Smurfy Semana Quatro: Portugal

August 2010, by Tom

Portugal

We reached the border between Spain and Portugal with a recognisable border sign - an EU blue circle of stars with a large PORTUGAL in the middle. We were in uncharted territory!

First point of call, to replenish our dried up sea-bodies, was a spot of wild camping on a beautiful beach an hour down the Portuguese coastline, just south of Viana do Castelo. After the busy crowded beaches of the north coast of Spain, our first impressions of Portugal were that of a quieter, more peaceful, more rugged version of Spain. Our beach was nearly deserted - except for the constant flow of kite surfers. The skyline was littered with these large inflatable kites, attached via ropes to their wet-suited bearers who jumped and slid across the surf on top of a small kind of surfboard. We were impressed. They would rock up with their gear strapped to their backs and would be catching the coastal breeze within minutes.

One thing we noticed the further west we went was the water temperature was decreasing at a rate of knots. The water was almost as cold as Wellington's warmest! It was also very windy. The locals would erect windbreaks and hide behind them catching their rays. It almost felt like home - except that the temperatures were still in the 30's and the sun didn't burn you in 5 minutes flat.

After replenishing our salted bodies it was time to get a little cultural. We headed south some more and reached Porto. Porto is up there as one of our favourite cities. It was fantastic. Our coastal campsite was a relaxing 12k bike ride from Porto along some well laid out bike lanes. We relaxed along the waterfront in front of the old port carrying boats enjoying our picnic lunch, with a view of Porto old town in the distance. After lunch, we crossed one of the main bridges to the old town and undertook a pleasant but extremely hot (36 degrees!) walking tour outlined in the lonely planet. This took us up to the top of Ribeira, the old town, and climbing up Torre de Clerigo's to take in the view of Porto from above.

In need of some shade and a bit of a cool down, we grabbed an ice-cream and crossed back over the bridge (and watched the local boys jumping into the river from the bridge top!) to start getting familiar with the main reason why we came to Porto - the port! We first sampled a few chilled white ports from a cafe before joining an English speaking tour of Calem, one of the many port warehouses along the riverside. Here we learnt that port was actually invented by the Brits - their love of wine but their inability to create their own meant they had to rely on their allies to provide them with their tipple. Portugal has had ties with Britain for centuries and it was here in Porto that the main supply of wine was sought. To ensure that the wine would arrive through its sea voyage in a drinkable condition, they started to fortify the wine by adding a percentage of brandy to the wine. Genius or lunacy? Does it matter when the outcome is so tasty. We sampled the various types at Calem including our favourite - the Tawny. Unfortunately they didn't let us drink the expensive stuff - the 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old stuff, so we bought ourselves a bottle of the 10 year Tawny to sample ourselves. Yum.

After the port tour we were a little stonkered so we biked back to Smurfy for quiet night in.

The following day we decided to stray from the coastline once more and head inland along the Douro valley to one of the main areas where the port wine is created. We aimed for a small town called Pinhao and after arriving at a tiny village with the locals giving us funny glances we realised we programmed TomTom with the wrong town with the same name. An hour later, after an incredible hilly drive through perfectly sculptured vineyards each named with large billboards of their owners (we saw Tailor's, Calem, Graham's, Cockburn's to name a few) we reached the Pinhao we were looking for. There wasn't much to see or do in Pinhao town so we asked around and got a few tips from some locals as to which direction we should head on our tasting tour.

First up was a small little winery called Quinta de la Rosa. Owned by an English family who inherited the vineyard from a grandparent. We felt rude as we had interrupted the lady owners quiet Sunday afternoon asking for a tasting, but she obliged, and in the end turned out to be very nice lady, so we walked out with a bottle of our favourite we tasted - another 10 year Tawny. This stuff was fantastic. And if you want to purchase it in NZ, look in Glen Gary's where you will pay a lot more than the 11 euro we paid for our bottle!

