Cavado na Barca do Lago is wide, with calm waters spread over the low banks, it really looks like a lake. Until a bridge was built over the river, this was one of the best crossing points, from the remote medieval times when pilgrims travelled to Santiago de Compostela. Hence the “barge”, which connected the two banks in a constant back and forth, depending on whether there were people to cross. On both banks there were boatmen, who attended to the requests of travellers, of any social condition. When D. Manuel I went on pilgrimage to Compostela, he took this boat, which was the only reasonable way to cross the Cavado. More recently, Barca do Lago lost its function, when the bridge crossed the Cávado, but it gained another attraction when leisure and water sports became part of the daily life of many. Due to the extraordinary conditions it offers, Barca do Lago is a very sought-after place both on the bank and in the waters of the Cávado.