Day 72 – to Barca de Alva (actually across the bridge in Spain)

A day of two castles and two of those historic Portuguese villages and three short hikes.

Firstly, just a short drive to the village of Linhares da Beira. It is another village perched on the rock of a steep mountainside, at 850 metres altitude, with narrow and cobbled streets, and even a free campsite a few hundred metres above town, at which of course, no one was at. Having the castle all to myself made the visit much more enjoyable, a tranquil experience even. As with my previous visit, many of the stone steps and shallow walls re very exposed. It was built at the end of the eleventh century, it’s main purpose being so close to the border, has been defence against Spain. It saw and survived significant battles under the reigns of Kings Dom Dinis and Dom Fernando, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries respectively. One of the cafes was open in the village, Amelia’s. Being her only customer, I chatted with the owner for a while. It is a fairly new venture for her, just eight months into it. Though Portuguese her family live in Massachusetts. She stocks jams, marmalades, various olive oils, liqueurs, cheeses and hams, all made locally, and significantly as she made very clear, organically. She pointed out a cheese with just three ingredients, and a processed one, with ten times that amount. She had made a sale; ideal for Christmas with a red wine. We also discussed the long distance off-road cycle routes in the area, about which I am becoming keener by the hour.

Then after leaving the Estrela Natural Park, and it had been a memorable visit, a stop at Castelo Rodrigo. This is similarly a ruined castle and village on a rocky prominence, but much more tourist orientated. It is smaller, and walled, but all the houses are now given to souvenir shops, cafes, or accommodation – most of which was closed, so it hardly spoilt my visit, but Linhares is much more authentic. It is similarly a medieval castle, constructed in the ninth century, by King Alfonso IX of León, but became part of the Kingdom of Portugal in 1285 under King Dom Denis, mentioned also above..