PORTUGAL – PORTO

DEC 10-14, 2022

I got into Porto mid-afternoon. I took a Bolt (Uber) to Miguel’s Place AirBnB, where the host greeted me. I was renting a room in an apartment, but I was the only guest. There was also a heater in the bedroom. When looking for accommodations, having a heater became one of the filters I set. The weather was cold and damp.

The apartment was a short walk away from rua Santa Catarina – a bustling pedestrian street with deluxe shopping and eateries. I wandered down to check it out. It was still daylight, but the hanging Christmas lights had me intrigued enough that I went back in the evening. The lights changed colours – from red to green to purple to yellow. Buildings were beautifully decorated and illuminated. Vendors were selling chestnuts that they roasted on the spot. There were thousands of people! It was absolutely magical!

The next day I used my trusty GPSMy City app to start exploring. As usual, I got sidetracked and lost a hundred times. Each time was a new adventure. For example, I was walking along and came across a large crowd of people on a street corner all looking at the building across the street. Why? Suddenly the clock started chiming the noon bells. When it finished chiming, a musical tune started. Two little doors opened below the clock and some wooden characters came out and did their little dance. It was quite lovely.

I wanted to go to Fort of São Francisco Xavier, built around 1661. I took a city bus. The fort was not built in a good location. It was not safe to disembark from a ship due to the rocky area and strong waters. However, I found the location to be fantastic. It sat alone on the water’s edge, forlorn. A small bridge connected the street to the fort. It was a small fort with not much to see. There was a small museum of artifacts with descriptions in Portuguese. The bastion had a few old cannons still pointing to the sea.

The drawbridge chain was so rusted it looked like phyllo pastry. It was altogether sad and beautiful.

I decided to walk the 5 km back to the city centre via the ocean boardwalk. I came across a small outdoor cafe and stopped for a coffee.

The walk took me past Fortaleza de São João da Foz. It was built in 1570, it is a simple bastioned structure which also has a monastery and church. Alas, I walked completely around it but found it to be completely closed.

Back in the city centre, I went to Palacio da Bolsa – the stock exchange. It is a grand building with an impressive interior courtyard covered in a massive skylight. Around the skylight are the coats of arms of the various countries that Portugal had commercial relations with.

The back of the courtyard led to a spectacular marble staircase.

All of the rooms were beautiful. The floors were either delicate mosaics or elaborate wood patterns.

One room looked like it was all wood. However, it was really just plaster-painted brown with a fishtail to give it the textural appearance of wood.

The most elaborate room was the Arab room, used as a reception hall for VIPs and heads of state. It was designed to impress! It looked perfect, but it wasn’t. According to Islam beliefs, humans are not perfect, therefore one doorway was slightly off-centre. It was not noticeable until the guide pointed it out. Can you spot it?

I went to Clerigos Church and Tower. The church construction began in 1732 and was completed in 1750. The 75-meter (246 ft) tower can be seen from many points in Porto and is the symbol of the city.

When I went in I could hear organ music. It was beautiful. I thought it was a recording. It was only later, when I was upstairs I realized there was a guy playing the organ! I talked to him, briefly, as he left the organ loft.

There was also a small museum with delicate clay statues.

Another day I went to the Porto Cathedral. Construction began in 1110 and finished in 1737 (600 years). I entered the cloisters first. I always liked the cloisters in old churches. There is something so peaceful and elegant about them. It is not hard to imagine monks walking through the corridors, prayer beads swinging as they slowly walked with heads bowed and robes swishing.

The courtyard in the center was mossy and medieval.

The interior was opulent and beautiful. The holy water fonts were all shaped like a giant clam shell and each featured a different lion’s face.

What would going to Porto be without actually having some Port wine? I walked to the south side of the Douro River across the Luis I Bridge. All of the port wineries were on that side of the river.

The walk down to the water’s edge, and the wineries, had me going down some serious switchbacks.

The big-name wineries were very expensive to tour, but I happened upon Quinta dos Corvos, a small family-owned winery that gave me an excellent tour. The big wineries bottle 25-30 thousand bottles per day. This winery did 25-30 thousand bottles per year.

They actually foot-stomp 20% of their grapes. The reason they do that is because when a machine squashes the grapes it also crushes the seeds. The squashed seeds are what give the wine a bitter taste. Having 20% done the old-fashioned way gives the wine a smoother taste. The entire family gets involved. Extended family, friends and even tourists get into the act too. It is hard work, so they only stomp for 20 minutes before taking a break. In case you are interested, this takes place at the end of September.

I was given 3 different wines to try. A 7-year-old white, a 10-year-old rose, and a 15-year-old red. Surprisingly, the 7-year-old white was the best. I bought a small bottle.

One day as I was out it started to rain so I popped into the Mercado do Bolhao. The market dates back to 1839 with the current building being constructed in 1914. It was a farmers market with fruit, veggies, flowers, pastries, fish, meats and ham.

I bought a good supply of walnut-stuffed figs to have as a snack on the road. They were delicious!! I spent the rest of the day back in my room.

I found Porto to be another city that is continuously uphill in both directions. It was no wonder that I did not see any overweight people. I walked about 10-15 km per day but the beautiful old buildings and churches made the distance enjoyable. I certainly built up my leg muscles and learned great respect for the elderly people shuffling up the hills. Many were escorted by, what I can only assume were, a younger family member.

As pretty as Porto was, it was time to move on. I took the bus to Madrid.