The Portuguese lady who guided us at Canada do Inferno for our Côa Valley Archaeological Park tour was, it turned out, also a forager/ edible plant buff. She pointed out a variety of seasonings & salad ingredients, so there were things to look at (& sniff) on the trail before we even got to the rock art. We also spotted some pretty non-edibles. Prunus amygdalus | the almond (📷1); before the young nuts harden they taste sour, so are dipped in salt in the Middle East to make them more palatable. Wild Lavandula pedunculata | Spanish (or French) lavender is native to Iberia, Morocco & western Türkiye (📷2). Umbilicus rupestris | the wall pennywort is edible in small quantities—more of a wild garnish than main vegetable (📷3). Ophrys tenthredinifera | the sawfly orchid is native to the Mediterranean region (📷4); we also re-identified Himantoglossum robertianum | the giant orchid.

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌸 #bloomScrolling

Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa | Côa Valley Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the world’s largest concentration of open-air Palaeolithic art (1,400+ engraved rocks, although the majority are now submerged). We began in Museu do Côa | Côa Museum, which catalogues art as old as 30,000 years & displays some replicas, such as “Quinta da Barca 3” (📷1). This ibex is depicted with two head positions/ overlapping horns, indicative of artistic experimentation with frame animation to simulate movement 20–15,000 years ago! The museum’s motif (📷2) is a filiform etching (i.e. composed of thin grooves), likely also an ibex, made ~12–11,000 years ago. Older examples mostly depict large animals, but people are also seen in more recent works. The in situ petroglyphs on schist canvases along the banks of the Côa River are concentrated in 4 main areas, to which access is permitted only via pre-booked guided tours. The site you’ll see depends on the time of day (shadows change etching visibility) & language of the tour: we were allocated to “Canada do Inferno”, accessed by 4x4 & foot. The first of ~40 engraved rocks known here was discovered (more accurately, recognised) as recently as 1991 (📷3). Rocha 1 works are 30–22,000 years old & clearly depict aurochs & a two-headed horse. Rocha 14 features the museum motif, almost invisible; it was easier to make out the front of this horse, etched using a pecking technique (📷4). We viewed two other rocks, 2 & 15, during the 2.5h tour.

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

The Alto Douro Wine Region is a UNESCO-listed cultural landscape that has produced wine for some 2,000 years; the region’s best known product is Port, a sweet, full-bodied fortified 🍷 wine. We intersected the Rio Douro | Douro River at Mesão Frio, where we parked at a cemetery for lunch with this awesome view from the van door (📷1). Our drive continued up the Douro Valley between the towns of Peso da Régua & Pinhão, which local intel had informed us was the most scenic section (📷2&3). We came back to the river at Parque Arqueológico do Vale do Côa | Côa Valley Archaeological Park, near the town of Vila Nova de Foz Côa—still in the upper part of the wine region (📷4).

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

The centre of Guimarães, founded during 10th–12th centuries, is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site due to its well-preserved medieval layout & importance in Portuguese history; it’s billed as the "birthplace of Portugal" on account of links to nation building & its first king, Afonso I. Castelo de Guimarães | Guimarães Castle was initially built by Countess Mumadona in the late 10th C. likely from wood & for the purpose of protecting the monastery from attacks; its present form dates to the late 13th C. (📷1). Paço dos Duques de Bragança | Palace of the Dukes of Braganza was built c. 1420–30 CE for Afonso I, Duke of Braganza; as a large, fortress-like noble residence, it required considerable heating—as reflected in the multitude of tall conical chimneys on the roofline (📷2). Largo da Oliveira is a public square in the heart of the old town, surrounded by historic architecture & religious landmarks (📷3). In the narrow yet impeccably maintained & clean medieval streets (📷4) we found a delicious selection of cakes to bring back to the van.

