Day 18-20 Mystical in the Mist

 Coimbra Sintra Lisbon

The town of Coimbra is on the way to Lisbon. It’s raining here but there’s a university, a royal palace and the Joanina library to see. We do our best to stay dry as we walk around the open square. 

Some nice facades but not much more until we discover that, unbeknownst to Jose, our ticket includes the palace and the chapel. The former throne room is now The Great Hall of Acts where ceremonies are held. St Michael's chapel houses a baroque organ from 1737. With 2000 pipes it was intended for a much larger church but has been squeezed in here and is still used for concerts. 

The basement houses a small prison while the floors above are used for the library. There are 60000 books with hidden staircases in the corners to access the higher level and craftily hidden ladders to access higher shelves. A bat colony lives in the library as an insect control measure. Innovative but not available through your local pest control. 

By late afternoon we’re in Lisbon. We wander down the street from the hotel. Souvenirs anyone - Gucci, Cartier, Luis Vuitton etc. No wonder there’s no cash in any of the four ATM's I try. 

Sunday morning - time to discover Lisbon. Paulo is our guide today as he takes us past the Basilica from 1799, the monastery St Geronimo and down to where the Douro river meets the sea. A monument commemorates the navigators. Belem tower sits nearby. Built in 1450 the 7 turrets represent the 7 days of a week and acted as toll gates - pay your harbour entry fee or get fired upon. 

Paulo claims that the small bakery with the long queue sells the best Portuguese tarts, the Pastry of Lisbon. Who are we to disagree? The Lisbon marathon is on today and its finish is on top of the hill where we go to view the old town. 

A walk through the old town, sardine shops, crowded viewing spaces - spot the pickpocket - and down to the main square. 

Dinner tonight is a Fado show and then home for a good rest. 

A day trip to Sintra today. A choice of toy weapons to take home for the kids - we'll pass, or Ginja, a local cherry liqueur in a chocolate cup, yes please.

Even though it’s a timed entry to Quinta da Regaleira there’s still a long queue. Jose, as tour director, takes one for the team and joins the line on our behalf while we fill in the time with The Weekly 50 quiz online, 50% is a good result. 

The Palace, Chapel and Gardens were built from 1905. A mystical place, well suited to the misty rain that’s falling today. An initiation well spirals down into the depths with tunnels and grottoes throughout the gardens.

Lunch at Cascais, a harbour town where they’re playing volleyball on the sand - but not as we know it. Only feet, chest, head touches allowed, no hands. Amazing. 

Cape Roca is the easternmost point of Europe so we make the obligatory photo stop before heading back to Lisbon for the night. 

Day 16/17 Tasting Port in Oporto

Pinhao / Oporto

Today we cross from Spain to Portugal. Our clocks go back an hour. I miss the free coffee offer when I’m asked if I’m with the Asian Viking tour group who are lined up at the service centre. The plains are much more commercially farmed than Morocco with varied crops, cattle and olives. 

Sweeping freeways climb across the landscape as the countryside becomes more hilly and it’s dotted with the teracotta roofs and white walled buildings that we would expect in Spain.

Huge bridges cross river valleys and wind turbines fill the tops of the hills. As we approach Pinhao in the Douro valley terraced vineyards fill the hillsides to protecting  the vines from wind. This is the centre of port wine production. The Douro is at the highest level Jose has ever seen after substantial rain in the last couple of months. 

Lunch is at  Pinhao, a pretty village on the river Douro. Lots of 1-2 hour cruises leave from here and it’s known for its small railway station decorated with panels of tiles depicting grape harvesting and wine making. 

Tonight we’ll stay in Oporto. Jose recommends the Foz do Douro (beach) or the Ribeira (river). The river is walkable so it’s hard left outside the front door of the hotel and down a steep alleyway and steps to the back of St Benedict's  railway station. Looks fairly standard until we look inside and find that there are 22000 hand painted tiles depicting local agricultural scenes and history. 

We wander down Flower St, much nicer than the back alley we came down and make our way to the river. An open air table to sit at while we watch the crowds go by, a glass of sangria and some chargrilled octopus complete a great day. 

The rain doesn’t only fall in Spain but today in Portugal as well. Our walking tour takes us down Santa Catarina St and past the remains of the original 12th century wall. Not as much as there used to be as it’s been recycled into buildings and cobbled streets. 

Porto has a Cathedral as well as a Bishop’s palace despite being a working class city.  The original treaty with England was about trading wine for fabric. Boats with square sails would take three weeks to bring the wine down the Douro before another 3 month journey to England. Unfortunate as the wine spoilt on the way. 

Their solution was to add spirit to the top of the wine to prevent aeration. Still no wine because by the time it arrived it had became a tastier drink, port and a new industry was born. There’s City hall, the Clerics area, the tower and church and Livraria Lello, a bookshop built in 1906. A long queue is waiting to enter, its staircase said to have been inspiration for JK Rowling's Hogwarts staircase. Not the only inspiration as the locally known 'pregnant lady' trees look like the womping willow. We pass by Carmo and Carmelita church, the Clerigos tower and church and find an old tram that still runs through the city. Back along Flower St, fabric shops on the left, away from the sun, and jewellery on the right, glistening in the sun. 

St Francis church glitters with gold and the catacombs below have burials dating back to the 1850's. 

The afternoon sees us, still in the rain, on a boat ride down the Douro before a visit to a Port cellar door to taste some of that spoilt wine. Like the French regional wine names, Port wine must be grown and produced in Portugal. Extreme temperatures create good growing conditions as the slate soils maintain heat overnight. Port is generally 18-22% alcohol and in the 1700's, was the first wine to be regulated. There’s Ruby port,  6years old up to 20, with a fresh fruit flavour, Tawny 10 year aged with a dry fruit flavour and White port extra dry/dry/sweet up to 5 years old. It’s pretty good and we bemoan the fact that we’re coming home through Doha so can’t bring any with us. 

Work began on the Palacio da Balsa in 1850 but, similarly to today, the construction time blew out and it took another 40 years to build the stairs and entry from granite and 28 more years to complete the remainder. There are tango classes in the main room today, a hall of nations and the old court room now hosts tourists and wine tasting. 

They used timber on the walls to 1.5m, plaster above that because it was cheaper, then painted the lot using codfish tails to give a timber effect. The Portrait room is dominated by a painting of Maria II, queen of Portugal who died at 34 after an interesting life, 12 children, 3 husbands and a civil war with the 1st. Maria built this commercial centre on the site of a former cathedral to show her power over the church. The Arab room is decorated beautifully - for business and showing off but still has an imperfection, the door is not centred as only Allah is considered perfect. Now available to rent for your private function.

We knew we’d find some Novocastrians somewhere along the way and Roger and Helen, who we sailed with for 8 years, have flown in from Paris this afternoon and booked into a hotel only 50m away. Remarkable. So down that steep little alleyway again for dinner at a small, family restaurant, a veal cutlet, cut tomahawk style and size, one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten washed down with a local red. Yumm!!