Largo da Lapa Gardens - Ponte de Lima #1 | Portugal

Hello everyone :)

One more coin, one more ride, as we say here in Portugal, (in portuguese is more funny to say and hear)
This time, let´s go visit another village in the Alto Minho region: Ponte de Lima!
Bathed by the Lima River, it is considered the oldest village in the country, but despite being really old and historical, it´s not the oldest as it´s known.

What we immediately noticed was the number of well-tended gardens spread out, the imposing trees that made us look up just to realize their size and the cleanliness of all the streets. As soon as we got out of the car and started walking, we saw two woodpeckers, something i didn't remember seeing for years.
And right in front of us, the Church of Nossa Senhora da Lapa, the Church dates back to the 18th century and was built with alms from faithful devotees to D. Tristão de Menezes.

It was not possible for us to enter, as a ceremony was taking place.
We realized that we were in the historic area as there are plaques with the description of the places, so that those like us, who are visiting, can understand a little bit of the history of the village.
This part of the historic area is located at the top of the village, so we can have a broader view of the houses and the streets and alleys that all lead to the same place: the Lima River.
We can see so many old roofs, houses that often looked abandoned and in the background, on the waterfront next to the river, trucks with tourists arriving and departing.

From there we managed to decide where we were going to go to discover the corners of Ponte de Lima.
Every year, the International Garden Festival takes place there, hence the care we were able to observe with each one of them, what we learned is that school students are involved in the festival's themes (Festival de Jardins Escolinhas), which makes it even more special.
Several "gardens" are created, whose project can be from one or more people and from different countries, which then go to competition.
This event has already been distinguished internationally on two occasions: one in 2013 with the title Garden Tourism Awards, at the “North American Garden Tourism Conference”, and in 2017, with the distinction “Festivals for Europe".

Here we can see that the intention is environmental awareness and preservation of the environment.
All the gardens have a name, and one of the most beautiful ones for me is the Dr. Adelino Sampaio right on the main avenue.
People took the opportunity to rest a little, and we were able to calmly observe all the flowers that together seemed to make a bouquet.

There was also a bandstand that reminded me of some childhood memories, when in these places we gathered at the end of popular festivals to hear the philharmonic band play, and that was the sign that everyone should return home. It seems that for a moment i could feel the smell of popcorn and cotton candy in the air and i felt a slight sadness that we no longer see these traditions happening in cities.
There are some many rich places in this village that i opted for divide these visit into different articles.
This one ends here, left the Lapa garden behind to visit the next spot, i nice one in fact, but you need to wait for the next article, stay tuned :)
Hope you like this share.

Photo by @aleister
Camera - Canon EOS 600D
Lens - EFS 18-55mm / 70-300mm
Location - Portugal

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Always remember:

Value your time, because every fraction counts, and the price of anything is the amount of life you trade for it.
May the memories of the travels be eternalized in the photographs, and may the photographs transport us back to the travels ;)