What was previously a Roman settlement, Ponte de Lima is a very small village just northeast of Porto in the Viana do Castelo region of Portugal. It is one of the oldest chartered towns in the country and clearly one of the most picturesque.
It's 1st Century bridge (Ponte, of course), actually rebuilt in the 11th Century, spans a very slow moving body of water, the Lima River, with origins in Spain. Today, in the sleekest imaginable high-tech plastic one-person vessels exceeding 20 feet, kayakers with $700 carbon fiber paddles move along on the gentle flow and usually smooth surface. Imagine the contrast that presents with ancient Romans traversing underneath the bridge in whatever crude craft they had at the time out of necessity, just to live.
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Imagine ancient people transporting goods in donkey carts across the river.
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On the second Monday of each month, the village hosts one of the largest country markets you will likely ever encounter. Food, plants, flowers, clothing, crafts, and art, along with other goods of a large variety are displayed in stalls mostly covered by canvas over metal or wood poles. Hawkers shout out the quality of their goods in a cadence somewhat like that of old newspaper boys or carnival barkers.
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Quantities you might find in a supermarket produce section, yet these will be fresh out of the ground or off of trees or bushes.
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Building facades in this village, like much of the rest of Portugal, demand attention and lingering and photographing--no way to escape that, don't try--you might hurt yourself.
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| To the left, the antiquity of the stone structure. Connected on the right, a modern building with its new, perfect facade. |
Ponte de Lima, a story-book village, is well worth a return visit. Put it on your list when you visit Porto--you must, really.
