The section of the Ponds in Ponte de Lima, establishes the connection between the village and the river of Silvareira in Fontão. We begin at the section on the right bank, near the Roman-Goth Bridge. The bridge, which has connected the two shores for more than 2,000 years, is classified as a national monument. A unique work of the Roman Emperor of the time, Octavian Caesar Augustus, it would be augmented in the Middle Ages due to the diverging of the river bed as well as destruction caused by time or war.

Pass by the statue of Decius Brutus facing the soldiers on the other margin, in an attempt to recreate the legend of the Lethe River (forgetfulness). Legend has it that Roman soldiers refused to cross the river, fearing a total loss of memory. Decius Brutus passed the river and called every soldier by name, proving that his memory had remained intact.

We continue with the beautiful image of the historic center and the plateaued avenue mirrored in the river. Before the bridge of Our Lady of Guidance we find the facilities of the Nautical Club as well as the International Festival of Gardens (IFG). The IFG, open from May to October, exposes annually, and according to a theme previously defined, where the best gardens are designed by national and foreign artists.

Heading into Bertiandos, our senses are focused on the river and its biodiversity, and upon arriving at a small pier, we glimpse the Bertiandos Manor through a avenue surrounded by a sizeable vineyard. Founded in the XV century it is an ex-libris of the north of the country, not only because it has a tower built in 1566 by Inês Pinto, widow of the second master of Bertiandos, but also because it presents two bodies added on either side, showing the established links to her two children. Very close to the manor, is one of the entrance doors to the Protected Area, Bertiandos and St. Pedro de Arcos ponds, a wetland of International importance.  It is an important area for the conservation of nature and biodiversity at a regional, national and even international levels, in the case of some species and specific habitats. 

We continue towards the Bertiandos woodland leisure area, where the eco trail deviates slightly away from the river in search of the river crossing at Estorãos, the effluent of the Lima River. At the Silvareira brook - point from which the eco trails leads to lands of Viana do Castelo County – we are presented with an agricultural landscape where corn is king in the spring and summer.

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