Our first stop in Portugal was Vila Nova de Cerveira, which sits just across the border from Spain, with a river forming the border between the two countries. The locals and tourist centre seemed less than enthralled with our presence. We did however get to stay the night at the camper stop and had fun climbing all over an abandoned castle which had parts renovated and a conference centre built but appeared deserted within weeks of reopening. Perhaps not enough tourism or hit hard in the GFC and never recovered. On from here we went to Porto.
Annie had been to Porto before and absolutely loved it, so I had high hopes for this Portuguese city and it did not disappoint! We stayed in a very cheap campsite along the coastline of Vila Nova de Gaia and bussed into Porto. Porto is completely stunning, all the houses are built on the differing levels that the hills provide. If you stand at the top of the hill you can see almost everything below.
We did what we have now become accustomed to and joined a free walking tour. The walking tour with Eugenia was great, it lasted a full three and a half hours and it took us all around Porto particularly the old town. Porto is simply stunning, We saw a statue of the bishop Antonio Ferreira Gomes and aside from looking a bit like Elvis Presley from the back, we heard how he was an overall good bloke and a notable figure of the Portuguese Catholic Church. He was forced into exile due to how publicly he opposed the fascist regime. We saw a lovely little garden with 100 year old olive trees that had been transplanted on top of a small shopping centre and were taken into a music shop and shown the differences between varying Portuguese guitars used to play Fado, a form of Portuguese folk music of which some forms can only be played by male students.
There are also many magical links between Porto/Portugal and Harry Potter! As we learnt from our lovely tour guide, J.K. Rowling conceived her magical world in Porto and the city influenced many parts of the books. The robes worn by university students look very similar to those worn by the wizards, and Dumbledore’s office shares many similarities to a now VERY famous bookstore that charges a 5 euro entry fee. Also interestingly, we learnt how Salazar Slytherin was (probably) named after the fascist leaning head of state Salazar de Oliveira Salazar. We viewed the Cathedral, the old walls of Porto and got the intel on where to eat the best version of a dish Porto is well known for, the Francesinha.
After the tour we went to said recommended restaurant for what can be best explained as a heart attack on a plate. A sandwich filled with a layer of veal, chorizo and ham, sitting in a tomato sauce that tastes a bit like baked bean sauce sans the beans, smothered in melted cheese and topped off with an egg. It was tasty but probably shouldn’t be eaten regularly… because, ya know… health.
After lunch we took a boat cruise and bobbed along under the bridges of Porto, and being on the water gave us another wonderful perspective of this slopping city. Once on dry land we crossed over the bridge to Gaia for some port tasting. We wandered into the Calem port museum and went on a tour and tasting. Our guide was hilarious, humble he was not! However he loved his port and it was that enthusiasm that kept us interested. Did you know, port is wine with brandy added early on in the fermentation process? This brandy is flavourless and at 77% alcohol and is what makes the port so strong. We also learnt much more about the port making process, some of which I can almost remember after partaking in the port tasting part of the tour. We tried a white, tawny and ruby, three glasses of port was certainly all we needed for a jolly good time and a sweet end to our Porto visit.
The next day we drove through the most rural and mountainous area we have seen so far. The main reason for this is that we needed to avoid the tolls in Portugal, so our GPS often takes us on the most peculiar and off the beaten track roads and thank goodness it did! On our journey we went up and up for what felt like an eternity, so high that at one point we were in amongst the misty clouds. Then as we were on our way to where we we wanted to go we drove right through a place called Peso da Regua. This town is right on the Douro River and we couldn’t help but stop, for it was so incredibly beautiful. A shimmering river lined with luscious green grape vines with more green mountains as far as the eye could see. We found a camper stop that looked directly onto the river with electricity and water for 3 euros a day. While in Regua we also discovered the joys of the cheap local gastronomy, including some outstanding octopus, sardines and Portuguese tarts.
Onwards we decided to visit a winery up in the hills of the Douro called Quinta da Padrela who offered free overnight camping for travellers such as ourselves. While there we did a wonderful olive oil and wine tour/tasting with Jose the manager of the winery. We were shown the warehouse where the wine is made and told some trade secrets involving barrels. We also learnt that the best way to get the olives off a tree is not to shake it, but to beat it with a stick. Beating the olive tree with a stick has done wonders for the Quinta da Padrela olive trees, as these were 200+ years old. On the tour there was also a lovely bubbly group from the US and during our wine tasting we all started chit chatting away. It’s always so wonderful to meet people from other places and is one of the highlights of traveling. That evening we all decided to have dinner together in a little riverside village called Pinhao. Hopefully we might see them all again on our travels!
One thing to note about our time in Portugal is the way in which men stare. It’s very impolite for people to stare in Australia and seemingly also in the rest of Europe, but in Portugal the men (not all men, but easily 95% of those we passed on the street) will coat hanger themselves as the walk by to get a better look at us. This wasn’t because we were wearing anything revealing, usually we were in jeans and a hoodie and while no man ever harassed us in any other way, the stares felt rather predatory and it got a bit old after a while.
The scenery in the drive out of Portugal into Spain was Attenborough-documentary worthy. We drove through some of the most tiny and remote towns we’ve ever seen, complete with an old man physically ringing the church bell at the hour, stooped widows swathed in black, and tethered horses ambling about on the roads. This part of Portugal is the most sparsely populated and is one of the last places in the world you can find Iberian wolves. After driving over an hour through the mountains on a tiny, one lane road without seeing another car we could believe it, though Fran must have scared off any passing wolves as sadly we did not spy any on the journey. Luckily the breathtaking scenery of snow capped mountains and national park as far as they eye could see more than made up for it.
Onwards through the middle of Spain where we look forward to more tapas and less being stared at!
2 ladies travel 