Chaves is another city Joerg and I have fallen in love with. It has loads to see and do, has THE BEST RESTAURANT EVER (my next post) as well as being picturesque and photogenic all in one. I look forward to visiting it again sometime.

Ponte de Trajano or Trajan’s Bridge is a photo opportunity just waiting for you. During the day or at night, with full sun or in the mist, it’s just lovely. I shall bore you with only a few of the several hundred photos I took! There are three bridges, but this one is the most picturesque and has the most interesting history. It was built in the 1st century by the Romans. Let me rephrase that: it was built at the time of the Romans by slaves who mostly didn’t get to enjoy it…

The two beautiful columns on the bridge are inscribed with this information (if you can read “Romanic”, hee hee) and were erected in 104AD to commemorate the work of the slaves. All 12 arches are visible and in good condition. And just sooooo photogenic. Work was started in 79AD – the mind boggles.


The bridge spans the Tamega River and we parked the van 5km out of town and every day we walked into town along the river. The Husband made me! He makes use of “the carrot and the donkey” principle. If I walk in to town I can eat out…his level of creativity/cruelty knows no end! We did find THE BEST RESTAURANT EVER like this (hold your donkeys, next post), so I shall not complain. Much.


Chaves is also a spa town and apparently water gushes out at 70C. I think this is watered down (I am so funny) so that it’s a tad more human-friendly rather than boiled-chicken friendly. Will try it next time. We found fortified buildings and I took this photo which I have cleverly titled (nothing like self-praise) “Flower Power”…

There were any number of churches and I just love the blue sky and white building contrast. The second photo is of the Nossa Senhora do Rosario Chapela/Chapel.


There are lots of other places to see, but I thought you might get a little bored, so I googled Chaves to see what interesting information I could impress you with. Did you know (well of course you didn’t!) that there is a wine available for sale called The Wine of the Dead… Now I’ve got your attention.

Apparently, when the French invaded in 1809 the people from the village of Boticas buried their wine to avoid it being pillaged. Those French, didn’t want the woman but the wine! Once the alcoholics/pillages had left, they dug up the wine and found that it actually had improved. How bad must it have tasted beforehand, one asks…

And on that note, I shall leave you with a couple of photos of the lovely streets and houses of Chaves. It’s well worth a visit if you happen to find yourself in the area. Apparently they have an enormous market on the 31st of October to celebrate the end of the Spanish invaders (man they really got invaded a lot – must be all the wine…) and the 1st of November, All Saints. We saw the stands being set up a few days beforehand, but we also saw the cold front approaching and decided to visit it next time!


PS: This link has even more and better photos than I do:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNBJytJSYg-1kVMeqTYWKwuxKPlWoQ9Gvsh...