Day 20 – at Campo de Geres

One of the highlights of visiting this area is to spend some time on the 318km-long Roman trade road, built in AD80 during the reigns of Emperors Vespasian and Titus, used to run from Bracara Augusta (now Braga, Portugal) to Asturica Augusta (now Astorga, Spain). It is remarkable for having the highest number of preserved milestones of any Roman road. It used to have 11 mansions (travellers’ resting places). Below is one of the milestones, with Roja just having taken a piss on it.

Our route today took in about 5 kilometres on it, slow going in the drizzly rain which made much of the rock wet, and the accumulation of rain from the last few days.

The route also skirts the banks of Albufeira Lake, which is dammed at its southern end. In the summer it’s a popular place for water sports, but my dog will swim in it at any time of the year..

Last night the power was off in the village because of flooding.

But one of the bonuses of the spring rains is that it brings out the moss, making for a very colourful trail.

The rain was light enough to not be bothered about it while out, but back at the van, it’s more of an inconvenience. I spent the afternoon attending to a few bits of business, before settling in with my current novel, ‘Mr Pottermack’s Oversight’, in preparation for some sport later on.