Fruit bowl

"I wonder if they grow apricots out here," said Janice as we drove along the Douro river past grape vines and olive trees.  Soon after we saw apricot trees.  "This would be great for citrus," she said, and then there were orange trees.  If only she had pondered whether they had money trees.

The day started with a trip out to Foz for a walk along the beach.  I had imagined Mission Bay in Auckland.  What we got was a wild and rocky beach ( even the sand was gritty) with waves crashing in.  It was very scenic, but I don't think I would have braved the water in the little slivers of "calm" water that had designated as swimming zones.  I did, however, brave the pool at the hotel and that was very pleasant.

I have read that the drive along the Douro is spectacular.  It was nice, and we have some good photos but, like the Cares Gorge, nothing like some of those at home.  I've told myself to stop comparing, that it's a different kind of beauty.  It hasn't worked.

The Portuguese people are lovely, second only to the quality of the wine.  We had a lovely meal out in Pinhao in a little terrace (Ponte romanica) by the river and a bridge.  The roads are very narrow here and there are lots of buses and trucks.  This was our main entertainment in Pinhao as we watched cars having to back up to let a bus/truck through (I was always noting spots to back up to when we were driving).  We had baked cod for dinner and a delicious white Douro wine.  We were too full for dessert, bit our nice waiter brought us a piece of port cake to share.  It is cake drizzled with lots of port and it is delicious.

At a little cafe in the morning, we asked for coffee and croissants.  There was some confusion about what we wanted and then she gave us a brilliant smile, rushed out of the shop and shortly came back with croissants that she had bought from the supermarket.

Rita, our host at Casa Botehlas Elias, gave us a number of recommendations and we took most of them.  The 10.30am bus up to the top of the hill for 360 panoramic views.  Our guide spoke French, a little English, and was fluent in mime.  We stopped at a lovely garden half way up.  There was lavender, rosemary, sage and something that smelled like menthol. If we understood him correctly, these give different character to the grapes.  The tour ended with a taste of a port wine.  I bought a bottle of white port called La Gripa (the teardrop as it forms on the side of the glass if you swirl it).

A walk along the river, lunch of rice and beans with a cod fritter (at Cais da Foz), a walk back, and time for our cruise along the Douro in a rabelo boat (the type they used for taking the barrels of port down the river).  It was very pleasant and a nice perspective to see the vineyards.

The morning started with a drive up the hill for views over Pinhao and the river, and then a tour of the Quinta da Bomfin.  This is part of the Dow vineyards, and is still family owned and managed.  Marco showed us around and gave some information about the process.  This is a very different operation that Herman showed us in Haro.  The grapes go through a de-stemmer, down a hose, and into a stainless steal vat inside (we saw them go in).  There a machine simulates the foot stomping of an 80kg man (including his foot temperature).  They still do the foot stomping at their main vineyard.  Finally, we had a tasting  (I had ports, Janice table wines, and mum was driving). 

Lunch was at another recommendation by Rita(Veladouro), and was also delicious  (fresh tuna with salad and roast potatoes and lots of olive oil).  Every meal starts with a bowl of olives and bread.  I may start this tradition at home.