The End of the Douro (at least for us)

Thursday, August 17, 2023

We started today with the second half of the two-group-concurrent activities. Some of the Group 1 people went to the Coa Museum (see previous post); some of the Group 2 people went to do the vineyard tour. A fair number of people, including Wayne, opted to stay on the boat and relax.

The more adventurous between us decided to take the (advertised as) bumpy, high-altitude ride to Quinta da Ervamoira—yet another vineyard estate, but this one in a very remote area accessible via a 30 minute bus ride on an extraordinarily scenic road...

… followed by another 20 minute bumpy drive out of town on an unpaved, winding, narrow roadway up to the vineyard in an open air vehicle (we were forewarned to expect a Jeep— but a comfortable—relatively speaking—open air van was delivered instead). Needless to say, the transportation adventure paid off. The scenery was spectacular. How does it keep getting better? Jaw dropping!

Upon arriving, we learned that the estate is a massive 254 square kilometers in total— with 150 of those dedicated to vineyards. They produce Port and some table wines and are not independent, having been bought by Louis Roederer Champagne (France) several years back. They grow 100 different kinds of grapes as well as figs and almonds.

Wine bottles from over the centuries

 If only we could get this quality of figs at home!

The brand is well known, apparently, and has a very creative and aggressive ongoing ad campaign. In fact, one of their posters was prominently displayed in Monica’s apartment on "Friends"!

Some of their ads are so blatantly targeted to a male audience that it is almost silly.

Mid tour, our docent explained that the estate is the site of multiple active archaeological digs. We saw many of the relics that have been discovered on the estate and its environs. In addition to the Paleolithic carvings we learned about at the Coa Museum yesterday, they’ve found Medieval pottery from the Paleo-Christian time, as well as traces of Roman and Visigoth settlements on the estate. 

Then, as usual, it was time for the tasting—the pièce de résistance. On the menu today were two types of Port—light and tawny (the brand is Ramos Pinto) —both accompanied by sun-kissed figs, stuffed with almonds. Delectable! Wendy could get used to this!

After the tasting, it was time for the trek back to the boat— the same bumpy ride in the open air van, followed by a 20 minute descent on the winding street on the bus. All that said, despite the very interesting transport, the trip was well worth the effort.

Once everyone from the two activities was back on the boat, we set off on our last leg of the river part of our tour. After two hours of smooth cruising we arrived at Vega de Terron. It is not a port, not in a city.....it looks to be just a slab of concrete in the middle of nowhere. And yet....we are now tied up on Spanish side! This is a far as the boat goes with us on it.

We all got on the buses, drove about 200 meters, went over a bridge that crossed the river, and were back in Portugal!

Our destination for this excursion was Castelo Rodrigo (say "Cashtellllllllo hRrrrrrrrodrigo"). This has been a castle / palace (remember the difference?) since Alfonso IX, King of Leao (in Spain) captured the area from the Moors in 1209. The Castilians then built the original castle on the top of the mountain (as always, so they could see "the enemy" - the Portuguese -  coming from far away). And believe us, it is really high up! Here are some photos; not sure if you can really tell the height from these.

 

The Treaty of Alcanizes in 1287, between King Denis I of Portugal and King Fernando IV of Castile set the border that still exists today! For some reason, Denis insisted that Castelo Rodgrigo (and surrounding region) be included on the Portuguese side. Fernando agreed. So at that point the castle was used to keep out a possible invasion by the enemy - the Spanish!

Over time there were many marriages between Portuguese and Spanish royals. These did not always work out well for one side or the other. So our guide said they have an expression: "From Spain we get not good winds and not good weddings". 

In 1640 there was some political unrest, and the palace (which had by then been built inside the castle) was torched by the local citizenry. The fire nearly destroyed the entire structure; the ruins are what we see today.