Second port of call (no pun intended) was another 40 minutes down the river valley to Quinta Nova. We opted to sit and enjoy a proper tasting (18 euro each however!). The place was magical with views out along the Douro and amazing port to boot. We didn't want to leave, but with expensive room prices and Smurfy in the driveway no doubt turning other punters away, we took to the roads again, and once again bound for the sea breeze to cool our sweaty brows.

We arrived in Aveiro later that night and decided once again to wild camp. Not overly wild this time, as we were parked up next to 30 other larger, white camper vans all doing it on the cheap. It was dinner time, so we wandered the streets for about 5 minutes before settling on a busy seafood restaurant. A good choice. We shared a magnificent fish stew (large chunks of all sorts of different fishes of the sea) and what has to be some of the best bread rolls I have ever had (quite a statement, I know!). We happened to be parked up near these pretty stripped houses were so had to wonder back the next morning to take a few photos. Very pretty. We drove through Aveiro center on our way out and took a snapshot of one of it's two canals which, for what ever reason, gives it the right to be called the "Venice of Portugal".

We beach hopped up the coast a little more before finding Nazare. The campsite was nice. The walk into town wasn't so nice due to roadworks and having to walk down a main road. The dinner was unfortunately a mixed bag. We sat down at a busy, small restaurant after spying a tasty looking skewered dish. The clam entree was tasty but the skewered seafood was overcooked and rubbery. Not to worry, it was our first unfortunate dinner experience so we moved on.

Sintra was our next point of call. With no campsites near the town, we found one on the coast 18km away. We were looking forward to Sintra as it supposedly had a "cool micro climate". The following morning, with a complicated cycle route planned taking us through a national park and over the other side to Sintra, we took off on our 18km journey unbeknown of what lay ahead. The first 10k of the cycle ride was up hill. It was very strenuous to say the least. We biked through a very misty and enchanted forest - and we could already feel the temperature dropping.

Unfortunately things quickly turned pear shaped - first with Gini falling off her bike in a ditch, and earning a grazed and blooded leg for her efforts. Second, with Gini's chain getting stuck and unable to peddle. Even with the help of a passing professional looking cyclist we couldn't budge the chain out from where it was stuck. Poor guy at first tried not to get greased up hands by using a tissue, but ended up fully yanking the chain with his bare hands. Luckily we were at the top of the incline and we were able to coast our way down the hill without peddling all the way to Sintra.

Although we reached Sintra later than we had hoped, we still managed to grab a tasty and uplifting lunch at a French cafe and took a tour through the National Palace of Sintra - which was very cool. We also managed to find a motorcycle shop which was able to free the chain from it's stuckness but unfortunately Gini's bike was down to one gear. Weary and exhausted, we slowly made our way up and over the hill and back to the campsite - all on one gear. Greatly needed exercise, I'm sure!

With our time in Portugal nearing it's end, we had a couple of hours left to try and soak up Lisbon. What little time we spent here we really enjoyed. Two cable car rides through the small alleyways and steep hills, an incredible lunch at a new-age style cafe and a brisk walk through the Castle's ramparts. We're definitely putting Lisbon on the cards for another visit at a later date.

We throughly enjoyed our week in Portugal. It unexpectedly impressed us at every corner. I could perhaps describe it as a more civilised, quieter and more refined little brother to Spain. It's differences to it's neighbour quite surprising given it's location. The campsites we stayed at were all consistently fantastic - with swimming pools to cool off in and WIFI rooms to update our journals with.

Portugal, we shall return (and perhaps so shall Smurfy?!?)!

T
The border! At least it was obvious this time.

The border! At least it was obvious this time.

The sky was littered with kite surfers.

The sky was littered with kite surfers.

A beautful sunset at our wild camping spot.

A beautful sunset at our wild camping spot.

The old port carrying vessels

The old port carrying vessels

More port tasting. Such an amazing setting.

More port tasting. Such an amazing setting.