Peso da Régua to Porto by boat: in the morning, we said goodbye to Sonia and Pedro, as well as David, Tom, Joe, and Emily, and the remaining seven of us took the Rota do Duoro river cruise back to Porto. The scenery was creat; it was neat to see things from the river, and we made great time going through two locks, arriving in Porto around 16:00. The boat was reasonable comfort-wise --- the sun was hot, and the indoor spaces weren't always air conditioned, but a lot of it was comfortable, the food was fine, and it was nice to relax and play some board games and look at the views.
Our B&B's resident donkey |
More resident B&B animals and plants |
The donkey has become very slightly interested in the camera |
Emily, Helen, Scott, and Tom, at breakfast |
Tom, David, Sarah, and Dana, at breakfast |
giant wall cutlery, at breakfast |
Gina and Bill have found seats on the deck of our river cruise |
deck of our boat, the Milénio do Douro |
we quickly find that the view from the upper deck is best |
pulling away from Peso da Régua, pretty much on time |
steps and scrubby trees by the river |
cruise ships back at the dock, and terraces behind |
river and trees ahead |
Helen, Scott, and Gina, enjoying the view |
apartments and houses on the hill ahead |
looking back at Peso da Régua's bridge as we round the bend |
the view from the river is nice |
a bird, fishing on the surface |
houses above the river |
tall crops of some sort |
this is that Six Senses hotel we saw from our route the previous day; i still think it looks neat! |
more scenic river view, now with windmills |
in case you missed them: windmills! |
ripples on the river behind our boat |
ruins in terraces |
houses with neat shingles (some repair needed) |
Sarah on the boat |
if you lived here, you would have a nice view |
it would look kind of like this |
possibly a train bridge |
church and buildings on a hill |
a building with a courtyard full of trees |
Bill, chilling |
a cluster of windmills and a few bonus solar panels |
another bend in the river |
rocks, reflected in swirly water |
a train tunnel! |
large building on a hillside |
Scott and Helen on the observation deck |
what are these metal things stuck in the mountainside covered in avalanche netting? |
a heron-shaped bird |
a train, briefly visible through the trees |
a bridge (Ponte de Ermida Resende-Baião) |
another bridge |
approaching our first lock, the Barragem do Carrapatelo |
it's hard to photograph a boat moving up or down inside a lock |
leaving the lock |
now it's time for lunch (and wine) |
buildings above the Aldeia de Areja marina |
maybe some of these are cork trees |
Praia da Lomba beach |
another cool but high-maintenance-looking place to live |
sometimes there is one giant tree |
approaching our second lock, the Barragem de Crestuma-Lever |
here we go |
the rest of the lock, reflected in the water |
going through the lock |
view over the lock before we descend |
near the top of the wall |
the barrier closing behind us |
60 seconds later: much more wall |
the barrier continues closing |
there's a lot of wall now |
the doors in front of us, ready to open |
the doors opening |
almost there |
and we're done with the lock! |
a little landing by the side of the river |
graffiti of Portugal: cat-vehicle hybrids |
stone walls as we enter Porto |
graffiti of Portugal: all the tags |
Bill, Helen, and Scott, in front of Porto |
Porto to Lisbon by train (this map isn't 100% right, since we got off the train in Lisbon at Santa Apolonia, but close enough): we said goodbye to Sarah and Dana after getting off the boat, and the remaining five of us had a few hours to kill before our train to Lisbon, and too many heavy suitcases to want to explore much. We had some drinks outdoors, did some souvenir shopping, then took a taxi to the train station, where we had dinner at a very reasonable Indian restaurant, before catching our train. Our train was on time in this direction, and we checked into our hotel in Lisbon around midnight.
riding the funicular up from the river in Porto |
view across the river from the funicular |
funicular passing zone |
top of the funicular |
we had some time to kill before heading to the train station, so we got some drinks |
i went back to the tile shop we'd seen the first day for some souvenirs |
interior of the tile shop |
tile high-rises |
an outdoor gathering in Porto |
we had a nice dinner at Royal Restaurante Tandoori, across from the train station |
friendly frog graffiti on a train platform bench |
finally in Lisbon! |