The legendary Barca do Lago

Here, the Cávado river is wide, quiet and overflowing its low banks - quite similar to a lake.

This was one of the best places of passage of the river, since ancient Roman and the Middle Ages, in which it became the passage point of pilgrims traveling towards Santiago de Compostela.

For this reason, the “Barca” (the small river crossing boat) connected the two banks in a constant back-and-forth, according to demand.

On both banks, there were boatmen who met the demands of travelers from any social condition. But this "lago" (lake) does not favor the region with only a good river crossing point. The clean waters and currents are fertile in fish, and the fishery here was abundant and profitable. The place is so pleasant that the manor houses settled here, as the Manor House of Gayos or the Manor House of Machados.