On the way to Ponte do Lima (Ponte do Lima ~ Portugal)

1 September 2022

The drive from Vinhais to Pont de Lima took us though so lovely terrain in the North of Portugal. One of the nice things about driving is that if you spy an interesting castle on the skyline there is nothing to stop you from diverting and having a nosy as was the case when we spotted Castelo de Monforte just outside of Chaves. The down side of investigating such sites is that the road up to them are usually windy narrow and cobblestoned and this was no exception. What we have found is that a couple of years ago a huge amount of cash was injected into northern Portugal and historic sites were upgraded and then Covid hit worked stopped and no one went to them. 

This felt like one of those places. Really nicely laid out, good area for parking and picnicking - just not that well frequented.

The ruins of the castle are on top of a small hill and give expansive views all around which kinda explains why human occupation started in neolithic times and passed though Roman into medieval and then late middle ages.

From the tower the next logical stop was Chaves - logical as it was en route and has a Pastille known as the Chaves Pastille which in itself was enough of a reason to stop here. The Pastile would be about a 6 out of 10. Nice flakey pasty with a meat filling - nice but not outstanding. 

A lot of the buildings in Portugal reflect their medieval roots and tend to be about three or four stories high and very close set and usually sympathetically restored. Unfortunately Chaves was the exception to the rule re sympathetic restoration. The hotel next to the Castle in the centre of town was so unsympathetic and tacky I couldn't bring my self to take a photo of it, so you'll just have to imagine. 

The other cool thing at Chaves was a Roman bridge that was constructed at the end of the 1st century or beginning of the 2nd century, by engineers under the auspices of emperor Trajan.  Commemorative columns were erected in 104, referring to the bridge's construction and still stand, more or less, today.

Next stop Pont de Lima