So we set out to go see the old mine. And then sure enough, the clouds moved in again...
The old mine operated between 1862 and 1966, extracting copper ore to be shipped back to England. It was a British mining company that ran the mine, so there were a lot of British people here at one time.
These are the garages where they maintained the railway engines.
Mr. and Mrs. Stork
The open pit mine.
They've done a good job making it accessible to tourists.
Kevin, exploring!
The water in the pit is contaminated and highly acidic.
Lots of signs warning of danger, yet you can pretty much wander where you please.
The entrance to the tunnels has been blocked off.
And then we saw the rain clouds moving in again. We had been heading for a walk along the old railway that's been made into a cycle path, but we turned around. Made it back to Louis just in time for it to start raining. We had some hand washing out to dry and got it in just in time.
The old mine office has been made into a hotel.
It's a nice little town. Many of the miners quarters have been made into row houses. I bet it's really cheap to live here, although we haven't checked prices. A few times, Ruth and I looked at each other and said "this would be a nice quiet town to live in".
And so it rained on and off for the rest of the afternoon. I had a nap for an hour, and then we went over to Glen and Steve's motorhome and played a few rounds of euchre.
This morning, we're heading south. We need to be at Faro airport for Tuesday morning to pick up Helen and Tony, and we want to check out a couple of places along the way.
We don't yet have a cell connection for Portugal, so if you don't hear from us for a day or two then it's because we couldn't get on line. Hopefully we'll be able to find some internet along the way.
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Comfy duvet on sale...today only...
I really hope you spend some time in Lisbon, that is my favorite city and I am not keen on cities but it is so walkable, has excellent transportation and is so easy/safe to get around.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we aren't headed to Lisbon on this trip. This will be the second time that we have been in Portugal and have not gone to Lisbon. We would love to go but there are too many other things to see where we are now and also when we head back to Spain. One day we will most certainly get to Lisbon, it is on our list of cities to visit.
DeleteHope your not off line too long. Thanks for sharing your great info and interesting photos. Cheers from windy cool Tasmania Australia
ReplyDeleteWe managed to struggle through with the bad internet but it wasn't easy. We are now happily back online with some great internet now. :-)
DeleteIt is fun to explore some of these old mines.
ReplyDeleteYes, it certainly is!
DeleteI'm glad they are repurposing the old mining buildings especially the row houses. I wouldn't mind living in one...I like smaller houses although big houses and castles fascinate me.
ReplyDeleteThankfully they have re-purposed some of them. We loved the little row houses and said to we too could easily live in one of them. I wish it hadn't started raining because I would have liked to have seen inside the hotel.
DeleteDespite the weather you had another great day exploring.
ReplyDeleteYes, we sure did!
DeleteNice pictures of mining area. Looks like a nice town. Enjoy your travels today!
ReplyDeleteThank you Brigitte. We loved wandering around the old mining area and looking at the ruins of what was left of the mine. The town was nice and friendly.
DeleteNot sure if you'll see this in time but Vidaphone has or had, an excellent internet deal €10 for 30GB!! Think you have 3weeks to use it up 😄
ReplyDeleteI believe that the deal has expired now. The one they have now is only for 10GB for 15 days, and it was something like €10.
DeleteThey give warning signs, yet you can pretty much wander off. Me? I'd say, stay on the path!
ReplyDeleteAround the buildings themselves you were wouldn't have a problem, you just need to be aware of the conditions. I think in general it was relatively safe, we weren't about to go into any building that looked like it might collapse on us. ;-)
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