Off to Régua: the Douro

So we are off now to Peso da Régua in the Douro Valley.

It’s a cool morning with a light mist - I go for a walk around our neigbourhood before we go - up into what I think is the Batalha district, past the detritus from the night before, people sleeping on the street and still some late night (early morning?) revellers, beers in hand. Notch up 3 kms.

I have to say I have found Porto somewhat seedy - like an old actor past his/her prime, and lacking the charm I enjoyed in Lisbon - but it probably depends on what neighbourhood you stay in. There are several streets near us that are well known for boutique shopping like Santa Catarina, but very quickly the neighbourhood changes into grimy areas that are not that pleasant to walk through. 

I get back at 7:15 and we walk down to São Bente to catch the train. Have another look at the lovely tile work and try to avoid the drunks.

Once the train leaves the suburbs of Porto behind, it moved into lovely rural scenery: trees, lots of wineries, pretty villages, through lots of tunnels and cuttings and great views of the river Douro. We have 2 hours to enjoy this.

We seem to walk more than we need to our accommodation and it is hot by now. We have arrived as a major bike race is underway, so many of the roads are blocked.

Much confusion over the bikes we have ordered including that the housekeeper has left the wrong key for the garage. Even the neighbour in the flat across the road tried to help.

It is very hot as we set off for Lamego finally on our bikes - 15 kms but oh my, what a 15 kms. We climb up and up - it is totally insane. We stop several times and walk: it is so steep and hot. We look at the views when we stop but really it is just an effort to keep going.

Finally we reach the centro historico. Finally. We are completely out of water and as we descend into the town (knowing full well we’ll have to ascend later!) we ride past historic monuments in search of water.

Fortunately we came to a large avenida: a grand boulevard lined with monuments, open-air cafes, and market stalls. It was full of people eating out under trees. There are plenty of places open and never did a coca cola in a glass full of ice ever taste so good. We bought a small bottle of water for the exorbitant price of 2€ and then as we wandered along, we came across a waffle place and shared a strawberry waffle. Yum. We hadn’t eaten much all day and by now it was about 5 pm.

Towering above us at the end of the square was the most enormous monument. Turns out this is the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios. It has a magnificent baroque stairway that climbs the steep Santo Estêvão hill up to it. No way we were going to walk up there!

It was here in Lamego that Alfonso I was crowned as the first king of Portugal in 1139. Later, Lamego prospered during the 16th and 18th centuries as a wine-producing region.

Now for the descent - but first the dreaded ascent back out of the town. But somehow (?), Mr Google bypassed the town and we had an easy exit and then somehow again (!) we descended a different way - not so steep as the way we came up (go figure) and we had the most beautiful ride back down hardly touching the brakes sweeping around bends, hardly any traffic and the most glorious views - only stopped once for a photo!

It was by now well after 5:30 pm and I had thought earlier how mad we were to be going up in the hottest part of the day but frankly we would never have made it back in time if we hadn’t left when we did.

Back down at river level, we cycled across a different bridge to reach Regua; it had been closed earlier due to the bike race. Enjoyed a beer/wine at a cafe near the river then got lost several times getting back to our apartment (via the supermarket to buy a Large bottle of water for 0.83€!).

Showered and out for dinner quite late about 8:30 pm or so - very local restaurant where no-one spoke English. We had fries, black beans (recommended by another diner - they were yummy) and 7 (!!) meats which they brought out in stages and sliced off long kebab-type skewers and you indicated how much you wanted and how well-done. Very novel. Loved the cooked pineapple with cinnamon that was served the same way.

Walked back. Fell into bed.

We work out later that Lamego is at 500m altitude (Régua at the river is at 70m)!!! Cycled 33 kms (I think).

And we could have caught a bus!!!