I love Portugal!  I was very sad to leave it, especially since we were leaving Porto, my favorite city.  

In Porto we stayed at a lovely apartment right on the waterfront.  It is always challenging to find an apartment because there is no big hotel sign out front.  At a market I showed them the address and they pointed across the street and up, then motioned to go around the building.  The apartment was complete with a washer and kitchen.  So, first thing I did was put in a load of laundry and go back to the market to get water, OJ, and yogurt for breakfast along with cookies.  In the morning I sent Jon to the bakery next to the market for pastry.  

In the evening we enjoyed a walk across the bridge to the “Wine Spot” in the city, which is along the river.  It is here that there are lots of places for port wine tastings.  Yes, we stopped at one and enjoyed sitting on the couches, learning about port wine and tasting five different ones.  I really liked the two white ones!  In fact, every opportunity I had to have port wine in the next day I took and even had Jon buy us a bottle for the trip so we will have to finish it before we get on the plane for Boston.  

The next day we went on a “Free Walking Tour” with an emphasis on history.  These free walking tours are a very nice way to get a feel for the city. The tour is free but a gratuity to the guide is expected.  That evening we took the Uber out to a restaurant and had another excellent meal with a view of the waves coming in from the Atlantic.  Thanks to Niece Amy for the suggestion along with telling us to do a port wine tasting!

On our way to Porto we went to two Medieval Castle towns. I really enjoyed walking in the streets from 900 years ago. It is amazing to think of these people walking up and down the hills within the walls of Sortelha .  The castles are always at the top of hills for protection and they provide beautiful views of the countryside.  I enjoyed seeing the modern wind mills next to the old walls of the castle. Just think of all the changes over those 900 years. There was a cemetery with recent graves showing that the town is still currently used. There were also a few people stopping in at store, so the town is lived in.

The second town was Monsanto.  It was larger and being Sunday many of the residents were outside walking the streets with us, eating at the cafe and sitting on the door stoop talking with friends. This was all in this medieval town with the structures of 900 years ago. In this town the castle was up the hill further and we assume if there was danger, they would go up the hill to get inside the walls, where at Sortelha the people lived inside the walls.  The castle here was bigger and had a chapel up there too.  It was a longer walk up but I was glad I made the trip.

The place we stayed in this area was a Pousada, originally a Convent of Our Lady of Hope made into a very nice hotel. We were on top of a hill looking out into the countryside from our balcony. The gathering places had old stone walls and courtyards. We had a very nice dinner here at the Pousada.  It was an enjoyable place to stay and very different from our Lisbon hotel and location.

On our way from Lisbon to Belmonte where the pousada was we stopped at my favorite tourist spot so far.  It was the town of Fatima where three girls, ages 10, 9, and 7 had an apparition while tending their sheep. “A Lady more brilliant than the sun” told them to return to the same place the same day, the 13^th, for five months.  They did so and the Lady came to them each time. One month she told them the cousins would die and they did die in the flu epidemic of 1918.  One month the apparition took place on the 19^th at their home because on the 13^th the children had been carried off by the local administrator. 

The last month they were told she was the “Lady of the Rosary” and that a chapel was to be built in her honor at that place.  Hence the chapels and Basilica were built, and people began making a pilgrimage to this place. What made this so special for me was the story and watching the people making the pilgrimage.  People were walking on their knees on a very long pathway.  They also had fires, instead of lighting a candle they threw the whole candle in the fire.  There was a mass going on in two of the chapels.  We also enjoyed a nice walk through the park to the home of Lucia.  It was really an inspiring day to watch the pilgrimage and learn of the story of Lucia and her cousins.  

Things I enjoyed the most about Lisbon were the food, street entertainers, the Fado music and the location of our hotel, right on Pedro IV Square.  The food all over Portugal was wonderful but our favorite restaurant was the oldest restaurant in Lisbon.  The food was wonderful and the service spectacular.  We decided on two different fish dishes and mentioned we could share them both.  The waiter said no problem and the next thing we knew the first dish arrived and at a side table he split the meal onto two plates. When we had finished that one the second came out hot and on two plates. We were served by three wonderful personable waiters and we enjoyed the evening immensely.  The best meal so far.

