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Friday 12^th SEPTEMBER 2008

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Today we were taken way up the Guadiana River and then set off in canoes to paddle our way for three hours back to Mertola. In the afternoon four of us were taken on a brilliant 4x4 exploration of the Natural Park of the Vale do Guadiana.

After lunch four of us were taken on an excellent trip to local sites of interest in an old Land Rover. We started by visiting the huge abandoned mines at of Sao Domingos. Click here to see a view of the vast area from space and here to see some photographs on the internet. Some schoolchildren have produced a good historical and geographic overview of the mining activities - click here.

The huge mine area is heavily polluted even though operation ceased in the 1950s. Pools of brightly coloured waste liquid still lay around - reds, yellows, blues and greens - even some black pools.

The colours come from the many types of sulphide compounds discharged during the processing procedures.

The British mine owners and managers lived in a fairly palatial enclave despite the isolation of the mine. They had recreational facilities such as tennis courts, clubhouse and even a bandstand - now standing derelict and forlorn.

A long way out in the wild we came across 'The Club For Abandoned Men' a meeting place for those over age 30 who have been abandoned by women at some time. 

A rare sighting of stags together in the wild.

We were taken to the Pulo do Lupo ('Wolf's Leap') waterfall. The impressive part was going down and up a sheer dirt track.  Click on the right-hand picture above to download a 31 MB movie of the Land Rover coming up the track. It will take some time to download before playing.

Please click on the above picture to download and play a 15 MB movie of these falls. This may take a while to download and start playing.

Smooth holes in the rocks are caused by pebbles becoming trapped and swirled around.