Portugal River Cruise Day 6: Port Wine Road

Saturday, May 30: Morning Cruising + Afternoon Wine Road Tour

We started off in Barca d'Alva this morning, and I enjoyed my walk around the waterfront area, where I discovered a lovely statue overlooking the River as well as a series of murals portraying various local historical and cultural figures, including the special storks we had learned about and seen in the bell towers across the border in Salamanca. I guess they come to Portugal, too!

We had a more leisurely morning today with a later breakfast since our excursion wasn't until the afternoon. I was able to get sufficient connectivity (except when we went through the lock) to catch up on the recording of last week's Spanish class, which of course I had missed since that was our first night on board the boat (not to mention the 8+ hour time difference between CA and Portugal!).

After lunch, we boarded the buses for our afternoon port wine road tour. The scenery continued to amaze me, with the steep hills and narrow winding roads and hectares of terraced vineyards covering the landscape. We stopped at an overlook for a panoramic view of the Douro River near one of the locks and were able to see our ship enter the lock since it left the port shortly after we did.

Our destination for our port wine tasting and visit was Quinta do Tedo, which is owned by a French man. We were again very glad to be part of the smaller English-speaking group for the tasting and tour. L and I decided to skip the short tour and just relax on the lovely shaded patio terrace instead. We got to taste a tawny and a ruby and then finished with a rose once the rest of the group came back from the tour.

We met up with the boat in Pinhao, and I was the only one of our group who accompanied our tour guide for the short walk to the train station to see the 1940s era blue and white tiles that show historic scenes from the area. Then I took my time walking back to the boat and checking out a few little shops along the way, with no luck for souvenirs, and watching the Douro line train pass by. The weather was quite warm again, but I figured I was already hot so another 20 minutes or so before getting back to the boat to clean up wouldn't make much of a difference!

This night was the Gala evening, which included a special cocktail and appetizer in the Lounge as we all greeted and celebrated the Captain, the Head Chef, and the Cruise Director. The Gala meal was topped off by a Baked Alaska, but I was already in my cabin by then as the late start of the dinner (8pm) was just a bit much for me. Mr. E and L stayed for the flaming of the dessert and also attended some of the dancing in the Lounge while I finished off a glass of wine and read before going to sleep. I needed that quite time! But I did find time to pop off the boat quickly to capture another memory of this stop.

Portugal River Cruise Day 5: Salamanca, Spain

Friday, May 29: Our First Time in Spain!

Last night, the ship arrived in Vega de Terron, which is on the Spanish side of the Douro, so my pre-workout morning walk was in two countries! I got off the boat in Spain and then walked across a short bridge to Portugal and back again. 

We had an earlier start today with an 8am departure for our full-day excursion to Salamanca, Spain, which helped to accommodate the +1 hour time difference between the two countries. The drive to Salamanca took just under two hours and started off with some very winding and narrow roads, and the landscape eventually changed to become less hilly and flatter. Mr. E and I both agreed that it reminded us of parts of NorCal in Sonoma or Napa wine country.

We had a short restroom break at a hotel on the outskirts of Salamanca before arriving in the city center to meet up with the local guides for our two-hour walking tour of the university, cathedral, and Plaza Mayor. Salamanca is a beautiful city, with light-colored buildings, steep cobbled streets, and a very lively student population. Our guide was very informative, and we particularly appreciated learning about the “lucky frog” and the local stork population that nests in the bell tower and other places around the city. We enjoyed our tour despite the very warm temperatures and particularly appreciated the cool interiors and our guide’s efforts to stay in the shade as much as possible when we were outside.

For our buffet lunch, we met up with the rest of our group at the Casino hotel next to the Plaza Mayor. We sat with our usual dining companions along with a few others from the English-speaking group. The lunch had sufficient variety for everyone, although it would have been nice if there were labels for each item to help with any allergies or preferences. Then we had about three hours of free time to explore Salamanca. If only the map they had given us included the key to the numbered sites! Luckily, I had followed along during our walking tour so was able to easily orient us. We started off with a quick stop by the tourist office to ask about posters and then paused for a bit at the nearby Starbucks, where Mr. E and I shared an Americano and added another mug to our collection, a unique design of overlapping the blue shells to remind us of the casa de la concha and the distinctive shell symbol that marks the Camino de Santiago.

After making a few stops in local stores for wine, candy, t-shirts, and magnets, we ended at the Casa Lis museum that features a lovely Art Nouveau and Art Deco collection. L decided to rest in the café, which features panoramic stained-glass windows, while Mr. E and I explored the exhibitions.

Mr. E liked the paintings, and I really enjoyed the decorative art items such as the blown glass lamps and vases, sets of porcelain, and animal figurines. We saw many other passengers from our boat at the museum, since it was a cool spot to spend some time before returning to the nearby bus parking spot for our 5:30pm departure to meet up with the ship at Barca d’Alva, back on the Portugal side of the Douro.

Thanks to gaining back the one hour we had lost earlier in the day, we had a little time before dinner, so we could all get refreshed after the long, warm day, and I fit in my yoga practice as well. And we were met by special swans in our cabin!

Dinner was Spanish-themed and featured an impressive paella with an impressive amount of seafood (octopus, prawns, fish, mussels in shells). The dish also included chicken and lots of small shrimp, shelled mussels, sausage pieces, and fresh pieces mixed into the saffron rice. My special preparation included just seafood with peapods and tomato sauce over pasta. The meal was accompanied by the special Mateus rosé wine, which was a little too sweet for me, but Mr. E appreciated how it complemented the paella. After dinner, Mr. E and L enjoyed the flamenco dance entertainment in the Lounge while I caught up on email and relaxed in the cabin.