Our first day we took a nice free walking tour of the city and I really enjoyed the guide who was very energetic and fun to listen to.  In the evening we took a tour to learn about Fado music, which is a typical Portuguese style of music.  We were told that there are as many as 40 – 50 stories that are told to one melody. These stories are sentimental and romantic stories.  The singer just tells the musician what tune to play and sings the story they want.  Tapas and wine were served, and it was a very enjoyable, relaxing first night in Portugal.

As I said at the beginning, I have really enjoyed the time in Portugal.  The food and lodgings have all been wonderful!  Oh yes, and I do like port wine as well as green wine.  Something new to add to my drinking habits.  

We escaped Porto this morning with only a SNAFU at the parking garage – the payment machine didn’t give us the ticket needed to exit. We navigated morning Porto traffic, hit the A3 and made our way across the Spanish border and into Santiago de Compostela.

I’m proud of myself for choosing a hotel so close to the cathedral – literally a block (OK, so it’s a block UPhill). The last mile reminded us of our approach to our hotel in Florence, Italy a number of years ago. That’s the time I almost ran over the same group of Japanese tourists three times. Not because they moved. It took us three tries around the Duomo before finding our hotel’s street. This time Google didn’t know one-way streets and streets closed to autos, but we found the second-best parking garage and hoofed it (uphill) to our hotel. It’s really a complex of apartments and in our case a standalone efficiency unit. The complex of six or so units has a very plain front door on the street but opens up in the back to a very pleasant garden.

Then the bad news: Our hostes Veronica told us the Cathedral is closed. It seems the powers that be are taking a lesson from Notre Dame in Paris. They are dealing with humidity and structural issues, it seems, to make sure the cathedral doesn’t catch fire or fall down from its own weight. We actually did get in later on in the afternoon but all we could catch were glimpses of the cathedral among the miles of scaffolding and huge sheets of plastic put in place to protect the structure and its decorations. It’s a huge undertaking.   

The other bad news: tomorrow is Ascension Day; the day Christ rose to heaven. It’s a big festival here. While we were checking in Veronica’s mom called to tell her to be sure to do all her shopping today because all the stores will be closed tomorrow. Veronica: eye roll and “Yes, Mama. Of course, Mama. I’ll call you later, Mama,” Moms and daughters are the same everywhere. I did hear a band doing a sound check on a stage near the cathedral, preparing for a concert tonight. The drummer all by himself will be loud enough to raise the dead, so maybe it’s part of the celebration of the religious holiday, you think?                    

Oh yes, it’s going to rain tomorrow. Thunderstorms.

Any regret that we aren’t spending more than one day here evaporated.

Santiago de Compostela – the cathedral of St. James the Great – had its start in 813 A.D. when legend has it, a shepherd saw a star in the night sky under which the remains of St. James were being buried.  The bishop ordered a chapel to be built and soon the site become the terminus of a pilgrimage in honor of St. James. Like everywhere else around these parts there is a history of Roman settlements, followed by Visigoths and others, Moors from Arabia, the Crusades, the French, and so on. The details are much more complex than that, but you get the drift. Nonetheless, the tradition of pilgimige in honor of St. James continued throughout.

We happened to meet two girls waiting at our hotel to retrieve their bags, which they thought had been left here. We called Veronica; it turned out that the bags were in the building next door. While we waited, we learned that the girls were from New Zealand, so we had a great time talking about our experiences in their country. They were envious: they had never been on Doubtful Sound as we had done with our overnight cruise.

 One of the girls had just completed the 791 km pilgrimage from St. Jean Pied de Port, France to Santiago de Compostela, a trip that typically takes 30 to 40 days. Our new Kiwi friend told us she hiked an average of 18 Km per day but did several 40 Km (24 mile) days. Her friend joined her for the last two days and while not a big hiker on this trip she has climbed Katahdin and has crewed on a yacht in the Caribbean, so she’s used to the outdoors.

It was interesting to see in the square in front of the cathedral large numbers of hikers and bikers who had obviously just completed the pilgrimage or at least some portion of it. The scene reminded me a bit of the posed pictures people take at the top of Mt Katahdin: trekking poles in the air: “I made it Mom!” They joined a long history of pilgrims, dating to the 10^thcentury. I found one web site that offers the complete trip from $4,780, plus extras such as extra nights along the way in case you get tired or want to explore Burgos or other towns along the way.

