It was still cold and rainy today, so we decided to tour Porto by Redbus Hop-on Hop-off Tours. We walked to the riverfront and took the overhead gondola from the top of the hill to the river-walk. It was a spectacular view, even in the rain.
The tour bus took us all around Porto and we were able to listen to the pre-recorded guide in English. It was really funny because the woman reading the script had a Spanish accent but she was reading the script with an exaggerated British accent. It cracked me up!
The coast and beaches of Porto were a surprise. I never really thought of Porto as a beach town before, but the coastline there is quite nice. At least I imagine that it would be nice - if it were SUNNY and WARM! Even though it was raining, there were dozens of kite-board riders putting on a show all up and down the beach. The Redbus Tour took most of the afternoon, so we ate at a cafe on the riverwalk afterward.
Back at the riverfront, we walked to a Winery for a Port Wine tasting. We were in Porto after all! I never even knew that Port wine came in different flavors and colors. My only experience with Port wine before was with the dark red sweet version. We tasted the traditional dark red, then a blush, then a lighter red, then a white port. The white was my favorite! It has a light, crisp, and fruity taste that I enjoyed immensely. A little too immensely. I so wanted to buy a bottle or two or six, but we were about to start our Camino and we had no way to transport it. Although, we probably would have been the most popular pilgrims on the Way if we shared the port as we went along.
Then we went to the Cathedral again to get our credentials stamped with the official cello (stamp) so Frank could qualify to stay in the Portuguese albergues. We studied the maps and literature about the Portuguese Way and plotted our course. Since we only have to walk 100 km to qualify to receive the official Compostela, we decided to take a bus from Porto to Valenca, Portugal and begin our pilgrimage there. We then headed to the bus station to figure out the schedules and purchase our tickets. I'm getting pretty good at buying long distance train and bus tickets. I'll probably never get on another metro bus again, though.
I'm excited that I'll be back on the Camino again tomorrow. With Frank's help, I think I'll make it after all. It was a good day, I'm so excited!!
No comments:
Post a Comment