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