It’s been a somewhat slow day touring wise. We didn’t get settled in our room until 2:00 PM. We toured and got some vittles and were napping by 6:00 PM. Somehow, I’ve managed to log 11,000 steps and 4.8 miles, climbing 18 flights in that short interval.

Speaking of vittles, we arrived at the market just as it was closing but did find one kiosk selling cheese. We had a fun time talking in broken English and Spanish and ended up with three kinds of cheese. I thought maybe one lady was the mother the other the daughter. Turns out the “mother” is from Venezuela and the “daughter” from Italy. They got a big hoot out of that one. The “mom” offered me 50 Euros for my watch when I used it on her credit card terminal to make the purchase. How we’re going to eat all that cheese is beyond me. Maybe Enrique will help us in Madrid.

The plan for this evening is to go for tapas. Veronica has given us four tapas places where they give you a free tapas to start, with the expectation that you’ll purchase a drink and more tapas. We’ll see how far down this gastronomic path we’ll get. I’m still feeling a bit guilty, caloric wise, after Portugal. But when in Rome . . .

**** 11:00 PM ****

We’re back from our tapas run but were only partially successful. We got a late start: nap time ended on Portuguese time so we didn’t get to the venue until after 9 PM. Also, we spent extra time looking for the places that Veronica had recommended. We never did find any of the four. We finally settled on a spot where we had mussels (quite good) and the Spanish version of our Chilean favorite: empanadas. A glass of wine topped it off.

We found the concert: no idea who was singing or what they were singing but the crowd was large, loud, very much into it and having lots of fun. I’ll post a very very very small (tiny) video clip to hopefully give you an idea. After, we closed up a tapas shop with a serving of Spanish flan (the world’s best, according to Judy) and green tea.

Tomorrow a longish (3:30) drive to the home town of Jovellanos, the 18^thcentury philosopher who was the subject of Mom’s PhD dissertation and published book.

At first, as we set out on our walking tour this morning, one day in Porto seemed awfully short. But now, at 5:30 PM, I think we’d need to spend not another day or two but rather a week to do it “right.” It’s a beautiful city, much more so than Lisbon, with much to do and much going on. The disadvantage of staying longer is that our bellies would expand day by day. As I think I said before, visiting Portugal is first and foremost about the eating. Experiencing the friendly people is second. Then comes seeing the sights. I suspect the high payback task is to learn to live like a Portuguese: to enjoy food and friends with a relaxed view of life and a good sense of humor. We’ve been in Portugal long enough to get a sense of that, so maybe it’s OK to move on.

Ours was a history walking tour (I picked it more or less at random of the Internet) and it was OK, but the historical information was hard to hear in the noisy street environment and, when audible, duplicated much of what we’ve already heard. Some of the details were new but the overall scope was similar: Celts, Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Spanish, Independence. Much of the emphasis here was on Dom Pedro IV under whose statue we met for the tour. You may recall that the same guy adorned the square outside our hotel in Lisbon, so it was kinda like coming home. Once again most of our group were youngsters and many from non-English speaking countries.

Recall that Dom Pedro IV was also King Pedro I of Brazil. He is viewed as the liberator of both Portugal and Brazil. King Jaoa I, Pedro I/IV’s father, had escaped to Brazil with his family when Napoleonic forces invaded Portugal in the early 1800s. Later, after the French were gone, the Absolutists (those favoring return to absolute rule by a king) and the Liberalists (who favored a more representative form of government) were fighting for control. Jaoa left for Portugal to straighten things out. He left his eldest son, Pedro, as King Pedro I of Brazil. Pedro quickly, under pressure, sided with Liberalists in Brazil and worked to liberate Brazil.

Meanwhile, Jaoa died and before he did, he named Pedro king of Portugal. Pedro didn’t want to leave Brazil (he had more than one Brazilian lady on the string) so in a stroke of genius he named his daughter, Maria, to be Queen Maria II. Because Maria was only 7 at the time, Pedro named his brother, Miguel, to be the queen’s regent. He also pledged his daughter’s hand in marriage to his brother (and her uncle), Miguel. And you thought you had family problems!

