Porto, port, Pontes and parking

Our trip from Orio to Portugal was faster than expected and rather than staying as planned half way to Lisbon at Salamanca we opted to go straight to Porto. The site was a challenge to find but once located we had a great spot on the bank of the Rio Douro.A visit to Porto was the first item on the itinerary and we used an open car park next to the river and took an open top bus to get a feel for the town. Traffic is a challenge with double parking everywhere as the locals seem to do anything to avoid paying for a park. The bus drivers are very patient and can estimate gaps with only a few millimetres clearance.
This is the main square with the Pacos do Concelho in the background and a statue of D Pedro IV in the foreground.

Some of the pedestrian areas were packed although this was no longer the high season. Many of the streets are cobbled – this one is unusual as it is in good repair.

The sides to the river Douro are very steep and the buildings appear to have the smallest of footholds. Planning also appears minimal with the numerous variety of heights, shapes and sizes.

In addition to cobblestones the Portuguese like tiles and mosaics. They appear on churches and many other buildings, often wrapped around ornate windows.

As part of our “yellow bus ticket” we had a boat ride to see the 5 bridges (Ponte) of which they are justly proud. These are of necessity high and have quite large spans. The Ponte Luis is one of the oldest and has a train track on the top and roadway at the bottom. It is a little low so the local barges have bridges that lower. (This ones bridge stuck and wouldn’t lower so the barge parked midstream while some quite serious hammering occurred until it could be dropped.)

The third part of our yellow bus ticket was a visit to the nearby Calem port lodge in Vila Nova de Gaia. This is on the other side of the river to Oporto and was built by Afonso III in the 1200s as a result of a dispute over shipping tolls with the Bishop of Oporto. We were given an outline of port making and then reluctantly participated in some tasting. The main vats are enormous; the gauge on this one is measured in barrels. Calem is the name of one of the few Portuguese who started their own wine estate. Many of the others came from Scotland (Sandeman) and England (Taylor, Cockburn etc). The driver behind the development of port was to give wine a longer shelf life (to transport back to the homeland). It is a wine where fermentation (sugar being converted to alcohol) is cut short by adding spirit (eg brandy), hence ports are always sweet. We sampled white (a first for me) as well as red port. Red ports get lighter as they age and change colour from Ruby to Tawny. Apparently a bottle of port should be drunk within a couple of days from opening – I will have to change my ways. Also, unless it is a vintage port (ie has sediment in it so will continue to ferment in the bottle and should be decanted) they should be drunk soon after purchase as that is when they are freshest.

Outside there are flagpoles of the various ports available. The wine is initially made further up the Douro valley and used to be shipped down stream in these gondola like boats to Gaia, where the weather is more temperate, for longer term maturation. Transport is now by truck (where’s the romance gone?).
After all this information we needed another drink with some delicious soft cheese (3 animal) and ham. We had this at tables on the pavement and were entertained by a woman who was parking a small dented car (in stark contrast to her snappy attire). She initially stopped on a level crossing (blocking all traffic) got out and moved a metal barrier from a parking bay back into a second bay. She then reversed into the first bay so far and fast that she promptly gave the relocated barrier a good belt moving it a further half metre. As she was not happy with the alignment she went forward and had another go this time managing to mount the quite steep kerb. Embarrassed enough she got out, locked the car (not sure why) and scurried off to the nearby port bar.

We revisited Porto for a second day and parked in a paid parking area which was a little tight as it required a 3 point turn to make the 90º into the station and used a lift to move cars between floors.

We decided to use the local toilet which was a large 2x2 metre room. I was sitting contemplating and noticed a white chord held by eyelets screwed into the wall some 300mm off the floor. It went all the way round the four walls and then up to the switch by the door, a little Heath Robinson but it presumably worked. Part way through the lights went off so in pitch black I pulled the string. This immediately initiated a cacophony of sirens and alarms reverberating throughout the whole car park. Before I had time to get up and blindly cross the floor with my trousers round my knees the door was unlocked, a hand reached in and turned off the switch. This was followed by a loud warning “not to do it again”. The latter was somewhat superfluous as I had no intention of inviting a repeat performance.

We promptly opted for a bit of peace and quiet at the botanical gardens where Helen insisted on showing off a new trowel.

An evening stroll around one of the waterfront restaurant areas revealed a door (the only one left of 18) built into the city’s defensive walls. It has a gothic inscription from 1386 and connected Fonte Taurina Street to the harbour pier.

A drive up the Douro to the port wine making area was recommended. The road winds and climbs up and down at an alarming rate with several loops over 800 metres (from about 100 metres). On the way up we came across a pile of cork bark apparently drying out prior to collection and delivery to cork cutting machines. It was surprisingly light and soft.

The views were numerous but these give an idea of the country with little hamlets stuck onto whatever flat(ish) ground was available with the church taking priority.

The area where the port wines are grown is in the upper Douro some 100kms from Porto. The country is Schist which is a soft rock that holds moisture. Many of the terraces are only one vine wide (about 2 metres). The climate is dry and hot in summer and cold in winter with limited rain. This means smaller grapes with a high sugar content.

We visited Sandeman wine estate (or quintas) with its well known “Don” icon. The hat is a sombrero arrangement from Spain (where Sandeman makes sherry) and the cape is from Portugal. They have recently automated the whole process so rows of people treading on the grapes in unison is no longer required. The machines now mimic the various dances used!

After the tour came the tasting. The viewing room was high up the valley side with wonderful views.

This one rather summarises the key drivers for the week…