France/ Spain trip with possibly Portugal.

Some of the stewards away in Portugal celebrating a friends birthday and having such a good time they may decide to stay, a bit of a Shirley Valentine moment!!!

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after one birthday celebration in the bar and one riverfront barbie the english have retreated from Pomarao we will return!, we have gone north to minas de sao domingues which has a layer of volcanic mineral this been mined since roman times for copper & silver, the victorians found gold and opals ? by open cast mining but now the water has filled the crater and it’s filled with spectacular coloured water the old processing plant whereC9D4D81F-6A36-4921-B545-544A03D20E07.jpeg they sent the ore on to pomarao & england was huge & has fallen into ruins5E88DC83-08B2-421E-8391-17B5A905B7C3.jpeg
 
We were there in March 2015 but no time to stop for more than a night. Plan to return and explore the industrial heritage. The mine closed in 1960s after 108 years, operated by British company Mason & Barry, they even had their own police force, pretty terrible conditions for the miners breathing the sulfur dioxide fumes in the air.

When we visited there were vans parked all over the hills as well as in the car park by the lake. What are the overnight options now? Where are you staying?
 
UFO said:
We were there in March 2015 but no time to stop for more than a night. Plan to return and explore the industrial heritage. The mine closed in 1960s after 108 years, operated by British company Mason & Barry, they even had their own police force, pretty terrible conditions for the miners breathing the sulfur dioxide fumes in the air.

When we visited there were vans parked all over the hills as well as in the car park by the lake. What are the overnight options now? Where are you staying?
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There is some rough ground behind the houses in the village, it's marked on Park 4 night, you can park for the day in the car park near the lake but not at night.
There were only a few vans when we visited, we had a walk around the mine, it's all signed with information about the different buildings and other things of interest.
As you said it's well worth a visit.
 
We have done the culture bit at Vila Viçosa.
We'll worth a visit for those that like that stuff ( Management and her Sister).
Big central carpark, for M'homes. Few tourists around, apart from us..
Ducal Palace 300 years in the making. Good tour, but do some online homework, first.
Job done..
Brownie points banked.IMG_20230224_121731~2.jpg
 
rugbyken said:
after one birthday celebration in the bar and one riverfront barbie the english have retreated from Pomarao we will return!, we have gone north to minas de sao domingues which has a layer of volcanic mineral this been mined since roman times for copper & silver, the victorians found gold and opals ? by open cast mining but now the water has filled the crater and it’s filled with spectacular coloured water the old processing plant whereView attachment 65984 they sent the ore on to pomarao & england was huge & has fallen into ruinsView attachment 65985
Click to expand...
When I was a young, ambitious Quality Manager at a long established ironworks.. (Blakey's Leeds), I tested the iron ore shipped from there, for over 100 years.
While still the cheapest option, , nobody had thought to check it.
We used it for heat treatment of castings, with varying results.
I changed to a more efficient supplier, at a small cost increase. And results improved.
I probably helped to shut Minhas down.
Then new technology arrived, with better controllability.
I'll probably do a night shift in the foundry, tonight, 50 years on.
 
Pauljenny said:
When I was a young, ambitious Quality Manager at a long established ironworks.. (Blakey's Leeds), I tested the iron ore shipped from there, for over 100 years.
While still the cheapest option, , nobody had thought to check it.
We used it for heat treatment of castings, with varying results.
I changed to a more efficient supplier, at a small cost increase. And results improved.
I probably helped to shut Minhas down.
Then new technology arrived, with better controllability.
I'll probably do a night shift in the foundry, tonight, 50 years on.
Click to expand...

Bloody hell...how old are you???? :D
 
Lee said:
There is some rough ground behind the houses in the village, it's marked on Park 4 night, you can park for the day in the car park near the lake but not at night.
There were only a few vans when we visited, we had a walk around the mine, it's all signed with information about the different buildings and other things of interest.
As you said it's well worth a visit.
Click to expand...
We were lucky to park by the lake but to many abusing it :( very intersecting stop and great bars in the town. We followed the railway track a fair way. We were amazed at the lack of health and safety it wouldn’t be like that in the UK and it would cost to go round. We often tell people about the mines.
 
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Penny13 said:
We were lucky to park by the lake but to many abusing it :( very intersecting stop and great bars in the town. We followed the railway track a fair way. We were amazed at the lack of health and safety it wouldn’t be like that in the UK and it of would cost to go round. We often tell people about the mines.
Click to expand...

A few years back we parked by the lake and as you remarked, to many people abusing the parking for the locals, in fact there was one guy there that classed himself as a local as he would spend a lot of the year there, using his tow car to go to Mertola shopping and therefore wasn't putting business into the local community.
This sort behaviour is quite common and people wonder why the locals don't want us.
Moan over, we're near Odellete on an aire €5 a night with a bar and beautiful views, living the dream.
I hope all is well with you.
 
not my drone shot but odeliete aire is lovely an aire owned by a hunting association €5 a night top of a hill midway between the barragem and the river guadina ,services are available ehu €3 close to perfect if the winds not blowing
22C03665-F488-4291-9014-18D09BDD3C8A.jpegD25F35BA-F230-49D1-B34B-A552B160FBC2.jpeg
 
It's our last night in Spain tonight as we head north and back towards home. Staying near Banyoles after staying at a friends house last night.
 
Lee said:
A few years back we parked by the lake and as you remarked, to many people abusing the parking for the locals, in fact there was one guy there that classed himself as a local as he would spend a lot of the year there, using his tow car to go to Mertola shopping and therefore wasn't putting business into the local community.
This sort behaviour is quite common and people wonder why the locals don't want us.
Moan over, we're near Odellete on an aire €5 a night with a bar and beautiful views, living the dream.
I hope all is well with you.
Click to expand...
We love it there Lee even has a shower or it did the bar is a bonus. Have you witnessed the boar hunt very loud in the morning and a bit gory in the evening and if they catch enough they will sell it to you. The bakers rolls with eggs from the lady who owns the small holding you can see are perfect :) just not sure about very windy days 😂😂😂 ah enjoy we are off with Alec to see Marc and Sam today and recover from the Cádiz Carnival yesterday.
 
we’re having a social weekend visiting friends one took me out in vilamoura today for a rib eye steak birthday meal , now we are on a wildcamp at alvor to meet up with a friend of jan’s she’s not seen for almost 30 years 4B8329F3-E6B7-4741-B481-0CFACFBB44AB.jpeg
 
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