 

Next we saw the parish church, Igreja Matriz de Casteo Rodrigo. It was built in the 13th century. It is a small church, as one might expect from this very small enclave, but the inside is full of icons and the altar is very detailed and complex (especially when you consider it is all made from wood). The building itself is done in the Romanesque style. Our guide said Romanesque is designed so that God looks down on man, while the later Gothic style is designed so that man looks up to God.

The Romanesque arches

We then walked on to the Jewish quarter. As noted before, when the Jews were sent out of Spain, many settled in Portugal. And a fair number ended up here because of its proximity to Spain. Today, there are none, and only a few remnants are still extant. Our guide pointed out some doorpost carvings that indicated Jews had lived there. The one big remnant is an old synagogue The cistern in front may have been used as the mikvah.

This region is known for grapes and olives, but almonds are also a major crop. They were prominently featured in the gift shops, and come in plain, sugared, garlic and curry flavors! We bought some sweet ones and our guide gave everyone on the bus a bag as well. 

Then back to the ship for the final dinner. Wendy had some dal, then the seared tuna. Wayne had creamy chicken soup, then mushroom risotto with chorizo discs. Tasty, but not really blog-worthy. There was a special dessert of crepes Suzette accompanied by the same ice cream bar they served at the sundeck BBQ; we just opted for the ice cream.

Tomorrow we get an early start and resume the land portion of our tour - a long bus ride to Salamanca and then a longer ride on to Madrid.

This map may help you picture where we have been for the past several days on our cruise on the Douro. (Apologies for the quality; it was from a TV screen.) You can see how much farther the Douro flows.

love,

w&w.....................

Salamanca and Madrid en Espana

Friday, August 18, 2023

Not a whole lot to write about today, as this was our longest land travel day; a total of 5+ hours on the bus (thankfully divided up into shorter segments).

It was "tchau" (bye-bye) to the Andorinha as we left the ship for the last time this morning. We headed northeast into Spain. After only a few miles, the beautiful mountains gave way to mile after mile of flat prairie; both grasslands and farms. We saw a lot of horses and cows grazing, and at one point several miles of sunflower farms! Sunflowers as far as the eye could see....there must have been millions. Alas, no pix.

After a couple of hours, we reached Salamanca. This is an ancient town, with its roots going back to about 400 BC. Many of the buildings built in the 1300s - 1600s were (and are, as many have survived) made of sandstone. And because this sandstone has iron in it, the stones have weathered to a yellow hue, leading some people to call this the Golden City.

We had been advised that it would be hotter there, but it was actually in the low 80s; quite pleasant.

With our local guide, we started the brief tour of the city in the old Plaza Mayor. Every medium to large town in Europe has one of these - the Big Plaza. To us, this one looked like St. Mark's Square in Venice....just without the clock tower and church.

On one side of the square is
the City Hall

All around the square, near the tops of each arch (as you can see in the second photo above) are sculptures of the heads of famous people, ranging from kings to artists.

Salamanca's major claim to fame is that it is the home of Spain's oldest active university - founded in 1218 - and the third oldest in Europe (behind Oxford and the Sorbonne). The town has 170,000 residents plus 55,000 university students! 

Here is the front of the oldest building of the Old University (they have also built a New (modern) University in another part of the city). It is Gothic architecture and heavily ornate with many carvings and statues...each having a specific meaning. 

For hundreds of years, all of the reading material was available in Spanish, Greek, Latin, Arabic and Hebrew. Inside, we toured several classrooms. Each professor had his own classroom - of course they AND the students were all male; the primary purpose for universities was to prepare men to be priests. Above the classroom door, etched into the wall, was a description of the course taught therein!

There is a chapel associated with the university. Here is a photo of the interior. This altar is made of carved marble.

Quite impressive!

But wait..............

The other major institution in the city is the Old Cathedral (just like with the university, they also have a New Cathedral!).

We have seen a LOT of churches and cathedrals in our many years of travel, but this one has to be in the top 5 of all time for its architecture, ornateness, and sheer power of its presence.

