Douro Valley Delight

Monday we had a promising weather forecast and many businesses in Porto were closed so we took the opportunity to do a trip we’d talked about for months- driving the Douro Valley. The Douro Valley extended east from Porto to Spain (or rather.. flows from Spain west to its mouth into the Atlantic in Porto!). It is known for its numerous vineyards and stunning steep-walled views. We headed out early, making sure to park our rental in a safe spot (foreshadowing..) for the day and Steve drove the comfy Mercedes wagon he and Jen rented.

In 15 minutes we were in the hills and in 30 minutes we were dropping off the A41 onto the N108, a small regional road that snakes up the Doura Valley. As you know already, we were hungry, thirsty, and eager to take pictures, so we didn’t last long before turning off onto an insanely steep cobblestone.. “road” we’ll say into a roadside community looking for a cafe. Steve patiently worked his way back onto the N108 and a little meandering later we found a tiny grocery store/florist/deli/farm? They were willing to sell us coffee, some simple snacks, and give us a little table in the sun looking across the yard to the water. It’s funny how simple things can be so rewarding. We sat there for a quite a while, speculating on the lives in that tiny town and counting the number of times the small white panel vans flew by.. not sure who they were or why they kept passing.

Biofueled, we continued up the valley. The N108 climbs up onto the terraced valley walls high enough that you’re acutely aware of the massive unprotected plunge at your side, then drops down near the water at each village. The road was at least one full lane in each direction, albeit with the usual single narrow line in the middle and no shoulder. In a few cases Apple Maps gave us shortcuts that were MUCH narrower, steeper, and/or insane. Steve handled them admirably but we agreed they likely weren’t suitable “normal” drivers, and certainly not without warning! As with most of Europe, a smaller AWD car would be best.

Once we got to where the Tâmega River joins the Doura we had to decide which winery tour(s) we were going to. Our crack backseat research team, aka “Savitri & Jen” called around and Jen managed to get reservations at Sapateiro Winery. It’s actually on the Tâmega River, and as we learned from them, in a different wine region. 30 minutes later we arrived in the hot sun to a small but patience tasting group from Sweden and France. Our tour guide, Tiago, was also the son of the founder of the vineyards, the man behind the whole operation, and an amazing host. He walked us through the history of his family’s operations, most notably his father’s shoe business which prompted the name for the winery (Sapateiro is Portuguese for “shoemaker”). Tiago turned his father’s hobby into a small but thriving business with diverse offerings and an excellent reputation. He was very talkative and forthcoming and he and his fiance were very gracious with wines and food, even though we were last minute sign-ups and late.. and two of the four of us didn’t drink. Savitri & Jen made up for that by getting silly with it and really talking him up.. we think entertaining him almost as much as he did us. We also ordered quite a lot of wine to be sent home so it was an investment well made! As a non-drinker I still found the whole experience fascinating and the whole thing was on a beautiful veranda overlooking the family vineyards on a hilltop in the lush countryside so.. no complaints! HIGHLY recommended for the wine, the tasting, and the setting.

By this time we were getting hungry in earnest, and Tiago recommended that we visit the small town of Amarante to the north before returning to the Douro Valley to the south. 20 minutes of roundabout fun later and we dropped into Amarante, a picturesque little town bridging a river like an elven village scene. There were quite a few tourists around but we had just missed the lunch window so we ended up getting a nice lady at a pastry shop to make us ham & cheese sandwiches (which turned out being grilled ham & cheese). We did get the sit on a little patio hanging out over the river though, and finished the meal with a handful of pastries and chocolates so don’t feel too bad for us. Oh yes, the middle picture below is what you think it is … there is an entire history lesson on it if you Google it.

We decided at this point to aim for one of our first planned destinations, Miradouro de São Leonardo de Galafura, a viewing point far up the Douro Valley. We took the fastest route, which actually cut from the Tâmega Valley up over some mountains to the Douro Valley half way to Spain. As a result we kept driving by incredible views and catching glimpses of distant peaks, wondering if the drive would really be worth passing up exploring some of those more. Once we got there though we lost any doubt. The well-mapped view is almost impossibly perched above a bend in the Douro Valley so that it has a nearly 360˚ view. Vibrant green terraces flank the river in all directions, with spidery stonewall mosaics across their faces and stony mountains reaching into the clouds in the background. We wandered around in amazement commenting on how unmissable it was. Pictures of course can’t do it justice, but we tried!

**Jesse & Steve – Driving, Chatting & Laughing**

We returned to Porto via the A4, which was only an hour and 20 minutes away since we didn’t follow a river route. What a great day! Back to park and head to dinner and ..oh shit.. our car was gone. While we were away our rental car had been towed (we hoped.. stolen would have been even worse!). It was getting late to do anything about at that point so we hoofed it to the Italian restaurant we had reservations at a mile away.

Italian is a staple for our family and having primarily had seafood and meats for the last month it was a refreshing change. We went to Restaurante II Basilico Porto. The food and service were excellent. I was particularly impressed by the spaghetti carbonara, which was very eggy and cheesy.. mmMM!

The head hostess at the restaurant also told us that the city car pound was at the Silo Auto parking garage just up the street. We walked there on the way back to our apartment- it’s a tall, somewhat intimidating, cylindrical parking garage. We were guided by the nice attendant to the 4th floor where the policia are located and voila- our car! Turns out… My inability to understand the signs and rules put me in a paid parking zone (that I didn’t pay for), and.. in a handicapped spot! I specifically had made sure I WASN’T in either of those things, but got bad advice from a local as to which streets were paid and misunderstood which spot was referenced by the handicapped sign (turns out it isn’t the car directly under the sign, it’s the next full car down the street.. whacky, especially without painted parking spaces). Nothing we could do at that point but pay the parking+towing+infractions fees.. 200€. Could have been worse.. could have been better. We were just glad to get the car back with no legal implications (since I didn’t have a local license). I re-parked it downstairs in the normal-people-paid-parking section and we’ve left it there since.