Douro River
Trip Report: Slices of Portugal & Extremadura Spain
To the river
Once again is was time to move to our next destination. This was our longest drive of the trip, and to keep it as scenic as possible, I went the slightly longer route, avoiding the Lisbon to Porto A1 artery and heading up the middle of the country. Wow. From around the dam/bridge over the Tagus River, until we rejoined the A1 several hours later, it was spectacular. Towering mountains, verdant valleys, with bridges and tunnels filling in the blanks. Multi-lane tollways with barely any traffic. As we heard from some Portuguese later, the tolls are too high on these highways for anybody to use on a regular basis. You can watch the tolls add up - as each automatic station has a sign with the amount that you will be charged and the transponder is chiming a lot. 1,15€ . . . 0,85€ . . . well, you get the picture.
And the devastation from last year’s forest fires, was evident as fresh burn areas - on both sides of the highway - in a scary number of places. We recalled the tragic news last year about the forest fires and the deaths which occurred in June when we were starting to book this trip. More on this later.
So all was going peachy until our Google Maps iPhone GPS gave up and started spewing nonsense. It happened in the spaghetti of interchanges around the A32 and the A41 junction that is shaped like a big X. I know that I promised not to go on about driving, but the hour that we spent traversing this spot on the map rivals the tension of any other driving debacles we have had.
When we finally did get going in the right direction, we were both near breaking point. And then came the quaint stone village that we had to navigate and the final 30m of narrowing stone walls.
And the devastation from last year’s forest fires, was evident as fresh burn areas - on both sides of the highway - in a scary number of places. We recalled the tragic news last year about the forest fires and the deaths which occurred in June when we were starting to book this trip. More on this later.
So all was going peachy until our Google Maps iPhone GPS gave up and started spewing nonsense. It happened in the spaghetti of interchanges around the A32 and the A41 junction that is shaped like a big X. I know that I promised not to go on about driving, but the hour that we spent traversing this spot on the map rivals the tension of any other driving debacles we have had.
When we finally did get going in the right direction, we were both near breaking point. And then came the quaint stone village that we had to navigate and the final 30m of narrowing stone walls.
After we pulled into the gate, Jorgi led us up to the cabin. Our view for the next 3 nights.
While this isn’t a particularly interesting picture it shows you our river view. We were on the western side of the Lomba peninsula which forms a big bend in the Douro. The tip of Lomba has a public beach which faces Santiago, across the river. (Which you can see in the photo above)
We settled into our new abode and thoughts quickly turned to dinner. While we had enough supplies, we didn’t feel like cooking and the telephone number list that Jorgi had pointed out had pizza and food delivery numbers. Hmmm. Why not? So we gave it a shot. As feared, the people at the other end only spoke Portuguese. Bummer. And then I suggested we phone Antonio, the owner, who Jorgi said lived on site, to see if he could perhaps call them for us to translate. After a bit of confusion he told us – in perfect English – that he would come over in 20 minutes to help us. And so he did.
As it turned out, Antonio was a 60’s something semi-retired paediatric surgeon who specialized in heart surgery for children. He told us this after my wife asked about how to handle medical emergencies in this semi-remote area. He said to just call him. The quirky Antonio gave us the full house tour and he explained that he had personally designed the entire ‘complex’ which he calls Quinta dos Espigueiros. An espigueiros is a type of granary on stilts unique to Northern Portugal. Every one of the 5 cabins was unique and designed by him. All were very private – we didn’t even know where they were until he pointed them out in the woods behind ours. When we finally got to the subject of food, he explained that the restaurant he would have suggested was closed on Monday nights and so . . . Why don’t we come with him for dinner?
This was an offer we couldn’t refuse. So we all piled into his small car and he drove into town - expertly navigating all of the narrow twists and turns that had been so painful for us. We ended up in a large local restaurant that was more of a cafeteria. Antonio asked what was available tonight and a ham and cheese stuffed pork schnitzel was on offer. He ordered a plate for the table with some vegetables and wine. The first bottle was sent back as bad. The food was great, the 2nd bottle of wine was good and we had a great evening of conversation. And he would not let me pay insisting that the one who asks should always pay. A true gentleman.