From the outside:

Note: because of the dry hot climate, the sandstone holds up remarkably well. However, over time (and also from the Lisbon earthquake!), there has been some damage. This section of the wall around the door was actually replaced in the 90s. That is why, if you look closely, you will see carvings of an astronaut (upper left) and a monster eating an ice cream cone! (lower right) 

Here is what the average, typically illiterate devout churchgoer would see upon entering (without the 21st century security bars of course).

Pretty much tells you where you stand in the order of things; right?

Here are more pix from inside.

The Choir "loft". There was only one book

of music, which they all had to share.

You can see the scale and immensity from the relative size of the people in the photos above.

The vaulted arches and domed ceiling rise 200 feet above the floor.

We then had some free time to walk, shop, eat.  We sat outside at one of the many cafes in the Plaza and shared a tapas of yummy garlic gambas (shrimp).

Next stop: Madrid!

We pulled in around 6 pm, so had a little time to get settled and freshen up before our 7:30 guided tapas-hopping outing. As we set out, our guide (who lives here but grew up in San Diego), explained that having tapas means you go with friends or family, have a drink and a plate (many tapas restaurants feature a specialty), then go down the street and repeat on into the night. 

We ambled along the streets and squares which were filled with lots of people (some obviously touristas but many locals). It was 8:00 (practically bedtime) by the time we got to our first stop. It was La Casa del Abuelo (Grandfather's House). 

They feature a vermouth drink This is different from the vermouth those of us who drink vermouth  are familiar with back home. It was slightly sweet, slightly bitter, with a citrus and herbal overlay...and 15% alcohol.  Fine for one sip, then Wendy shared with a friend.

Their special food is..........gambas! Yes...the same sizzling shrimp in garlic that we had in the afternoon -but better! (we will reek of garlic tomorrow.  oh well!)  

So good. Along with sauteed shishito peppers and crusty bread for sopping the garlic sauce, it was a perfect meal. Oh.....wait.....now it's time to go to the next place!

We walked a few blocks until we got to El Economato--which stands for a convenience store--the decor was funky and fun. The proprietors wanted to reflect the best of northern and southern Spain!  

Their featured drink is a certain brand of wine, so we were offered a choice of red or white. 

Their featured food is pork, specifically the world famous Jamon Iberico. This comes from free range pigs (with black hair) whose diet is mostly acorns!  Quite the delicacy! You can see legs and flanks of same hanging in all the butcher shops and markets. 

Spain is the world's leader in the consumption of pork. Part of this is due to the Jamon; another part goes back to.......the Inquisition. At that time, there was suspicion that the Conversos would lapse back (secretly or otherwise) to their Judaism, so the Spanish Christians began adding a little piece of pork to every recipe. By eating it, the people could prove they had truly converted. Speaking of eating pork, one of us doesn't (except for ribs and bacon, LOL), but made an exception tonight. 

Anyway, we were served plates with a skewer of roasted Jamon, some French fries, and another skewer of a different kind of meat. 

The pork was outstanding! It tasted like BBQ'd ribs! 

We all assumed the second one was chicken, but when we bit into it, we realized it was fish. Our guide told us it was dogfish......a kind of shark!  It was also delicious (and did not taste like chicken).

At this point, many Madrillenos would get more tapas or go out for dinner! In fact, two of our new friends went out for paella.  Brave souls! This was enough food for us though even if it hadn't been the end of the tour. Our guide walked us back to the hotel, but by then some in the group decided that it would be fun to get ice cream! So we set out again.

Mmmmmmmmmmm.. Our guide told us that if the gelato is covered, that usually means it is very fresh.  So, that's what characterized this place:  Eccolo gelato.  Highly recommend! Wendy had mango/pineapple. Wayne mistakenly took a pass (no room after the previous stops!). 

Tomorrow we have our Madrid tour and it is the the last official day of  the tour -- and two days before our diet starts (we are staying on an extra day). The forecast is 97 (which, per our guide, is mild for this time of year). See you then!

love,

w&w.