Miguel quickly reneged on the deal and, siding with the Absolutists, declared himself king. Pedro finally came back, fought with the liberal troops to regain control. He was successful – he liberated Portugal! – but died shortly after from tuberculosis. Queen Maria II took over, married the guy from Austria who built the castle in Sintra. Remember?

Our tour focused on this saga. Pedro’s army was besieged in Porto for a year during the war. Maria spent time here. One of the interesting stops was at the railway station where portions of Portuguese history are depicted in large blue-and-white tile murals. We walked by the main cathedral and by various vantage points around the old city.

After the tour our guide offered to take us to a restaurant where we could sample a traditional Portuguese favorite, Francesinha:

Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich originally from Porto, made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat, and covered with melted cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce. It is typically served with french fries. Wikipedia

Sort of like a Cuban sandwich, but with sauce over the top. We skipped the fries, but to stick to the traditional Portuguese theme (and to satiate Judy’s new-found craving for Port wine) we had a single, shared glass of semi-dry Port. And one can’t drink port without food, preferably dessert, so we were forced to share a chocolate mousse.

After we rolled down the hill to the main cathedral and toured it. But the real eye opener was the Church of St. Francis, which has its origins in the 13^thcentury. Its exterior has been reworked several times and now is one of most outstanding examples of gothic architecture in Portugal.

But wait, there’s more. In the 17^thcentury, flush with gold from Brazil, the church’s interior was redone in the largest collection of gold I’ve ever seen. And it was done in the then-current baroque style. Photos are not allowed in the gilted sanctuary even though picture taking is OK elsewhere. Maybe they’re embarrassed by the excess.

One piece that caught our eye was a wooden sculpture, the Tree of Jesse. Jesse is at the bottom. The twelve kings of Judah are entwined in the branches of the tree that grows from Jesse and Mary and the baby Jesus are at the top of the tree. Remember the line from the Bible and Handel’s Messiah?  “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots”

Then back home, just 100 meters from the St. Francis. But first we stopped to buy a bottle of Dalva port and a neckless for Judy.

Tonight we’re off by Uber to the Praia de Lux, a restaurant on the Atlantic coast recommended by Niece Amy. So far her advice has been impeccable. We’ll see how it goes tonight!

*** Three Hours Later ***

Trust Amy. It was an awesome spot right on the ocean, waves crashing, sunset, the whole nine yards. And the food? Gourmet+ Judy had black Iberian pork; I had the cataplana, which is the Portuguese term for a copper pot in which a combination of fish and shell fish is prepared, in a sauce, with potatoes. I already have a recipe to try at home. We needed dessert like a hole in the head but, hey, it’s our last night in Portugal and so we ordered Judy’s favorite semidry white Port, paired with a chocolate concoction that, on the menu, was described as “explosive.” I had to hire two strong men to carry me out to the curb to catch our Uber back to town. It was a $ or maybe $$ pricier than the $$ joints we’ve been frequenting but I’m sure if I can get the hours I can pay it off in a solid week greeting at Wal-Mart.

Tomorrow starts our four-in-four sequence: four cities in four nights. We’ll be living out of the trunk of our Sixt car. First stop: Santiago de Compostela, Spain. So long Portugal!

Today was a day on the road, first to the canal town of Aveiro and then on to Porto. Driving, navigating, paying tolls and parking are all part of the game. Of course, on a guided tour the bus driver does all that for you. And the guide is there to, well, guide you from the bus to the lobby of the hotel. But no, we’re doing it All By Ourselves.

Getting from the convent at Belmonte to Aveiro was a snap. We filled up the buggy (gasp, darn near $60 for a 3/4 of a tank in a small VW) and hit the A23 to the A25. Close your eyes and you’d think you’re back on Interstate 75.

Google took us right to the canal where they park the moliceiras. There was even a P sign that directed us to a street parking spot. It took a few minutes and the help of a kind gentleman to figure out we needed 1.85 Euros for two hours of parking. We were actually gone for 2:30 so we got a bargain (and no tickets). The lady at the tourism office directed us, sorta, towards the WC across the canal and up the street. All was good.

