Belmonte

A story behind: Belmonte is a little town located on the small hill that overlooks the highest range of Serra Estrela mountains. When I got there on the last Thursday´s morning and despite the lovely summer temperatures of 25º C, I could still see some snow covering the peaks of the mountains.
The town is dominated by the 13th century castle ( pictured above ) that was transformed into a fortified mansion by the family of famous Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral, the man who discovered Brazil in the year 1500.
In the parochial church not far from the castle you can see a statue of the Virgin, Nª Sra da Esperança, which according to legend, has followed the navigator in his voyages to the newly discovered continent.

Location: Belmonte, province of Beiras , Portugal.

Gear: Nikon D80, Nikkor 17-75 mm

Aperture: f/13

Exposure bias: -0.7 EV

Focal Length: 17 mm

ISO: 100

Date Taken: Thursday, March 31st, 2011, 12:04

Maciek.

A Thursday in Celorico da Beira

Traveling to small Portuguese towns like Celorico da Beira in the middle of the week can be a real pleasure. That day we were probably the only tourists there and the old part of the town was completely "ours". Celorico da Beira is one of these "forgotten" Portuguese towns that does not make the Top 50 Portugal Tourist Attractor List but that is exactly what makes it so attractive and appealing: no tourists!

So have a walk along the walls of the XII century castle with the astonishingly beautiful vistas over the Beira country. The medieval style castle is old but when you look closer you find some old stone inscriptions with a names like Sérvio, Munida and Junio dating back from the Roman period of emperor César Augusto (27 a.C.-14 d.C.). But there is more to Celorico than its medieval castle. Walk a couple of steps down and you find a very well preserved 200 meters long Roman road still in use ! No tourists, friendly people and a piece of big history waits for you in Celorico. Have fun as we did.

Date: March 3rd, 2011.

Maciek.