As Pontes

About 20 mins drive inland from Valdovino is As Pontes, near As Pontes are two dams and two flooded valleys, the landscape is like this even when you are driving about in the hills looking for the lakes.

I had great fun trying to get at the water by driving along muddy little tracks, I found some great walking country but nowhere I could get at the water with a kayak.

Eventually gave up and went to the dam where there is an easy way in.

It was a lovely day to be on the water despite it being mid October my van was telling me it was 32C as you can see the water level is still very low.

 

10 mins of paddling and an abandoned village came into view.

Abandoned things fascinate me so I had to take a closer look. Someone had spent some time on the stonework, Back in Northumberland this would be a defensive slit for firing arrows through, here it is how they made windows in the bit of the house where the animals lived - at least that is what I have been told...its an awful lot of work for not a lot of ventilation or view in my opinion.

There were a lot of well made old bits and bobs left lying about.

And some nice driftwood.

An outcrop of rock in the village street had been well worn through by old cart/wagon wheels.

You can see the profile of the groove here.

 The view looking out of the window was not great either and that reveal does look like it would give a bit of room to manoeuver with a bow and arrow I don't think it was to let extra sunlight in being on the North side of the house.

This was taken looking vertically down on what appear to be two door pivots with a slate wall dividing them. There was not a lot of wear on the holes so they might have been joints in what used to be taller columns.

Looking back up the main street I was impressed by the amount of stone - somehow it seems to be more when it is all spilled around rather than stacked neatly in walls. Amongst the rubble are bits of lovely carved bowls and troughs.

Another path chipped into the natural stone leads off to a ridge then into the water that would have been a little stream far far below when the houses were in use.

There's my boat more made for the sea than a lake but it goes well enough.

And another boat left high and dry last winder in the gales I would imagine. You prob need to double click to see the boat.

Autumn crocuses growing on the banks.

A few trees to negotiate.

 Some lovely reflections on the way home, I did see a red squirrel pottering about but was too slow to catch it on film. It was very red and the same sort of size as an English red squirrel but had a very black tail.

As I got out of the water I spotted a cloud, in the few mins it took me to load up and set off the whole sky became covered and by the time I got home it was gray every where - great timing.