An early get-up to head down to where we were to meet for our Douro tour. Luckily only about a ten minute walk from the apartment. Irv and I had done a Douro tour when we were here our first time, but it involved a train ride and then a boat trip. This one was a bus tour with a short boat trip in a replica port boat. On the way up we stopped in a beautiful little town called Amarante for a quick look around. Our guide had told us the story of Sao Gonçalo, a 12th century monk who gained a reputation as somewhat of a matchmaker. Somehow from this reputation arose the tradition of ‘bolos de São Gonçalo’ or ‘doces fálicos’- phallic sweets. These are cakes, somewhat like an éclair, which are shaped like erect penises complete with testicles and filled with a custard. They are very tasty but you can imagine the commentary that accompanies their consumption!
After that little diversion we were back on the bus and headed for the Douro Valley. The scenery along the way was just as spectacular as we remembered it. Kilometre after kilometre of lush hillsides replete with grapevines. Not too far past Regua we hopped onto a replica of a port barge which were used to transport the port from the Douro to the port houses in the city of Porto. We spent about an hour on the river floating past the vineyards, many with their names on huge signs in the fields. It is fascinating to see how efficiently they use the land to produce their crops of grapes. After the boat ride we headed up out of the valley to a lovely restaurant to enjoy a lunch of salad and a cod dish which was a mixture of cod, french fries and egg that was very tasty, washed down with a bottle of very nice red. At lunch we got to talking with some of the other people -an interesting mix of Americans, Aussies, Irish and fellow Canadians from Calgary. Once back on the bus it was noticeably louder, fuelled by the consumption of some of the fruits of the Douro’s fields!! On then to Quinto do Portal where we were given a tour of the facility and samples of their white, red, and of course, port. It was a more subdued crew that rode back to porto, many who took the opportunity for a little shut-eye, ourselves included!
Geoff, Pam, Irv and I headed back to the apartment whilc Nicole and Jay went off to acquire their Camino passports. After we part company on Sunday, they are heading off to do part of the Camino before rejoining Pam and Geoff for the UK portion of their trip.
The four of us decided we would go down and check out the market next door, which turned out to be a good way to spend the time. It is a huge space filled with vendors of everything imaginable, food wise. The typical fruits and veggies, meats and cheeses, but also wine, spices, sweets, olives, mushrooms, all sorts of seafood, lots of tins of sardines (including chocolate ones), And the best part - you can buy a glass of wine - or in our case, a bottle - and wander around sipping while you shop!How civilized is that? Wonder if I could convince the Old Strathcona market to adopt this idea? We also introduced Pam and Geoff to ginja, a sweet cherry-like liqueur made from ginja berries and served in a little chocolate cup. Yummy!!
One stall we came upon was where they prepared pasta for you. We decided that would be a great dinner, so we each ordered our choice of pasta, sauce and then they put it together inside a cheese wheel. Back to the apartment to enjoy our meal-to-go with some good wine and a glass of port to finish it off.