DAY 65: Last official day of our Portugal tour
- davidsongrant022
- Aug 24, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 25, 2024
August 17 2024. Porto, Portugal
Today was the official last day of our G Adventure Tour of Portugal. There was free time until 3pm so it was a great chance to explore Porto, we opted for the Hop On Hopp Off Bus which left from right outside our hotel. Porto is a VERY hilly city; you can look at (for example) an historic church that may line of sight look very close BUT to walk there means going up and down 3 very steep hills! My calf still isn't 100% so we figured Hop on Hop Off was the way to go.
Our first stop was the tower of Clerigos Chruch so Jeanette could scoot up the 220 odd stairs and enjoy some spectacular views of the city. While she was doing that, I scouted out a nice little cafe near the church for an 'after climb coffee' - it's an important job! Jeanette enjoyed her climb which she didn't find taxing at all. We had a quiet coffee and not put off by her previous codfish experience Jeanette opted for a fish cake to accompany her drink. She even quite enjoyed it.
Then it was back on the bus and on to our next stop the Palacio de Cristal Gardens and what a find they were. The Super Bock Dome Arena, Porto's major event and entertainment venue was also in the gardens. Super Bock is the 'beer round here' and its marketing is everywhere including on the back of Porto's premier football team. Unlike at home there's obviously no issues with alcohol sponsoring sport here!
The gardens were magnificent and there were some amazing views of the Douro River from various vantage points. It was also quite nice to get out of the central city as lovely as it is and find a quiet peaceful space. The park was very green with lots of shade trees, a big duck pond and some nice walks. From there we headed even further out to the coast where golden sand beaches mixed with regular rocky outcrops greeted us. Right next to the bus stop where we were dropped off there was an old fort. We explored that for a while, the cannons and fortifications were interesting and the views from the top across the golden beaches to the water and beyond were stunning.
Rather than jump back on the bus we decided we would walk along the waterfront boardwalk to the next pick-up point - around a 40-minute stroll. Along the way we came across an awesome promenade and many seaside cafes and restaurants. While it was very tempting to stop for a cold Super Bock, we needed to be back in town by 3pm to meet up with everyone so we pushed on. Again, it was something a bit different and a between the fort and the waterfront walk it was a really cool way to spend an hour or two.
We ended up reaching our rendezvous point, the central square of Porto an hour early, so we were able to enjoy a quiet beer, grab some lunch and relax for a while. There was a really good band playing nearby which added to the relaxed atmosphere. They even had a crazy drummer guy - traditionally so much a feature of the bands that play the streets. We have actually seen very few buskers and street performers on our travels this time which is a shame they add so much colour and can create a great vibe whenever they are preforming.
Once everyone from the tour group had arrived, we did an hour's Douro River cruise where we passed under all 6 Porto bridges. There were excellent views wherever we looked with the added bonus of watching swimmers (mostly kids) jumping off the bridges close up. In fact, when we came off the boat and walked across one of the bridges there were two brothers - one asking people for a 'donation' to watch his sibling jump. They took turns at being collector and jumper and seemed to be doing very well for themselves.
Next stop was a port wine tasting at Porto Agusto's. A third-generation family-owned port producing business. They have their own vineyards and control everything from the beginning to the end of the process. They are one of very few local family-owned port companies left, almost all the Porto Port companies have been bought out by the big multi nationals. We got a very good explanation of the process and then had a very pleasant port tasting. Which included new port, tawny ports and one late pick port. We also had both white and red ports to try. It was good fun with a lot of laughs - which grew significantly louder as the session progressed.
Our evening finished with our official farewell dinner, I opted for veal and vegetables which was very nice. Jeanette was much more adventurous giving octopus a crack, she really enjoyed that also. And then that was that, after 8 awesome days travelling with a great bunch of people it was all over and tomorrow, we go our separate ways.
We can't finish today's Blog without acknowledging our outstanding Tour Director Megane - she did a fantastic job, always with good humour and making sure everyone felt included. We will always appreciate everything she did to make this part of our trip so special and hopefully our paths will cross again one day.
NOTE: You can see Day 1 to Day 62 of our amazing European Adventure at https://www.travelblog.org/bloggers/grantd
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