Mina de Sao Domingos - former mining area

28^th Jan

We are now at Mina de Sao Domingos free camping on a Praia fluvial (river beach) carpark, but it is really nice and feels like a campsite! Lovely gravel parking slots, nice views of the water and free wifi from the nearby beach café. The Brits are here in force with 8 vans when we arrived last night, first time we have out numbered the French.

great free parking spot

Today we walked around the incredibly brutal yet fascinating remains of the mining industry that built this village and a few others in the area. The Romans mined here, but it took off big time in the middle 19^th century and continued to 1966 with the British company Mason & Barry running the huge operation. Mined for copper and zinc ore in the past the main focus moved to sulphide ore, 25 million tons being mined between 1857 – 1966, with copper being a byproduct from the metal rich waters created by the leaching process.

There are numerous remains of buildings, towers, workshops and processing factories in the village and all along the scarred banks of the Guadiana River. The massive flooded pit that once was the centre of the mining has an evil presence about it, the acidic black waters looking very sinister and not at all welcoming. The workings are still visible around the pit, but it is when you travel down the river that the incredible destruction of the landscape hits you smack in the face. It has to be seen to be believed, it is like a huge moonscape with the building remains looking like props for some apocalyptic movie. 

ore handling

locomotive repair shed

evil black water in flooded pit

workings around flooded pit

The riverbed is a rather vivid orange colour with stained rocks. The mounds of roasted ore remains and the waste (tailings) from mining litter the horizon. We were gob smacked at the sheer scale of the devastation.  Horrible to see but very, very interesting to see the impact man has had on the environment.

sulphide processing plant

contaminated water 

riverbed - weird orange colour

There has been wide scale damage to the ecosystem, but some plant species are actually thriving. There is a programme of rehabilitation for the area but it remains to be seen if it will happen due to funding.

A fascinating place well worth visiting.

Mertola

Tues 27^th

After a very interesting chat with a Belgian motorhomer who was a retired FIM senior official at lots of Moto GP and World Superbikes, we headed north up the excellent N2 towards Mertola. The final section on the N267 was in complete contrast – absolutely appalling !  21 miles of shake, rattle and roll. Mertola is described in the guide as a medieval town that time forgot, with many Islamic remains amongst the buildings. We headed  for the  13^th century castelo built on Moorish foundations with Islamic excavations nearby. The Antiga Mesquita church was below the castelo, this was formerly a mosque which was converted into a church in the 13^th century.

cobbled streets

view down to river

church

The castle was open to wander around, so we had a very enjoyable time looking at all of it on our own. Great views from the walls of the river and town below us. The church was quite small but had a beautiful arched ceiling.

The streets were very quiet as it was lunchtime but very relaxing to walk about in. a very nice town with some real history that you can see.

remains of castle ramparts

castle - main tower

interior of church

islamic arch

Ameixial - out in the hills

Sun 25^th

After a quick wash of the van we headed inland towards Ameixial. The weather was very sunny and a warm 20 C, definitely shorts weather for me. Once north of Loule, the road started going up and the villages instantly became much more rural. The N396 and the N2 were motorbike heaven, good surface and lots of twists, uphill and downhill sections. Not bad in the van either!

We arrived at the aire just out of Ameixial to find that everything was free including electric hookup. It seems that the mayor of the local village and the Loule council want to encourage motorhomes to visit the area, it was clearly signed on the approach from 40km away and they have made sure we are well looked after. True to form, there are a few longtermers taking advantage (abusing????)  of this with trailers, cars and all sorts of stuff setup in the premier sunny spots.

free aire

We unloaded the bikes and went for a little exploratory cycle into the village. It was very clean and tidy with a tiny church. Apart from 2 cafes there appeared nothing else for us to put some money back into the community. The main attraction to the area seems to be the lovely rugged and hilly countryside plus the network of walking paths.

view of aire from above

Mon 26^th

Another crisp, sunny day with a definite spring feel to it – in January ?  I decided to go for a road bike ride in the hills. It was indeed very hilly, but the roads and views made it very enjoyable. Being chased by one of the many dogs wandering about was not so enjoyable, but  a few choice Anglo Saxon expletives saw it on its way.

twisty and hilly - nice!

After lunch we went for a walk with the 2 dogs from the site in tow – we didn’t invite them but they tagged on!  The views from above the aire were spectacular of the surrounding hills. We walked past the remains of 2 windmills, one had the grind stones still inside. A very quiet place to stay with a very rural feel.

dog in tow

remains of windmill

traditional cork beehives