Aveiro is known for its production of salt, something that has been going on since the time of the Romans. The Moors held the area for a while, exiting, as we’ve seen, in the 12^thcentury. There remains only one active salt warehouse in town, down from a dozen or more at the peak. The town is also known for producing seaweed (as a fertilizer) and ceramics. Aveiro is also an important Atlantic Ocean port. The opening of the canals here in the early 1800s reopened shipping, something that had been impeded by shifting barriers at the mouth of Aveiro’s port.

But of course Aveiro’s biggest export is tourism. The big deal is a tour on Aveiro’s canals in moliceiras: open boats originally used to carry salt. You can see from the pictures a vague similarity between moliceiras and Venetian gondolas. Both have canals and both carry mostly tourists. The gondoliers here don’t wear bandanas and fancy hats like they do in Spain and they drive Yamahas rather than polling their boats through the canals.

Aveiro has an ancient history but from what we saw on our ride it’s a thoroughly modern and bustling city. Lots of modern construction, recent and underway. The boat ride was pleasant, about 45 minutes long, with brief commentaries from our boat guide (in Portuguese, French and English; he speaks other languages if need be). The weather continues to be perfect.

After the ride we found an open-air café on the pedestrian thoroughfare. We tried three different establishments. The first specialized in pastries and tapas plates (most under 3 Euros); one that has only “piglet” items on its menu and the third that offers only cod. Judy had cod and potatoes; I had cod with chick peas. The cod was good but salty, reflecting the city’s salt heritage, perhaps.

Then back in the buggy and onto the A25 and A1 for Porto. Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal and its traffic bears witness to that fact. Waze was less than precise, and maybe my driving was lacking too, but we hit the same roundabout three times before getting the correct gozouta (we even traversed a parking ramp in the process).

The hotel had suggested two parking lots, one near the hotel and the other across the river. We passed by the first on our way to the hotel. We noted that the bridge’s pedestrian crossing was narrow and crowded. We found the second lot without too much trouble but finding a parking spot inside it was a challenge. I passed two for being too small, but it’s probably the case that I was too small minded to try.

We really aren’t in a hotel; it’s properly called an apartment. Google got us to within a stone’s throw, but do you know how many buildings there are even within my limited throwing range? A lot. Two inquiries got us close enough. There is no front desk; we were given a front door access code and a code for our mail box, within which was a key. It’s a very nice apartment, complete with kitchen and washing machine. Judy figured that one out before I got logged into wifi.

And whatever the pain we suffered getting here is more than made up by the great location. A block off the river with shops, restaurants and historical sites in every direction. It’s a bustling, happening kind of environment. We once again are several decades beyond the mean tourist age, that’s for sure.

So here I sit typing. Judy’s just back from the grocery mart (where the nice man pointed us in the general direction of our dwelling) with water and cookies.

Now the dilemma: it’s almost 5 PM. Should we brave the traffic and park the car across the river? It’s 30 Euros cheaper. But when we leave on Wednesday, we’d have to schlep our bags across the river. The alternative: leave the car where it is and cross the bridge on foot to the Kopke wine shop recommended by our niece Amy (“nice view of the river and nice flights to taste”). We could come back and stroll the river bank and find a nice place for dinner. Care to guess which way we’re going?

*** Four Hours Later ***

You guessed it – port tasting and dinner by the Duaro River. Let the car luxuriate in the high price digs. We had a great evening.

We tried two places recommended by Amy, but we were too late for both. Fortunately, the parent company of Kopke was still open so we had a five-flight sampling of port wine. Amazingly, Judy liked it! Nice and sweet. After five tastings (we shared a single tasting menu) they could have sold me a Lamborghini. We tried a restaurant with decent reviews just down the street, out on the sidewalk, steak and chicken (enough with the fish, already). It was nice too with the sunset breaking out in all its glory as we paid the bill. But boy, was it cold on these Florida-seasoned limbs. The wind came in gusts down the river and chilled us to the bone.

We’ve hustled back to the apartment and are ready for bed if only for the warmth. This is the first room we’ve had so far without air conditioning and we won’t miss it a bit.

We’re due at the Praça da Liberdadefor the free walking tour – 10:00 AM, which should give us time for a leisurely breakfast at one of the zillion cafes just outside our front door. The Praçais only a 10-minute walk. What we missed in our plaining is that it’s 10 minutes straight up hill. At least we can make a dent in our caloric input this evening.