On our wedding anniversary. So the aim was to arrive not too late in Porto, so that we'll be able to find a good restaurant for the evening. Despite visiting both old and new cathedrals AND the Roman bridge in Salamanca, we've managed to left on time. And leaving the parking space was slightly easier than the one of the previous day, so I was grateful that we did the change then which resulted in the biggest crisis of our marriage till then (that was before we've arrived in Madrid searching the hotel...).
Salamanca is situated on a high plato in Spain and the surrounding area is flat with red-coloured earth reminding me of the Kalahari. We've seen some olive trees and in a distance you can see the mountains that are higher than the ca 720 m altitude of Salamanca.
Shortly after we left Salamance I've moved into the driver's seat and drove across the border to Portugal. Now, in France you have two type of toll gates: 1) you pay as you get to the boom or 2) you take a ticket at the boom which you then have to submit at the exit of the next boom and then pay (it calculates how many km's you drove and you pay according to your distance). Then at each row of booms you'll always find one or two lanes reserved for people with a gadget in the car that lets them through quickly and the toll will be deducted from their account (these lanes are always marked with a big orange t at the top). In Spain it works the same. Not in Portugal. To be very honest, I cannot explain to you how their toll gates work as we still could not figure it out. We don't know if we are going to receive an invoice at home in the next month or two. It started just after crossing the border - the speed limit of 120 will suddenly reduce to 100, you'll see a sign in Portugese and you figure out is has something to do with an electronic toll gate, you pass below a grey structure over the road (which we figured out after passing nr 5 or so is equipped with cameras) and then you'll find a 120 sign again. No ticket machine, no boom, no cashier, no nothing. (the rest of the Portugese toll gate mystery I'll explain in a next blog...)
Along the road we have decided to change our route, as we have some time, and turn off the highway towards Lamego to drive along the Douro valley, the porto region of Portugal. (I've realised this holiday what a problematic age group I am in - the small prints in maps and books nowadays require reading glasses, so my dear husband had to pass me his on a regular basis - problematic when we need it at the same time..And difficult if you have to make a sudden change to your route and you first search for the glasses)
From Spain along the highway we have passed mountains and valleys, covered with rocks and forests. The area is dry and sparsely populated and one cannot help but wonder what on earth are people doing in this area of the world. One or two hilltops were decorated by huge castles, but we had no time to turn off and visit.
So once we got through another moutaineous road and entered the Douro valley, we were surprised by the change of scenery and glad that we have decided to change our route. I tried to take a few snapshots while driving, but at least you'll get an idea.
Amazing to see these steep terraces. Which also meant that we had to get lower to get into the valley. It was a day of altitudes varying between 20 and 1000m (and varying several times several metres)
Arriving in Lamego the route was diverted and we couldn't follow the road along the wide wide beautiful Douro river but had to drive a short distance through the town. Our first meeting with the Portugese architecture, very different from that in Salamanca.
One of the things that is very striking in Portugal is the use of tiles. Many houses are tiled outside, the metros inside are tiled, some walls along the highway. It really is beautiful. We saw a series of tile 'paintings' along a wall in the street of diversion, I was just in time to capture one:
And thereafter we could turn towards the river again. The photo below is just to give you an idea of how steep it is towards the river (and this is the very very flat part...)
We continued along the river, the very narrow winding road going higher and higher again and we were passing vineyards, orange trees, gates with names of a porto on and the wide Douro in the valley below. We took a wrong fork but with a stiff back by then of stress I told JL to rather continue, we can link up further with the road along the river, we stare at the little white roads on the GPS as if we were hypnotised. Cars come from the front along the bends as if they are on their way to an emergency (and taking up space of our side of the road). On our right (remember we drive on the right here) is a big ditch, enough to ruin your car if you drive into it. I have to say two things about the Portugese - they are very friendly, gentle, soft spoken people, BUT do not put them behind a steering wheel, be it a car or a motorbike. They change into maniacs, complete reckless drivers. JL started talking about heading back to the highway, I wanted to continue a little bit further along the road, in the hope to find a nice (easy accessible) porto farm to visit. When two motorbikes coming around a bend from the front and nearly crashed into us, I was however convinced to link up with the highway. JL's main concern was that we'll arrive in Porto by midnight if we're lucky if continuing on this road, my concern was that it will be our last day on earth if we continue. I still shiver if I see the one motorbike started sliding towards us, and it was on JL's side as he was driving. So at Mesao Frio we've took the road going back towards the highway, one more north than the one we took the morning, but parallel to it and closer to Mesao Frio. I was disappointed to later read that we've only reached the 'gateway' of the Douro valley, but at least we are still alive. I have decided I would still love to see the valley, but next time I'll go by boat.
To our horror it took another long winding steep road with more maniacs on it, but at least a little bit less narrow, to link up to the highway. It is a beautiful area, but I cannot see how people can live there.
Fortunately we've arrived in Porto in daylight, the hotel on the border of the old town. The hotel has parking for you only if you have reserved it when making the reservation. As I had to do all the reservations so quickly, I was relieved to hear that I did remember to book the parking. We've offloaded the suitcases and I told JL I'll wait for him in the lobby while he parks the car. After a while I've realised I should have gone with him, perhaps it is the same nightmare than in Salamanca. When he arrived, he told me he could park the car, but the guy next to him took up so much space, he couldn't get out of the car, so he had to park on a disabled parking, as it was the only other available parking (fortunately the hotel regulate where you can park, so they've allowed him to park there).
We've decided to follow the hotel's recommendation for a good restaurant and let them book it for us, relieved that it was walking distance from the hotel.
The restaurant's food was very good, although the service waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy slllllllllllllllooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwww. It was fully booked, I was amazed at how busy places are between Christmas and New Year. But at least we could unwind after our winding road and drink Portugese wine on 2 years of married life.
And I had to take a photo of these Portugese chickens, which we have seen afterwards in so many other places. And reminded me all the time of Nando's back home.
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