The 3rd edition of the “Termas Centro Classic Cars” initiative started where the 2nd ended, in the village of São Pedro do Sul and precisely at the Grande Hotel das Thermas where participants, in increasing numbers, lodged.
A visit to the Roman Balneum built in the first years of the Christian era revealed that it has a history of more than two thousand years and that, the oldest testimonies of the use of thermal waters in Portugal, pass through it.
Thus, in 1152, our first King D. Afonso Henriques, granted the 1st Charter to Vila do Banho, giving it the importance of a county and, in 1169, he would recover there after a broken leg suffered in the battle of Badajoz. Then, in the early years of the 16th century, it was D. Manuel I who decided to build the Hospital Real das Caldas de Lafões and grant, in 1515, a new Charter to Vila do Banho, increasing its skills and importance.
In 1884, the local Municipality decided to build a modern facility that replaced the tricentennial hospital that, in 1894, would house the Queen D. Amélia, who went to the baths for the first time. The satisfaction with the results was such that, a year later, a Royal Decree was approved determining that Caldas de Lafões would be renamed Caldas da Rainha D. Amélia, a designation that would only become Termas de S. Pedro do Sul with the establishment of the Republic, in 1910. It was also, in 1987, that a new spa was inaugurated, the Centro Termal, beginning at the same time the modernization of the existing Balneário Rainha D. Amélia.
For the weekend, it was on a bright Saturday morning that the caravan traveled through the Freita and Arada mountains, São Macário and Arestal, which the Douro, Paiva and Vouga rivers surround. The tour, at altitudes above 1,000 meters, used the Rotas da Água e da Pedra of these Montanhas Mágicas, painted yellow and pink due to the flowering of the gorse and heather, and Geossítios with a stop at the Portal do Inferno and Garra. An excellent route for lovers of nature and outdoor sports.
The Palace Hotel Astúrias & Spa, in the Termas do Carvalhal, served the lunch. Alcafache promoted a guided tour of its facilities, as well as Caldas da Felgueira after a snack near the swimming pool.
On Sunday, on the way to the Termas da Cúria, the Arca Dolmen, in Oliveira de Frades, was a stopping point for a refreshing brunch before the lunch catered in the premises of the old Casino. At the end of the meal, which was attended by the Vice-President of the Municipality of Anadia, Jorge Sampaio, and the Coordinator of the Termas do Centro, Adriano Ramos, Luís Celínio Antunes, President of the Clube Escape Livre, highlighted, among others, the M.G. Clube de Portugal handing over to its President Isabel Tinoco a SPAL trophy alluding to this edition and received, in surprise, a commemorative souvenir of the 20 years of Friendship that unites these two Clubs. The event ended with the delivery of SPAL trophies to all participants.
