We left Baiona for the short hop into Portugal. First stop Viana do Castelo.

New country smile! Neither of us had been to Portugal.
As we approached the breakwater at Viana do Castelo we could see all these pretty kites racing up and down on the other side. We had little wind, but on the other side there was a concerning amount of breeze fueling a very active wind sports community.
A little way along the river the wind had largely died at the visitors pontoon.

By coincidence, our handstand teacher from Newtown in Australia was living in Viana do Castelo and he suggested discovering an old monastery in the surrounding hills.

It didn’t take Bernie long to find the ruins
It looked like a movie set
Its been a while since it was in use

As we were staying for a few days to meet up with our Newtown friends we moved Away to the inner harbour, next to a big white ship that was now a museum. The Gil Eannes had served as a hospital and resupply ship to the Portuguese cod fishing fleet in the North Atlantic.

They were lucky to have such a good looking boat parked next door
The Gil Eannes had wards for sick mariners, sick officers, contagious people as well as a lab, an operating theatre and even an x-ray room.
We visited our handstand teacher and tried not to mention how few handstands we have done since leaving Sydney (he’s the older one)

Next stop Porto. We arrived at dusk and found ourselves a parking spot in a marina that largely served tourist boats and the large river cruising boats that ply the inland waterways.

All the streets in Porto are steep leading down to the river. We managed to photograph the only flat one…

A half day tour from Porto took us to the Duoro valley, a famous wine making region.

The scenery was spectacular and the architecture distinctly Portuguese, but the aridness and gum trees reminded us of Australia. Portugal took gum trees from Australia in the 19th century for pulp production and they are now a common sight. We may have neglected to mention how well they burn and they now have a significant bush fire problem, or a market for bush fire expertise depending on how you look at it.

We visited a small (7000 bottle a year) vineyard that had been in the family for 6 generations. They only supplied to a few local restaurants and Australian tourists who enthusiastically sample way too much wine.

If you happen to be there at the right time of year you can help crush the grapes in these stone tubs putting your own personal stamp on the vintage.
How often do you get to hug the man who makes your wine? He spoke no English and we no Portuguese but we soon connected over google translate and a little vinho tinto
Back in Porto we visit one of the street BBQ restaurants in the old town where stern old ladies grill your lunch in the midday heat.
Yummy fresh fish straight off the BBQ!

We were told by a local that Porto is the true heart of Portugal, and Lisbon is more part of Africa. Next time we discover if is Lisbon’s heritage for ourselves and we search for big waves in Nazare…