Wednesday 16th January 2008

Once again we slept with the roar of the sea in the background. This was not surprising given the weather yesterday but it was only when we left the next morning and drove along the coast that we saw how rough the sea was. The waves were over 2m high and coming in very fast. The weather was however better, no rain and, although still windy, nowhere near as strong.
Our first stop was Viana do Castelo where we wanted to visit the church of Santa Luzia and an archaeological site. Both are situated on a high hill that provides fantastic views North and South along the coast, up the Lima river valley and all of the obvious land routes in the area. It is not surprising that the hilltop was occupied from the Iron Age up to Roman times. Two thirds of the site was destroyed by the building of a large hotel and access roads obviously at a time when archaeological sites were not considered to be important. However what remains of the Celtic settlement is very interesting and the views, even with poor visibility, were stunning. The settlement had defensive walls, trenches and towers. These together with the natural defences of the hill and the ability to spot potential hostile forces from many miles away, must have made the site very attractive.
We also had a look around the church, modelled on the Sacre Coeur in Paris.
Many, many years ago in Athens, we saw photographers that would take photograph of their customers with a large box camera mounted on a tripod. They would then develop the photograph inside the camera and wash it in a bucket. After drying it, they would then present the customer with the finished black and white photograph. It fascinated me at the time but I considered it antiquated as it was black and white and everyone was using colour by then. I was amazed to see two photographers in the courtyard outside Santa Luzia with just the same equipment, especially in January when only the most intrepid of visitors would be there. I suppose that it has now got to the point where grandparents, remembering early family photographs, may want to have photographs taken in the same way. All the same, I can't imagine that such photographers will be around for many more years.
On then to Porto and the campsite on the southern side of the city at Praia de Madalena.
Photos: The round buildings of the Celtic settlement at Viana do Castelo; the unusual 'spiral' construction of some of the huts and a hint of the views from the site; Santa Luzia with one of the photographers in the foreground; Detail of a camera and the equipment.