viewpoint of a waterfall, which in the current dry period wasn't really worth the stop but at least it gives an impression of how imposing the scenery was.

A little further on we crossed the border back into Portugal and noticed lots of people had parked their cars there.  A short distance further on it became obvious that they were there to see another waterfall, which was much more impressive.  We got a quick glimpse as we flashed over a nearby bridge but unfortunately by that time we were too late to stop for a photo.

Eventually we started to drop down from the giddy altitudes via a succession of tight hairpins, which had Lisa gripping her door handle increasingly firmly, so we stopped in the town of Geres to allow brakes to cool and nerves to unfray.  We had lunch at a riverside restaurant.  My only previous experience of Portugal was a family holiday to the Algarve about 20 years ago and I had forgotten how limited Portuguese menus tend to be.  Almost everything is barbecued and is served with both rice and chips.  This is what you get if you order a pork chop, but I guess for €9 I shouldn't really complain.

Appetites sated we decided that we would aim to stay at the place we abortedly were heading for yesterday in Campo do Geres.  We rang in advance to make sure they had availability as there are no nearby alternatives and wild camping is banned in the National Park.  We drove across the bridge over the dammed Cavado River and started to climb back up into the hills.

The Parque Cerdeira site we are at is about 700 metres above sea level with rocky crags all around.  It's a nicely wooded site with great facilities and a bar that serves bottles of Super Bock beer for €1.30!

We picked up some leaflets of suggested walks from reception, popped on our walking shoes and headed out this afternoon on a rocky downward trail through the gorse and bracken.  Soon we found ourselves looking down on the flooded valley of the Homem River.

Once again we could see what looked like exposed remnants of villages which have been abandoned and submerged.

Campo do Geres was once a Roman camp (hence the name) and we will no doubt be seeing more evidence of their presence tomorrow.  On our path today we came across these Roman mile markers.

This is a strawberry tree.  I'd never heard of it before.  The fruit obviously aren't strawberries but they are edible, although mainly used in jams and preserves as the skins are a bit gritty.  I tried one and they had a mild apricot flavour.

We're definitely staying another night this time so we're looking forward to exploring the area more thoroughly tomorrow.  

5 October 2022 - Campo do Geres