The Romans were here in 44 BC and the castle at Castelo de Vide stands guard over the town below and the border with Spain beyond.
The walk takes us through the national park of the Serra de São Mamede. It is an historic centuries-old path linking two strategic points.
Not the best of starts - we made several wrong turns but had an extraordinary piece of luck on flagging down a passing vehicle whose occupants fortunately 1) spoke excellent English (a rarity outside the cities) AND 2) knew where to direct us - this saved the day! Too many wrong steps today and we’ll end up crossing the border into Spain!! This was one of our early wrong turns (despite it being the correct sign …??)!!
At one point when the path emerged at a t-intersection onto a road, we turned right until I said "where are the track markings?" so we went back to the junction and I returned back up the track to see if we should turn right or left onto the road - nothing! We turned left and it seemed so wrong as it was descending and eventually we stopped for cheese and bikkies and rested on the drystone wall of a farm thinking we would have to ascend all the way back again to the junction; however, we did some more juggling with Google maps which seemed to indicate we were in fact going the correct way, so we walked on further and started to ascend again and came successfully to the next waypoint on our map: the church of Nossa Senhora da Graça; tricky!
So, from the 15th century Fonte da Vila we walked along the M524 for a bit, and then moved onto narrow paths (sometimes overgrown) lined with drystone walls covered in moss at times; past quintas (with lovely roses); and past convents, ancient fountains and artefacts of Arab origin such as the noria or mill; through forest of oak (Quercus pyrenaica) and chestnut trees, accompanied by birdsong and the sound of sheep bells. Ferns. Olive trees. Vineyards. Cork trees. Little yellow and white daisies growing out of the medieval cobble-stoned paths.
Up and down; and then the uphill to Marvão really begins!
Could have walked it faster but we took our time and took in all the points of interest - plus the flowers!
Marvão Castle is a fine example of a crusader-era medieval castle, built at a time when the Moors were finally being pushed back and the border with Spain (less than 15 kms away) needed to be secured.
Finally we step through the Gate of Ródão on the top of the rocky ridge where the village of Marvão stands with its castle and the huge wall that seems to extend forever.
Very pretty little village.
We have lunch at Marvão (the most delicious pumpkin soup with chestnuts) and then the town seems to go to sleep. Certainly MF did. You could here a pin drop.
We walked around the castle walls - all seem to be perfectly intact - enroute to the bus stop: the bus at 15:50 return us to Castelo de Vide - the only one of the day.
Visited the synagogue on our return to Castelo de Vide. Thousands of Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, creating much instability in Portugal and they were subsequently expelled in 1496, although many were forced to convert to Christianity.
Had a glass of red left over from last night’s dinner out on our patio. Lovely!
Later on, we have an early dinner out at Aqui ao Lado which has the best regional black pork meat.
Then up to the Burgo Medievale area adjoining the castle for a sunset and a wander through the alleys before calling it a day! Close to 20 kms all up.
We really like Castelo de Vide. Could probably do another day here. I had originally wanted to stay at Marvão but am glad now that it didn’t ‘pan out’ because Marvão seemed to be all about the castle whereas Castelo has a more genuine and local feel to it.
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