We are on board and sailing. Sorry about the lack of posts yesterday, but it was a very busy day, and I am still not sure I will get this one out today. There are lots of things to take pictures of, lots of food to eat and lots of other stuff going on. So away we go.
After our long bus ride from Lisbon to Porto, we boarded the Viking Torgil. And I took the photo at the top of this page from our verandah on the ship. We are in Suite (yes, we got a suite) 320. It’s an actual suite with a living room and a separate bedroom. It’s really nice. And it has a balcony and a verandah. I will take some pics later and let you see it.
One thing that is totally different about this river cruise from our Danube Christmas Market cruise last December is that the ship sailed down (or was it up?) the Danube in the middle of the night. We would go to bed in one place and wake up in another. This does not happen on the Douro. The authority that makes the river’s navigation rules will not allow ships to sail in the dark. There seems to be some discussion of when dark really is (the ships go by what is called Nautical Twilight—about an hour before actual dawn), but they can’t start moving until then. So that means we get to see a lot more of the river…which is beautiful. We left Porto early in the morning (around 6:00 am) when it was still almost dark. I was up and shooting when we pulled out and here’s my first set of photos of Porto in the dark. A bunch of bridges and some great churches and hotels are lit up. It was just beautiful. So, take a look at my first batch, and I will be back with the narrative in a few minutes. 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…
The city as we left.
This beautiful hotel is totally lit up at night.
It just draws your eye and my lens.
This church did the same thing.
Here’s the hotel again.
And the general harbor area.
As we sailed on, it got lighter (that is how the earth works…I think ?), and we got to see much more of the river. When you sail the Duoro, you soon discover that about half the buildings you see are very old and, in many cases, abandoned. But they are great subjects for photography. The other subject that grabs the eye is the terraced vineyards. You will see them throughout my photos on this trip. Here are a few more from later in the morning (I had to stop to eat breakfast ?.) By now, you know how to see them.
See what I mean about buildings…
they just keep coming.
But sometimes you get a rower.
Or a whole bunch of them.
In differeent skulls.
And more buildings.
And more.
And more
And terraced landscapes.
A palatial estate.
A statue in a town we floated through.
Another villa.
Passing another cruise ship going west.
These are the boats that dredge the river.
Lots of green everywhere.
I liked the orange on this house.
I find this photo very restful.
Mour houses
These guys were fishing and one of the crew says they throw the fish that are too small back down the tubes.
Saw a heron/crane/bird.
This is the ultimate calming photo. Totally serene.
Terraces again.
Houses again.
Birds again.
Another ship coming…
…and going.
Houses again
See
A different kind of fisherman.
A cool winery.
A close-up of their tile.
More terraces and a building
Another calm spot on the river.
And a beautiful rock formation.
One of the great things about being on a boat this small is that you get to know every person on the crew. I have made friends with a sailor who works with the captain (who is only in his 30s—YIKES! I have kids a lot older than that), and he asked the captain if Mike, Steve and I could join them in the wheelhouse. That was cool. Watching him navigate the river and the locks is something. The Douro is a twisty river with some very narrow spots and five large locks we have to go through. The depth also varies from 100 meters to as little as three meters. That’s almost scary, but our captain does a great job. And it was nice of him to let us tour his work area.
Our captain may have been young, but you should see him pilot this boat. He had to transition five locks on the Douro, including the Carrapatelo Lock, Europe’s highest lock. If you have been through the Panama Canal, imagine a smaller lock that is 35 meters high. That’s just over 114 feet high. Sailing into that lock is scary. And what made it worse was that it started to pour just as we arrived. My photos of our transitioning this lock don’t do the experience justice, but here they are.
Sailing into the lock.
The walls are VERY close on both sides.
Looking up 114 feet.
It really makes you feel small.
Especially once they close the gates behind you.
We are finally there.
And sailing out.
This was most of our morning and early afternoon. Around 2:00 pm, we docked at a tiny port town called Lamego. I need to note that there really aren’t any places to tour directly on the river. To tour, you must get into a “luxury motor coach” and drive. Sometimes, it is a short distance (in the case of the tour I am about to tell you about to the Mateus Palace) or sometimes long (as in the case of where we are going today—Salamanca, Spain). Either way, it means some time on a bus. But again, these are the nicest buses we have ever had for our tours. Lots of space, about two-thirds full and genuinely a nice bus. They even have WiFi.
As I mentioned, our visit on this day (Saturday) was to the Mateus Palace (if you are in our age bracket, you probably remember the Mateus rosé ads on TV as a kid) and then on to Quinta do Seixo. The palace itself was a bust. Or maybe I am just worn out from visiting palaces, libraries and monasteries. After the ones we saw while visiting Madrid, this one seemed shabby. It was dark and dreary, but the guide was fun. If you are a Parks and Rec fan, imagine your tour guide was April Ludgate. She even looked a little like her. Here’s my pics of the Palace. They did have nice grounds and we had plenty of time to walk around them. So much so that I even resorted to flower photos, which I never do. But some came out, so I thought I would show them to you anyway. 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…
Entering the gates of the Mateus Palace.
They say the palace is Baroque. I say if it’s baroque, fix it.
Sorry, I had to say that previous caption.
In the reflecting pool is statue of a sleeping woman.
The chapel next to the Palace.
inside the chapel.
A rose.
Looking into the garden via a long, dark tunnel.
The gardens.
A zen garden.
Some cool arches.
Some pretty flowers.
Another rose. Smelled as sweet.
This is my best rose. Really different.
The Arnold Palmer tree.
A diorama in the palace. All done in miniature.
The library in panoramic.
After the Palace, it was back on the “luxury motor coach,” and we headed off to the Sandeman Winery for a tour and a port tasting. This is where we ran into the best guide of the entire cruise (so far), Manuela. This woman was funny and knowledgeable, with a breadth of experience that made her great at her job. She seemed to have done just about every job in the winery, from being a tour guide to crushing grapes (yes, they really do crush grapes by stomping on them just like “I Love Lucy), and you could tell she loved all of it.
One other thing about this winery. It sits on top of a hill. A very high hill. With a one-lane road (not one lane both ways, just ONE LANE) and, our “luxury motor coach” went up this hill. Looking out the side away from the hill was not for the faint of heart. Here are the photos from the visit. You know the drill.
On our way to the winery, we passed our boat heading to meet us up the river.
The Sandeman Winery logo. We were repeatedly told, “He’s no Zorro.”
Looking down from the winery to the road we came up on.
Manuela, our awesome guide.
She knew EVERYTHING!
And was a superb model for the perfect light I had in the darkened hallway.
A whole lot of bottles of port.
In barrels as well.
Inside the winery, these are the vats where they crush the grapes.
Looking down to the village where we would meet the boat.
Thought I would frame the shot with olive trees. Kind of artsy.
Looking down on the village again.
And our boat is now arriving.
After we safely drove down the hill (how do those drivers do that?), we were back on board for dinner and bed. It had been a very long day, and I hope you enjoyed traveling along. I have to go now. It’s time for Salamanca, Spain.
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full. —King Solomon
