Day Two on the Duoro

by | Oct 22, 2024 | Uncategorized

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…

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.

There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.  — Gilbert K. Chesterton

 

 

Heading East on the Duoro

by | Oct 20, 2024 | Uncategorized

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…

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.

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.

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…

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.

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

Back to Europe next week…

by | Oct 3, 2024 | Uncategorized

It’s been a while, but I wanted to let you know to get ready for a plethora of posts as we leave for Europe a week from today. I know—we are going to Europe again. In our defense, when we were there in June, we were just up north in Scotland, England and Norway. This time, we will be heading south to Spain and Portugal.

Last October, we sailed on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami. On that trip, we were joined by our good friends Mike and Cathy from Wellington, Florida, my brother Steve and his wonderful bride Jamie from San Juan Capistrano, California and our good buddy Jocelyn Hartwell from Chelan, Washington. Sadly, Jocelyn won’t be joining us for this adventure, but the six of us (Mike, Cathy, Steve, Jamie, Kathleen and I) will all be back together. (Just an aside, Mike and I were talking about three months ago that we should always vacation together in October, so next year, we are cruising the Columbia River, and in October 2026, we will cruise the Great Lakes.)

As I mentioned, a week from tonight, we will board British Airways flight 48 from here in Seattle, non-stop to London Heathrow, where we will have about three and a half hours to either rush or relax (depending on how late our flight from Seattle is) before we head south to Madrid, Spain. Although we have been to Spain before, all our visits have been on the Mediterranean coast, where we have visited Tarragona, Barcelona, Málaga and Valencia. But this will be our first time in Spain’s capital.

We are in Madrid from October 11 until the 16th. During our stay, besides seeing Madrid, we will go on day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Since we are traveling with the king of shore excursions and tours, Mike Preisman, we will be on some of the best tours in all of the Iberian peninsula.

After five full days in Madrid, we will catch a plane to hop over the mountains to Lisbon, Portugal. From the time we land there and for the next ten days, we will fully enter the world of Viking River Cruises. We will spend two nights in Lisbon and then board a “luxury motor coach” for a ride north to Portugal’s second city, Porto, where we will board the Viking Torgil for a six-night cruise up and then back down the Douro River. From the riverboat, we will do excursions to Salamanca, Spain, as well as Regua, Barca d’Alva, Pinhão and Lamego, Portugal. (See the map above–you can click on it to enlarge it) We are sure to have fun, food and a great time!

After we are off the cruise in Porto, we are taking a private airporter-type coach south and back to Lisbon, where we will spend another four days at one of our favorite hotels—Hotel Portugal (really original name ?). On the 29th, we will board a flight back up to London Heathrow, where we will spend the night at an airport hotel before flying home the next day. So this means we are gone from the 10th to the 30th! It will not be quite as long as last June, but it will still be long enough for us to have a great time.

This post tells you only a bit because I plan to blog as often as possible. So get ready for another bunch of posts with photos. Of course, as always, my posts will be totally dependent on Wi-Fi. That means good coverage when we are in hotels and, who knows, what we will get on the boat.

In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world.  —Federico Garcia Lorca