In the nick of time

NICK ROBINSON IS INTO CASTLES HERE IN PORTUGAL RIGHT NOW, AND SPECIFICALLY THOSE ALONG THE BORDER WITH SPAIN THAT ARE RICH WITH THE HISTORY OF THE LAND by: Mértola and Alcoutim. Luckily, my friend that I visited Castro Marim with knew the owner of the original hotel in Mértola: Beira Rio.

I popped in for a quick interview and she explained about her most recent hotel next door, Hotel Museu, and a newer one down in Alcoutim. The severe lack of accommodation had always been a problem for the area, but now there are a multitude of airbnbs plus the three hotels.

It would be hard to find a more beautiful area and if you haven’t visited, I urge you to head over to Alcoutim. For fun, you have the world’s only crossborder zip line whisking you across the Guadiana River from Spain to Portugal. There is a gorgeous little river beach with café nearby and a good few riverside restaurants. I’ve spent a lot of time down there and love it – you would too!

Thirty-two kilometres upriver is Mértola. The town enjoys a grandiose entrance as you round the corner and approach the bridge across a little gorge. The castle stands tall, directly above, and the road curves around into town. It’s a larger settlement than Alcoutim and the castle truly is majestic. I explore the town and focus on a fair bit of the history of the castle in my video.

However, I kept on heading north with Serpa now in my sights and then my castle count started ticking over, racking up to 20 by the time my initial mission was finished. Moura, Noudar, Mourão, Monsaraz, Alandroal, Juromenha and many others.

By the time my three days were over, I was all castled out and feared that my Youtube audience would be, too. I have resolved to continue the mission over time but will be focusing more on the Algarve in the coming months.