Day 3 - Campo do Geres to Lobios

I had been looking forward to this day; the tourist guide promised lakes, waterfalls and possibly even wolves. With the exception of the wolves the day did not disappoint.

The way takes one past the dam of the Homem river which has created a stunning landscape, particularly under a deep blue sky.

The other interesting feature was the regular occurence of the Roman milestones. Roman miles were a bit shorter than British miles (1,620 yards versus 1,760 yards) so it felt that the miles were flying by. The park authorities helpfully placed signs next to the signs indicating when they were placed and by which emperor. The question of course is why more than one milestone?

Apparently each emperor liked to have his own milestones. So on changing the emperor it was time for the milestone manufacturers to get busy. And these things are big so there was no point in trying to take the old ones away. In the picture below there were, at least, 14 milestones. A refreshing example of even the clinical Romans doing something quite daft.

After the dam, there was a visit to St Michael's waterfall. This was a popular spot with many families making their way there to enjoy the fresh water. A very pleasant place for a rest, if not a swim.

It was then about 1km out of the valley and up to the border with Spain. Fortunately the bar, imaginatively called Bar da Fronteira, was open and did a very good snack lunch. Like everywhere on this route, very pilgrim friendly with a camino stamp ready.

What was slightly different about this bar was that in the back there was a bunch of milestones. Certainly a very different type of decorative feature.

After lunch it was time to continue on the straight-ish path down to Lobios. There was a very welcome half-way bar - Os Cazadores - at Os Banos, again a place with a stamp, a cold beer and a friendly welcome.

Lobios was the final destination and had two restaurants to choose from. But as it was a Monday, one was closed so it was Grill Luma. So nice to be able to eat outside. I think the pilgrim look is starting to come through - I ordered albarino to drink and the waiter warned me that this was an expensive wine. He even wrote the price on my menu to make sure I could afford it (about 25% of the cost in the UK). I'm definitely starting to resemble a hobo.