As it turned out, Antonio was a 60’s something semi-retired paediatric surgeon who specialized in heart surgery for children. He told us this after my wife asked about how to handle medical emergencies in this semi-remote area. He said to just call him. The quirky Antonio gave us the full house tour and he explained that he had personally designed the entire ‘complex’ which he calls Quinta dos Espigueiros. An espigueiros is a type of granary on stilts unique to Northern Portugal. Every one of the 5 cabins was unique and designed by him. All were very private – we didn’t even know where they were until he pointed them out in the woods behind ours. When we finally got to the subject of food, he explained that the restaurant he would have suggested was closed on Monday nights and so . . . Why don’t we come with him for dinner?
This was an offer we couldn’t refuse. So we all piled into his small car and he drove into town - expertly navigating all of the narrow twists and turns that had been so painful for us. We ended up in a large local restaurant that was more of a cafeteria. Antonio asked what was available tonight and a ham and cheese stuffed pork schnitzel was on offer. He ordered a plate for the table with some vegetables and wine. The first bottle was sent back as bad. The food was great, the 2nd bottle of wine was good and we had a great evening of conversation. And he would not let me pay insisting that the one who asks should always pay. A true gentleman.
The next day we set out to see the famed terraces of the Douro River valley. We had 2 route potentials from our location. Either jump on the tollways and drive up and over and drop down or drive the southern river road. We did both – out via toll roads and return via the river. For future drivers, choose the toll route and limit your river road time. Why? Because the river road spends more time buried in the hills and towns above the river with infrequent views, where you usually can’t easily pull over to take photos anyway. While the entire river is beautiful with towering hills dotted with vineyards and villages, the hardcore classic terraced views were easy to find on the southern river road N222, in either direction from A24. We could have just driven there, done a bit of river road for photos, had lunch and driven back very easily by mid-afternoon. But no. I fatefully decided that we needed hairpin corners, road construction, a town that went on and on for miles and the narrowest excuse for a paved road that I have ever seen. Honestly, it was no more than 1 ½ lanes at its widest, with trees, fences and guardrails right at its edge with no shoulder at all and I could not have met another car. Thankfully, this road was the result of a wrong turn and we were able to exit it after 3 or 4 miles.
Our attempt to peacefully follow the river for a nice leisurely drive was continuously stymied by the lady on Google Maps. While I realize that our technology does not really hate us, the demonstration we were given that afternoon totally and absolutely frustrated my navigator, resulting in . . . um . . . well . . . a less than pleasure-filled drive.
On the subject of lunch, a très snooty waiter at the DOC Restaurant on the river in Folgosa refused us service for coffee and a snack, despite a glaring number of empty tables inside and out. I guess we didn’t match the Mercedes and Aston Martin crowd that the restaurant feeds off of . . .
Our attempt to peacefully follow the river for a nice leisurely drive was continuously stymied by the lady on Google Maps. While I realize that our technology does not really hate us, the demonstration we were given that afternoon totally and absolutely frustrated my navigator, resulting in . . . um . . . well . . . a less than pleasure-filled drive.
On the subject of lunch, a très snooty waiter at the DOC Restaurant on the river in Folgosa refused us service for coffee and a snack, despite a glaring number of empty tables inside and out. I guess we didn’t match the Mercedes and Aston Martin crowd that the restaurant feeds off of . . .
The next day, I had an appointment for a factory visit in Paços de Ferreira, which is a main center for Portugal’s wood-working industry. As an aside, search in Google Maps and that massive complex just outside of town on the left (west) is an Ikea kitchen plant.
My navigator was threatening a walk-out for the day but I convinced her that her attendance would be an asset. And so it was. We were feted with plant tours, some good product demonstrations and a really great lunch at a local eatery: O Telheiro. Much of that crew had to drive back to Lisbon, so we returned to our cabin mid-afternoon, allowing us to enjoy the warmest day yet on our holiday. We watched the action on the river and relaxed, followed by a successful barbeque and a bottle of wine to complete the day.
My navigator was threatening a walk-out for the day but I convinced her that her attendance would be an asset. And so it was. We were feted with plant tours, some good product demonstrations and a really great lunch at a local eatery: O Telheiro. Much of that crew had to drive back to Lisbon, so we returned to our cabin mid-afternoon, allowing us to enjoy the warmest day yet on our holiday. We watched the action on the river and relaxed, followed by a successful barbeque and a bottle of wine to complete the day.