Trip to Forte São João - Vila do Conde | Portugal

After a series of records made in a radius very close to the place where i live, due to the confinement, this time we will take a new path in a city that i have already presented here.
Located on the north bank of the river Ave mouth, Vila do Conde is an important industrial center, fishing port, bathing and tourist area, configuring one of the main and most sought after bathing centers in the country. The city is part of the same urban agglomeration as Póvoa de Varzim.

Traveling along the waterfront, always accompanied by the extensive sandy beach bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, it is possible to glimpse the magnificent beauty of this part of the Portuguese coast, ending the long journey in a tight curve where the imposing Fort of São João appears.
The Fort of São João Baptista, known as Castelo do Vila do Conde was originally dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Assunção, but for a long time the only reference was the patron saint of Vila do Conde de São João Baptista, having started its construction in the 1570s.

There are five forts in this fortress, namely: San Antonio, Santa Bárbara (facing east and north), San Francisco, São João and Nossa Senhora da Guia (facing the northwest-sea, southwest and south)) Three of the fortresses have guard rooms, one of which is the last to be built, Santa Barbara, which was only completed in 1793 and construction was completed more than two centuries after the fort began to be built.

At first this was the main point of the visit, but when we arrived, we were unable to enter and after taking a few laps around the perimeter, i came to the conclusion that after endless work and wear and tear, the final background work was carried out at end of the 20th century, and the Fort of São João was restored to be implanted in a charming hotel and restaurant, and also used to organize events and clubs, i sincerely was a little disappointed, although sometimes these are the only possible ways for that buildings like this are not abandoned :(

Continuing the walk towards the bar of the river Ave, it is possible to go through the Chapel of Nossa Senhora da Guia, which is also a business card, to which the fishermen of the north pray and its presence right at the mouth of the river serves as support in the passage of this natural barrier. It is the oldest building in the parish, with references dating from the 11th century (1054). Due to its strategic position near the mouth of Ave, and due to the platform that surrounds it, it is traditionally considered that this would have been the primitive form of defense of the Ave estuary.

Already in the bar, and taking advantage of the low tide and the calm sea, we were walking among those who took the opportunity to launch the line in an attempt to fish something, but at a certain point a stronger wave crashed on the rocks reminding us that the sea is bipolar and that perhaps it would be better to go back, where the mainland gives us another type of security.

From there we only had to go back to making the whole road until the starting point, and the walk was still long, so we decided to go back in the calm and enjoy the landscape.

That´s all for today :)

See you soon

Thank you for watching :)

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