11/8/2024

 

We were up and ready for the 7:30 breakfast followed by a morning walk-about on the sun deck.

 




 

On the sun deck after breakfast

 

The ship got underway soon after that and we were cruising the prettiest part of the river – the so-called gorge.  It is really something to behold.  Here is a sample:

 







 

Scenic river cruising

 

Then we saw some workers repairing the tunnel exit (or is it an entrance?):

 




 

Working on the tunnel

 

We docked at Pinhao in the heart of the wine region to take a tour of the Quinta de Croft.  Quinta is Portuguese for farm or estate. There are a lot of Quintas. We rode a bus up the very narrow ‘road’ to the Quinta.  Along the way we passed the iconic Pinhao train station with its blue tiles depicting life in the late 19th century.

 

 




 

Blue tiles on the train station

 

Arriving at the Quinta we were ushered into a now familiar stomping pool where we listened to our local guide explain about Port wine.

 

 


 


 

 

After the spiel we started walking among the vineyards.  As we went our guide explained the viniculture.  This bit we had not heard about.  The Vines last about 130 years before they quit producing.  The individual vineyards are cycled, planting new vines which take 3 – 5 years to produce at peak. The yearly cycle is after the harvest (around this time of year), the vines are pruned, then formed on the wires, then allowed to grow, produce, get picked and on and on. The harvest is manual, and the growers import workers from Romania and Africa to do the labor intensive picking in heat that exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The grapes are gathered in plastic boxes of some 60 pounds each and transported to the processing areas. The leaves were turning color and were quite beautiful.

 


 






 

Scenes of the vineyards

 

Some of the oldest vineyards were anchored by stone stakes!  Nowadays they use wood. This vineyard planted rosemary at the end of the rows to 1) predict mold and 2) to help with irrigation as the roots of the rosemary. (They are not allowed to legally water the vines so they water the rosemary which in turn waters the vines.) 

 

We made our way to the tasting room where there were many panels describing the processes of seed to glass of Port. We toasted some ruby and tawny port and walked around the grounds.

 






 

Around the grounds

 

The bus returned us to the ship which sailed from Pinhao to Regua while we were tramping around the vineyards. The road was very scenic, albeit a tad scary being built on the very edge of the hills we passed.  At Regua we had to wait for a train to cross (an engine and 4 empty passenger cars).

 

Back on the ship we got some disembarkation instructions and tomorrow’s port talk.  This was followed by an introduction to the 40 crew members who made this voyage possible. This was followed by the ‘gala’ dinner, of cod, filet, and a key lime pie that was the invention of the wonderful pastry chef, Liliana.

 




 

Best ever Key Lime Pie

 

After dinner there was a 70’s themed party, but we were exhausted and repaired to our cabin and a good night’s sleep.  5935 steps today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
Karl and Becky Fillauer invited Paul and Shirley along with 15 other guests to a first class vacation to Lisbon, the Douro Valley and Madrid leaving 10/29/2024 and returning 11/14/2024. We received the full itinerary yesterday and it looks like a dream trip.  Here is a link to our itinerary:    https://axustravelapp.com/shared/itinerary/476659cc-cc5f-4e3b-ab88-48a373bc15d7 We will spend 4 nights in Lisbon, then take a Uniworld cruise on the Euro River, then spend 4 nights in Madrid before flying home. Here's the Duoro River map:
Read more
Image
  10/30/2024     All 15 pilgrims (2 had to drop) ready to board the plane at the Chattanooga airport.   We all met at the airport, got checked in and through security.  Shirley and Paul split a smashburger, and we waited.  From 11:00 EDT on the 29th to when we landed, got through passport control, got our luggage, got out of the airport, it was 10:30 Lisbon time on the 30th! If my math is correct that means we were 19 hours 30 minutes in airports or airplanes.  As we boarded the flight to Lisbon, Shirley registered 13,857 steps.   On the flight from Boston to Lisbon we finally had some comfortable seats.  This was Delta premium – a class above comfort plus and below business.  We got ~4 hours of sleep, and good service and food.   We were met at the gate by a tour company that specializes in guiding passengers from the gate to the outside.  It was welcome.  Although we could have followed the signs and eventually made it, it was a comfort to be able to relax.  After luggage we went to
Read more
Image
  11-04-2024   We slept well last night.  The bed is comfortable and no extraneous noise disturbed us. The bathroom is on the small side … the shower is approximately 3 feet square and the controls were fairly obvious (no labels or instructions – It’s always an adventure as no two are the same anywhere).   They have a 24 hour coffee shop with cookies and water and ice.  The coffee machine grinds and dispenses a variety of servings from espresso to lattes. At 6 AM there was no line.  At 7 AM there was a considerable line. At 7 AM the doors to the restaurant open for breakfast.  We ate with Brian and Donna and Karl.  They have an omelet station with 3 pans.  There was a considerable line at 7:30. There was also the standard European fare as well.  Cold cuts, beans and great bread.  Alas they do not have a gelato station for breakfast.  I am hoping for one at lunch.   Our tour organized at 8 AM and we were packed and ready to go.  A bus took us to the top of the St. Catherine bridge and d
Read more