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍 #unesco

We 🅿️ in the village of Covide on the boundary of Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês | Peneda-Gerês National Park, part of the UNESCO Gerês-Xures Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. We’d come to hike the PR1 – Trilho da Calcedónia. As we ascended (counterclockwise to do the steeper section first/ going up) we looked over the granite terraces built into the opposite side of the valley (📷1). We’d noted these on the scenic drive inland; stone cleared from fields was used in traditional small-scale subsistence farming to create retaining walls for flat plots that resist erosion, enabling utlization of steep slopes for growing crops. On the granite slopes above Covide was a fortified hilltop settlement (“castro”) from the Iron Age. Here’s the view from the “town centre” at Ruínas da Calcedónia | Ruins of Calcedónia (📷3); archaeological remains (walls, terraces, hut traces—to trained eyes) indicate a small but well-defended Celtic-influenced community. After the Roman conquest of Iberia (2nd–1st centuries BCE) this region was integrated into the province of Lusitania; castros were abandoned, reorganized or Romanized. Local info suggests the hillfort was occupied by Romans who called it Calcedónia; they *were* in the vicinity, but indications of significant or sustained Roman presence seems lacking (they tended to shift settlement into more accessible valleys/ along roads). #Flower of the day goes to Narcissus triandrus | Angel's-tears, endemic to PT, ES & FR (📷3). As the loop trail crested the ridge we had views deeper into the park. We passed under & between gigantic boulders & began descending; the pink-flowering bushes are Erica australis | the Spanish heath, which is native to the western Iberian Peninsula & Tangier (📷4). As we returned to the village we passed a Roman granite column mile marker. A 7km/ 3h 15min loop; tiring due to attention to footing.

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🥾 #hiking #nature #nationalPark 🌍 #unesco 🏛️ #roman

Fortaleza de Valença, seen from the Spanish town of Tui across the Rio Minho | Río Miño, the ES-PT border (📷1). Fortifications were begun c. 1262 CE but greatly expanded during 17–18th C. conflicts between Spain & Portugal, with bastions, walls & moats defending two enclosed areas: the inner town or “Praça-Forte” (📷2) & the outer defensive belt or “Coroada”. The inner town is rather touristy, filled with shops & eateries (📷3). However, pastel de nata can be obtained (📷4); the consumption of these small custard tarts may be regarded as confirmation of having arrived in Portugal! 😀

🇵🇹 #portugal 🇪🇺 #europe 🚀 #travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

From Santiago de Compostela we drove south. Ría de Vigo is a drowned river valley near the ciry of Vigo; it’s known for providing a sheltered harbour (the Cíes Islands act as a barrier against the Atlantic), for mussel farming rafts called “bateas” & for white sand beaches. On the northern side Praia da Folla de Nerga a.k.a. Playa de Nerga is popular (📷1). On the southern side there’s a string of beaches on the outskirts of Vigo with views of the Cíes Islands (📷2), connected by a long promenade. At the town of Baiona the large Fortaleza De Monterreal is surrounded by ~3km of walls, mostly built between the 11th to 17th centuries (📷3); the strategic hilltop has been fortified for 2,000 years & is now occupied by a hotel. We turned inland to Tui, wandering the medieval old town that features a fortress-like cathedral built during the 12th & 13th centuries (📷4). Tui offers views across the Miño River into the Portuguese town of Valença—the next destination on our loop through the Iberian Peninsula.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife

[2/2] Santiago de Compostela. Mercado de Abastos is the city’s main market, offering fresh seafood (📷1), produce, & tapas—if you’re not too early! The old town includes examples of a classic feature of northern Spanish architecture called a “galería” (📷2); these enclosed balconies are especially common in Galicia & provide a “glass skin” that shields the home from rain & wind while providing passive solar heating & extra usable space (plants, laundry drying, etc.). Parque da Alameda is a green space close to the old town & offers an elevated perspective of the cathedral skyline (📷3). We visited Museo do Pobo Galego, a former convent that exhibits artefacts from traditional Galician life; it features an unusual staircase with 3 spiralling paths that end abruptly at different doors (📷4). The baroque Monastery of San Martín Pinario near the cathedral is said to have ornate interiors; it was closed to visitors.

🇪🇸#spain #galicia 🇪🇺#europe 🚀#travel 🚐 #camperVan #nomad #roadTrip #vanLife 🌍#unesco