Cruise on the River Douro

16^th - 23^rd November 2022

Itinerary: Lisbon - Vila Nova de Gaia - Pinhão - Vega de Térron - Barca d'Alva - Pinhão - Vila Nova de Gaia

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12 November. Lisbon. This morning I took the included panoramic tour. First stop was King Edward VII Park, named after the British King when he visited Lisbon. At the top were two pairs of pillars crowned with laurel rings. They looked very Fascistic and when I asked was told they were built by the Fascist dictator Salazar. Between them was a monument in 3 parts. Broken stones, representing Portugal under dictatorship, a carnation for the silent revolution and an obelisk type thing that represents post-revolution Portugal Many of the lamp posts in Lisbon are topped by a row boat and two crows representing St. Vincent, patron saint of the city. Next we went to Jerónimos Museum for a pastel and coffee, before heading for the Belém Tower and finally the Monument to the Discoveries, another Salazar monument. In the afternoon I took the bus to the Castle of St George and poked around there.

13 November. Lisbon. My private excursion today didn't start until the afternoon, so I had a wander along the river front to the cruise terminal and back. In the early afternoon I strolled along Avenida da Liberdade, where the road was blocked off and over 100 vintage cars were parked. Very interesting. After nachos and beer at the Hard Rock Café, I made my way to the meeting point for my walking tour. I was the only customer! We walked to the cathedral, Commercial Square, saw where the last but one king was assassinated in 1908. We went to the old artists quarter and visited the oldest surviving, working bookshop in the world and went past the smallest shop in Lisbon, with room for one customer! It sold gloves.

14 November. Lisbon. A 9 o'clock drive to Porto. After lunch in Coimbra and a brief tour of the city, we arrived in Porto. Boarded the boat, unpacked and after dinner sat in the bar drinking with the other 5 solo travellers from Lisbon. More passengers joined the boat throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening.

15 November. Vila Nova de Gaia. I woke up to a wet morning and when I opened the blinds, we were waiting to enter the Crestuma-Lever lock, a drop of 14 metres. A little later in the morning we entered the Carrapatelo lock, which is the deepest in Europe at 35 metres. In the early afternoon we arrived in Régua. Todays excursion was to Mateus Palace. The picture of which appears on the Mateus Rosé wine label. We had a brief tour round the house and the gardens. In front of the house was a pond with a weird statue of a naked woman face down in the water. Odd! While we were at the palace, the boat moved to Pinhão, where we spent the night.

16 November. Pinhão. As we were eating breakfast, we went through the Valeria Lock. I should have been on deck, as this is the one where as soon as you pass through, the boat turns sharp right. I'll have to make sure I'm there for the return trip. This afternoon's excursion was to Castelo Rodrigo. This is a ruined castle, on a hill, surrounded by a small village with cobblestone streets. When we arrived the village was mostly hidden in the mist. It was extremely windy and somewhat fresh in the village and the mist disappeared. I had a look in the church and staggered up the hill to the ruined castle. The area is famous for growing almonds and the local cafe was giving away samples of almond wine and various flavours of coated almonds.

17 November. Vega de Térron. A very early start today for the two hour drive to Salamanca in Spain. We were dropped off at a hotel and were given some free time. Some of us strolled to the main square, Plaza Mayor, where we had coffee and then wandered down to the two cathedrals, old and new. On the way we passed two rows of highly decorated skulls. Back to the hotel for a delicious paella lunch and a flamenco show. After lunch we had a guided walk from the Plaza Mayor past various churches and university buildings. Salamanca is the fourth oldest university in Europe. One of the buildings was covered in scallop shells. They had carried out some restoration work on the Old Cathedral in the 1990's. In the carvings by the door they decided to add something from the 20^th century. One was an astronaut, the other a cow eating ice cream cones. When we returned, the boat had moved 300 metres to the other bank to Barca d'Alvea in Portugal!

18 November. Barca d'Alva. We passed back through two more locks on our way back to Pinhão. We haven't seen a train all cruise. Today, we saw three! After lunch we were taken to Favaios, a village on a plateau where they grow Muscatel grapes. We tasted the Muscatel wine that they make. Far too sweet for me! Then we visited a bread and wine museum. As exciting as it sounds! After that we were taken to the Avessada winery for a tasty dinner, before returning to the boat.

19 November. Pinhão. An early breakfast this morning. We sailed to Régua while we were eating. Once in Régua, we drove to Lamego, a quaint little town. First stop was a church called the Santuário of Nossa Senhora dos Remedios, with a view of the town 700 steps below. The sanctuary had an amazing ceiling. Back in the town after a coffee, we visited the Gothic cathedral before returning to the ship. In the afternoon, we once again passed through the Valeria Lock, unfortunately, to get to the lock the boat passes under a very low railway bridge, so no one was allowed up top. To enter the lock the boat had to make a sharp left. I did manage to see this. We finally got back to where we started the cruise.

20 November. Vila Nova de Gaia. In the morning we had a 15 minute walk in the rain to Cálem Port House for a brief session on port before tasting a white and a ruby. After lunch was a bus tour of Porto, across the river. We saw the cathedral, railway station and the mouth of the Douro amongst other sights.