Hello everyone and welcome to my blog :-)
We started our Saturday with a visit to the Cucamacuca staircase in the city of Valongo in the Serras do Porto. This mountain range, which is part of the vast mountain range that surrounds the city of Porto, is a place of great interest both for its biodiversity and for its geological and historical heritage. The route begins at the Cucamacuca staircase, where right at the entrance, we can see two statues (like guardians).
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Começamos o nosso sábado com uma visita à escadaria Cucamacuca na cidade de Valongo nas Serras do Porto. Esta serra, que faz parte da vasta rede montanhosa que envolve a cidade do Porto, é um local de grande interesse tanto pela sua biodiversidade como pelo seu património geológico e histórico. O percurso inicia-se na escadaria Cucamacuca, onde logo à entrada, podemos ver duas estátuas (quais guardiões).
Following the staircase, the trail takes us to several features of Serra da Santa Justa: wells, mines and pits. These geological and historical elements are part of the mountain range’s memory.
During the Roman period, the Romans were in the Iberian Peninsula in search of precious metals such as gold, iron and silver. Although most Roman mining is associated with other regions of the Peninsula, it is likely that the Serra da Santa Justa was also exploited for iron extraction, given the mineral wealth of the area.
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Seguindo pela escadaria, o trilho leva-nos a várias características da Serra da Santa Justa: os poços, minas e fojos. Estes elementos geológicos e históricos fazem parte da memória da serra.
Durante o período romano, os romanos estiveram na Península Ibérica à procura de metais preciosos, como o ouro, o ferro e a prata. Embora a maior parte da exploração mineira romana seja associada a outras regiões da Península, é provável que a Serra da Santa Justa tenha também sido explorada para a extração de ferro, dada a riqueza mineral da zona.
The Romans, known for their mining skills, explored the region more than two thousand years ago. Their approach was careful: they began digging from top to bottom, identifying quartz veins and following them along the ridge. Over time, the excavations formed large cavities, called pits, which were used in the search for precious metals, such as gold. These vertical excavations were, at some points, connected by horizontal galleries, creating a complex system of underground mines.
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Os romanos, conhecidos pela sua habilidade em mineração, exploravam a região há mais de dois mil anos. A sua abordagem era cuidada: começavam a escavar de cima para baixo, identificando filões de quartzo e seguindo-os ao longo da serra. Com o tempo, as escavações formaram grandes cavidades, chamadas fojos, que eram utilizadas na busca por metais preciosos, como o ouro. Essas escavações verticais eram, em alguns pontos, conectadas por galerias horizontais, criando um complexo sistema de minas subterrâneas.
The biggest challenge faced was the presence of water in the lower levels of the mines. To solve this problem, they developed sophisticated drainage techniques, creating mines to drain the water and using innovations such as the Archimedes screw and waterwheels to transport water from the lower levels to the upper channels. These systems helped keep the mines operational, allowing extraction to be carried out more efficiently despite the difficulties encountered.
In more remote times, these pits served as traps, and many animals, such as wild boars and wolves, were caught in them. Nowadays they have become popular spots for climbing enthusiasts.
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O maior desafio enfrentado era a presença de água nos níveis mais baixos das minas. Para resolver esse problema, desenvolveram sofisticadas técnicas de escoamento, criando minas para a drenagem da água e utilizando inovações como o parafuso de Arquimedes e as noras para transportar a água dos níveis inferiores para os canais superiores. Esses sistemas ajudaram a manter as minas operacionais, permitindo que a extração fosse realizada de maneira mais eficiente, apesar das dificuldades encontradas.
Em tempos mais remotos, esses fojos serviam como armadilhas, e muitos animais, como javalis e lobos, eram apanhados nelas. Hoje em dia tornaram-se locais procurados por entusiastas da escalada.
During the walk, it is possible to see practitioners who challenge the rocky walls of the excavations, climbing up and down with impressive ease. The presence of these climbers breathes new life into the ancient structures and offers a renewed perspective on the usefulness and historical importance of these excavations.
The wells and shafts, now transformed into sites of archaeological and natural interest, offer the opportunity to explore the remains of these ingenious Roman solutions. At the same time, the local biodiversity, with its diverse vegetation and the presence of rare species, such as the tree fern Culcita macrocarpa, contributes to the uniqueness of this protected space.
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Durante a caminhada, é possível ver praticantes que, desafiam as paredes rochosas das escavações, subindo e descendocom uma facilidade impressionante. A presença desses escaladores confere uma nova vida às antigas estruturas e oferece uma perspetiva renovada sobre a utilidade e importância histórica destas escavações.
Os poços e fojos, hoje transformados em locais de interesse arqueológico e natural, oferecem a oportunidade de explorar os vestígios dessas engenhosas soluções romanas. Ao mesmo tempo, a biodiversidade local, com a sua vegetação diversa e a presença de espécies raras, como o feto arbóreo Culcita macrocarpa, contribui para a singularidade deste espaço protegido.
Despite the natural and sporting attractiveness of the region, Serra da Santa Justa, including the area where the wells and pits are located, is protected by a network of strict environmental regulations. The Serras do Porto are part of a protected area, which implies a constant effort to preserve its fauna and flora. Tourism and recreational activities such as rock climbing are monitored and regulated to ensure that there is no irreparable damage to the ecosystem. Protecting the mountain range is vital, not only for the conservation of the species that inhabit the region, but also for maintaining the natural balance found there.
During the journey, we are encouraged to follow the well-defined trails, respect the signs and, of course, not interfere with old structures, such as mines and pits.
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Apesar da atratividade natural e desportiva da região, a Serra da Santa Justa, incluindo a área onde se encontram os poços e fojos, está protegida por uma rede de regulamentações ambientais rigorosas. As Serras do Porto fazem parte de uma área protegida, o que implica um esforço constante para a preservação da sua fauna e flora. O turismo e as atividades recreativas, como a escalada, são monitorizados e regulamentados para garantir que não haja danos irreparáveis ao ecossistema. A proteção da serra é vital, não só para a conservação das espécies que habitam a região, mas também para a manutenção do equilíbrio natural que ali se encontra.
Durante o percurso, somos incentivados a seguir os trilhos bem definidos, respeitar as sinalizações e, claro, a não interferir com as estruturas antigas, como as minas e os fojos.
I hope you enjoyed.
See you around.
Wishing you much peace and health
Those who pass by us do not go alone. They leave a bit of themselves, taking a piece of us."
Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince.
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STOPYou have successfully visited a very beautiful place my friend 🙏♥️
Hello @riyat! Thank U for your comment. Glad you like it:-)
You're welcome, keep up the good work 💪
The place is very beautiful, you managed to enjoy the beauty of the scenery of a very beautiful place ❤️
Hi there @suarlex! It really is indeed. Thanks for stopping by :-)
You're welcome my friend @onyfest,Have a nice day ❤️
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Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Your post has been manually curated by the @worldmappin team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!Thank U so much @worldmappin and @ybanezkim26!
Keep up the great work 💪
This is really beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Hello @houhou. Thank U so much 😊
What a wonderful place you visited, thank you for sharing details of these amazing place.
Hi there @hsiri20! Thank U so much for your comment. Really glad you like it😊
Welcome dear, I really like your contents.
A beautiful scenery as you get around the place.
It´s a beautiful place :) Thank you for your comment :)