Splendid Isolation

Went on an outing today, to tell you the truth, to cheer myself up...

Down south to Barrancos, which is seen as bit of a strange and isolated place - contested until quite recently with Spain, the people speak a dialect which is a blending of Portuguese and Spanish, and is the only place in Portugal where they are allowed to kill the bull in the ring.

Some ten km over a stony road from the town is the Moorish castle of Noudar, which was abandoned when the population moved to Barrancos (the white village in the background) at the end of the 19th C. The location is stunning, on a 200m high ridge, in between two rivers, and silence all around; Mike and I were the only visitors, and not even the birds seemed to come up that high. The tree in the foreground is a fig - tiny fruit just appearing - see extra.