Looking at Porto from the shore of Vila Nova de Gaia
On July 22 we flew to Lisbon where we met up with the Viking Cruise team who hosted the majority of our activities in Portugal. We explored Lisbon for a day before taking a bus up to Porto where our ship (Viking Hemming) was docked in preparation for our cruise along the Douro River (River of Gold), which I must say was spectacular! Below are some of the highlights I was able to capture. We met a lot of great people on the trip and expect to stay in touch with many of them.
Sunday, July 24
Jerónimos Monastery and Maritime Museum
Many Bridges - Old and New
We discovered Estufa Fria Greenhouse while walking back to the hotel.
A walk around a Lisboa neighborhood sampling the local flavors.
Monday, July 25
Batalha, home to the Santa Maria da Vitoria Monastery. This Gothic and Manueline style monastery was constructed over the reign of seven kings, from 1386 to 1517.
Fátima, the sacred shrine where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. In the first photo below you will see a couple people walk the length of the very long, hard path on their knees to cleanse their souls.
That evening we went to Graham's Port Lodge (1890) in beautiful Porto for a guided tour and tasting.
Tuesday, July 26
We began our journey east on the Douro River, going through the locks which were amazing! We stopped for a visit to Mateus Palace and garden, home of the last Count of Vila Real, followed by a tour and tasting of Sandeman Port.
Wednesday, July 27
Sunrise through the lock.
Castelo Rodrigo, one of Portugal’s 12 historic parishes with 16th-century houses. In the town is Sinagoga Street, a memento to the Jewish community established here by refugees escaping the Spanish Inquisition. This is still an active town with homes and shops. Structural exteriors are required to be maintained as original.
After returning to our ship for dinner, Leslie and I took a walk around the small town we were docked at, which I believe was Regua.
Thursday, July 28
Salamanca, Spain. Spain’s oldest college town is a tapestry of scholarly, religious and cultural pursuits.
Orange Juice Stop on the way
See the astronaut and the ice cream cone?
Friday, July 29
Leslie and I decided to take a day off and enjoy cruising through the locks and walking around Pinao.
Saturday, July 30
Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, or Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies, dating to the 18th century. The small hilltop chapel is reached via 686 steps up a grand double staircase, interrupted by nine terraces.
We walked down the 686 steps into the town of Lamego which has very cool, narrow streets and alleys.
After returning to the ship we cruised westward toward Porto and saw this horrible fire and the heroic efforts of two fire fighting planes plus one helicopter.
We ended the day with a nice after-dinner walk out on the streets of Vila Nova de Gaia.
An awesome hard-rock band playing some of my favorites.
Sunday, July 31
We started the day with a great guided hike in the city of Porto - this is now one of my favorite cities. And on the other side of the river is Vila Nova de Gaia - also a new favorite. Here are a bunch of pictures from around these two towns.
It's a wrap!
On Monday morning we headed to the train station where we took a great train ride back to Lisbon. We were both starting to not feel so well, so we hung out at the hotel the rest of the day. We got up very early on Tuesday to head to the airport for our flight home where we connected in Heathrow with less than an hour to make our connection. After running a mile in the airport, asking permission and forgiveness of those hundred people that we cut in front of for two security lines, we barely made our connection to get back to home in Colorado... where, we tested for COVID and found we were positive. It was a fantastic journey.