There are many so-called “ghost towns” in the world, resolutely alternative tourist destinations that stand out from the others for their appearance: they are abandoned places, which tell a particular story and an often troubled past that contribute to making them mysterious and fascinating. The main features are deserted streets, crumbling buildings, desolate boulevards, and scattered ruins here and there, which take the traveler’s imagination back to a time when there was still life and color.
Adding to the long list of ghost towns, Acevedo , a Spanish village has resurfaced from the waters.
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Located in Galicia, not far from the border with Portugal, in the northwest of Spain, Aceredo has remained silently underwater for thirty years. It was brought back to life by drought due to low rainfall, which lowered the level of the Alto Lindoso dam to 15% of its capacity, but also by the exploitation of the reservoir by a Portuguese electricity company. . As the reservoir dried up, the village reappeared in all its glory and immediately became one of the most sought-after tourist attractions in the area: ruined buildings, mud everywhere, wood and brick debris, collapsed roofs and even an old fountain still in operation.
Acevedo’s history ended in 1992, when the Alto Lindoso Reservoir was built, causing it to be flooded by the Lima River. The project was born in 1968, following an agreement between Francisco Franco and António Salazar to use the border rivers.
The decadent spectacle offered by the ghost town risen from the waters shows some seventy houses, including an old cafeteria, a rusting vehicle, and several crates containing beer bottles among the debris.
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image credit: mmmmngai@rogers.com/Wikimedia commons
A scene that arouses admiration, but also the sadness of visitors and locals , who think of what happened to the former inhabitants of Aceredo. It seems that the community was forcibly relocated, leaving the small town as it was before it was submerged by the waters.
In the meantime, the drought in Spain is starting to worry: the Ministry of the Environment points out that other Spanish river basins are only at 44% of their capacity, 15% less than the average recorded during the last decade. This rate is not yet alarming, but it certainly needs to be watched. In the meantime, the government has decreed the cessation of the use of water from six dams until their normal level is restored by the rains.
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