Friday, March 11, 2005
Paderne: a choice of ruins...
I like castles, whatever their state of repair, so I wasn't too disappointed when the one at Paderna turned out to be past its best...
There's a fuller account of our day on my website at the page called Paderne, otherwise, here's the potted account...
We visited this little hamlet during our Algarve hols in Albufeira, September 2004. The place itself is pleasant enough, with a choice of cafés and eateries, but I was more interested in the historical stuff.
We looked at the fonte, just outside the village, and I climbed up the observation tower (I'm nosy like that). It's a working spring, with canopied water channels and is still used by passing locals. It seems there are market stalls set up there sometimes, but nothing was happening on the hot day when we visited.
Undaunted, we pressed on to visit the castle. That was more like it... I was glad we hadn't walked along the uneven, dusty track, since it seemed much longer than the advertised 1.5 km.
Work is underway to restore the fortress to some of its former glory, and the workmen were at their tasks during our visit. Like most such fortifications in Algarve, Paderne castle changed hands during the centuries between the Moors' arrival in the Iberian Peninsula and their expulsion.
These huge stone edifices always impress me, as I simply can't imagine the effort that went into their building (or the privations suffered by those who inhabited them - the sanitation problems alone make me shudder!)
So, it was a lovely day for exploring and we walked around the remains, shared some snacks and took some digi-photos. That's about all I ask of a lazy vacation day.
As you'll see from the pic above, I snapped Nev while he was standing in front of the castle's facade. Since he was in marginally better condition than the other ruin, I took him home with me!
There's a fuller account of our day on my website at the page called Paderne, otherwise, here's the potted account...
We visited this little hamlet during our Algarve hols in Albufeira, September 2004. The place itself is pleasant enough, with a choice of cafés and eateries, but I was more interested in the historical stuff.
We looked at the fonte, just outside the village, and I climbed up the observation tower (I'm nosy like that). It's a working spring, with canopied water channels and is still used by passing locals. It seems there are market stalls set up there sometimes, but nothing was happening on the hot day when we visited.
Undaunted, we pressed on to visit the castle. That was more like it... I was glad we hadn't walked along the uneven, dusty track, since it seemed much longer than the advertised 1.5 km.
Work is underway to restore the fortress to some of its former glory, and the workmen were at their tasks during our visit. Like most such fortifications in Algarve, Paderne castle changed hands during the centuries between the Moors' arrival in the Iberian Peninsula and their expulsion.These huge stone edifices always impress me, as I simply can't imagine the effort that went into their building (or the privations suffered by those who inhabited them - the sanitation problems alone make me shudder!)
So, it was a lovely day for exploring and we walked around the remains, shared some snacks and took some digi-photos. That's about all I ask of a lazy vacation day.
As you'll see from the pic above, I snapped Nev while he was standing in front of the castle's facade. Since he was in marginally better condition than the other ruin, I took him home with me!
