Ponte de Barca is an attractive little town on the north bank of the meandering river. The gracefully arched bridge that dominates the scene was built in the sixteenth century. The town’s present name is relatively new. It was originally known as Castelo de Nobrega or Terra de Nobrega that is the ‘Castle or Land of Nobrega’. It became known as Ponte da Barca, or ‘Bridge of the Boat’, when a pontoon bridge was used for fording the river. Its early good fortune was to lie at the crossroads of the two medieval pilgrim routes, from Braga to Santiago, and from Ribeira de Lima to Angra in the Azores, which brought it wealth by catering for the needs of the pilgrims.
The town has an interesting parish church which was built largely in the fifteenth century, though local wealthy families have added side chapels without too great a regard for artistic harmony. It was reconstructed in 1714 by Manuel Pinto de Vilalobos, the architect of the Misericordia church in Viana de Castelo at the mouth of the River Lima.
The town hall, preceded by a granite staircase and the market hall alongside the bridge are both imposing buildings built during the dictatorship of the Marquess of Pombal in the eighteenth century. On Wednesdays a much larger market takes place on the wide sands of the river bed.
The best way to enjoy the town though is simply to relax and savour the beauty of the setting. This beauty is, perhaps, the reason for the many stories of enchantment that have grown up around the town. An ancient tradition that is still reputed to be practised is the baptizado de meia noite, or midnight baptism. Pregnant women of the town go down to the river at midnight to have their unborn children baptized. Thus baptized in the mother’s womb the child, it is believed, will be born healthy and strong. As the bells toll midnight the child’s godparents must be the first people to cross the bridge.
The best places to stay in Ponte de Barca are the combined pensions and restaurants that overlook the river. A meal taken on a verandah or a terrace in the long summer evening is an unforgettable experience, even more so if it coincides with the flash thunderstorms that are quite frequent in the Minho. More expensive but elegant accommodation is to be found in the eighteenth-century manor house, the Paco Vedra, located a couple of kilometres outside of the town in its own estate. Ask in the tourist office near the bridge for directions. The office can also advise on the best place to hire boats and to go swimming in the river. In the summer months especially the water level can drop quite dramatically.
Ponte de Barca’s festival is that of Sao Bartolomeu in late August when among the music and dancing there are displays of local crafts, such as linen work.
From Ponte de Barca the course of the Lima can be followed either west to Bravaes, Ponte de Lima and a return to Viana or east to the Peneda-Geres National Park and the town of Lindoso.
The N203 from Ponte de Barca to Lindoso is a scenic route through pine trees along the wooded foothills of the Serra de Soajo. The Serra do Geres can be seen to the south of the river. There are a good number of attractive places along the route at which to stop to fish or to swim before reaching the village of Entre Ambos os Rios where there is an official campsite.
From here the road rises as it enters the national park. Just after the turning to Soajo to the left the meandering river below has been enlarged by the construction of a hydro-electric dam. At a second dam just below Lindoso it is possible to walk across the river and it is a good place from which to begin a hike in the national park, following initially the course of the River Labroeiro. Lindoso is alternatively a fine spot from which to hike in the opposite direction to the town of Geres across the Serra Amarela. Like those from Castro Labreiro, these testing walks across the mountains, where the weather can change dramatically within minutes, should only be attempted by experienced walkers with good survey maps.
