Other journeys - Foz Côa

Foz Côa, Feb 1999

At lunchtime today I recalled my trips to Foz Côa. The valley and our encounter with paleolithic art is a very special experience. We arrive at the small museum and then we are taken with a jeep down the narrow and winding road, few people at a time. First we see the river, the vineyards, the rocks. And once we get closer and we look better... we are left breathless. There they are, the beautiful engravings of animals, sometimes standing alone, sometimes overlapping. Elegant, precise lines, figures that were drawn on the rock thousands of years ago. There is absolute silence around us (thanks to the control of visitor numbers), just us and the thousand-year-old figures.

I´ve been to Foz Côa twice, once in February, the second time in November. The landscape is beautiful in winter, but even more in late automn, when we witness the intense celebration of the colourful vineyards. Next time it will be in spring, hoping to enjoy the blooming almond trees.