One of the most challenging things for me when posting while on a trip is finding time to process photos and write. It is twice as difficult on a river cruise because there are no sea days. This means that all my photo processing and writing must be done first thing in the morning (like it is right now when it is 4:30 am in Portugal or between activities). Day two was a good example. We cruised the river on our first truly beautiful morning day. Then, we had lunch and went off to the Castelo Rodrigo. We didn’t return until about 15 minutes before the port talk for the next day and dinner. By then, I would just be too exhausted to write or process photos. And guess what? I have a cold. Yes, the deadly travel cold has caught up with me again. And that sucks. Last night (Monday), I slept on the couch in our suite’s living room. It was not fun, but I had to do it because I coughed most of the night, and Kathleen needed her sleep after yesterday’s full-day trip to Salamanca, Spain. More about that tomorrow.
But that means I was up early and can start this post. Not that I will finish it today because we are off on another shore excursion at 8:15 this morning, and we are not back on the ship until 3:45. Then it’s a short time to work, attend the port talk for tomorrow, have dinner and go to bed. It’s crazy busy, and if it weren’t for the cold, I would love it.
But back to day two. Here are my photos of our float up the river. I think I went overboard because the blue sky and sun were so incredible to see three days of nothing but rain. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Dawn is breaking and it’s going to be beautiful.
My kind of sky.
My kind of reflection.
I am loving the promise of a good day and a great sky.
And that means more photos of houses….
…and villages…
…bridges…
…and if you look in the back of this photo, an ENORMOUS dam on Douro tributary.
This blue house really stood out in a world of brown and beige and rocks.
Oh, I forgot about the train.
And the heron.
And the cliffs.
And just the beauty of the river.
At places, the river was very wide.
At others the river that got VERY narrow.
Especiallly leading up to this lock.
Just above the lock.
Going into the lock.
Not as high as the one we hit the day before in the rain.
But still, crazy high.
This one was tough to get into because of the angle it was built on. The captain checks his side here.
We are going up…
And we are out.
Looking back at the damn.
And forward to more beauty.
We passed under a very low bridge when everyone had to be off the top deck.
To find another peaceful stretch of river beyond it.
This one really reminded me of Tuscany.
Especially with the tall trees.
Wineries were everywhere.
The river is great for reflections.
Especially with something like a bridge to reflect.
Or a beautiful sky.
Or even another river boat.
The river narrows again.
As you can see…the Douro can get VERY narrow.
Castelo Rodrigo
This castle/fort was first built by the Romans, then rebuilt by the Portuguese and then rebuilt again and again by whoever was in charge at the time. Different kings made different additions. Today, it is a hilltop town and a UNESCO World Heritage site where somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 people still live. The castle itself is in ruins, and the village reminds me a lot of Ez, the French hilltop town near Nice. We have toured there twice and loved it. One of the significant differences is that the people who used to live there got tired of going all the way up the hill, so they started a village at the bottom of the hill. So now the people who still live there are very old, and as they pass, no one moves in to take their place.
Luckily for me, a place that old combined with a gorgeous blue sky makes for perfect photography conditions. So here are some photos of the castle and the village around it. As well as one of the valley below. I will try and impart some additional info in the captions.
Mariana, our Viking Guide for the entire week shows us how a piece of cork looks after harvesting.
The top of the old castle.
More castle ruins.
More castle ruins.
Inside the church.
Our guide pointed out this strange statue that is totally out of proportion.
And this one of St. Pincushion.
The town’s tiny church. Still in use today.
There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds. — Gilbert K. Chesterton
