Being Tourists
Today was my only day off from walking, at least as far as heading along the Camino was concerned. In my exploration of the city, I still managed to get 25,000 steps.
It was a pleasant change of pace not to have my bags packed and ready to go by 8:00 a.m. The hotel breakfast was actually pretty good. It's always a nice thing to have the option of eggs in the morning. There was a good selection of pastries and fruit, along with yogurt and cereal.
Today was going to be a little different, in terms of actually spending time with another human being. I met Stacy as she was finishing breakfast, and after a quick trip to the grocery store we walked down the hill toward the tourist area of the city.
On the way we stopped for a couple of little things. I hit the Decathlon sporting goods store to stock up on additional rubber tips for my trekking poles. With all the time on asphalt I was burning through them pretty quickly.
Stacy decided she would take me to a place she had discovered for coffee and natas, a regional custard tart available throughout the city. On the way there, we stumbled into an open-air market full of flowers, fruit, cheeses, and a variety of other things. Next, we walked through the train station. It had an old world feel while being functional and pleasing to the eye.
The sun broke through the clouds for a little while as we arrived at the heart of the tourist area, and the bakery that Stacy favored. I don't know how many of the pastries people normally consume. What I do know is that she bought way too many. Later in the day that would prove to be a good thing.
Caffeinated and loaded with sugar, we crossed the bridge to the Gaia side of the Douros River. As we reached the far side, the sky opened up again while we were trying to get some pictures looking back at Porto. That’s when we met a French couple who ushered us out of the rain. Ollivier and Caroline were lots of fun to speak with. My French is fair at best and Stacy's is somewhat better. Ollivier and Caroline spoke pretty good English. Communicating in two different languages passed the time quickly. The French couple asked Stacy if she and I were a couple. She answered quickly and enthusiastically that we were not. I’m still processing if I should feel insulted by that.
After 45 minutes it was time to go, but a great friendship had developed between Stacy and the couple. In fact, she leaves for France tomorrow and there is an excellent chance she will visit them at their home in Provence. Ollivier is a firefighter specializing in hazmat. He and his wife have some good friends that live about 30 minutes away from me in Florida. There's an excellent chance that I will see them again if they come to the US to visit those friends.
After a quick lunch it was time to head to the meeting point for our port wine tour, near the lower level of the bridge along the waterfront. While heading there we saw a group of boys disrobing, and eventually three of them jumped into the river. Nobody was certain as to why it happened beyond the explanation that boys will be boys. A local resident told us that on occasion people will dive from the bridge's higher span. That seemed a little difficult to believe.
After crossing the bridge I stopped at the Cathedral Se and got a stamp in my credential booklet, and a seashell to hang off my backpack. It was outside that I saw one of the first freestanding markers and the distance on it showed 246 km to Santiago. That’s about 150 miles.
The majority of Portuguese Camino walkers begin here, in Porto. I would honestly say they hadn’t missed much by not starting in Lisbon.
We were at the address for the meeting spot a few minutes early. It seemed a little odd that it was a vacant building and after 15 minutes when no one arrived, I called the tour agency. The actual meeting point was about 50 meters away near some pillars under the bridge. The story gets better. Not only did I not find the correct meeting spot, my tickets were for the next day.
Now, I am fairly certain that I purchased the tickets for Friday, the 21st. When I looked more closely at the tickets they did say Saturday, the 22nd. That would be no use to either myself or Stacy. I would be on the Camino and she would be on her way to France. I believe that when I clicked on the Friday tour, it was full, and rolled me over to Saturday. Then, I accepted that option without checking closely. Or, maybe I did just screw up.
Regardless, it all worked out. They accommodated us in a very positive way. It must have been fate. Because, if I had accepted that the tours were full for Friday, we would never have been able to participate.
The tour itself covered three wineries and seven different varieties of port. In my life, I believe I've had port a total of three times. It's a little overly sweet for me, but being in the town of origin made it mandatory to partake. There were probably another 15 people in the group and everyone was positive and friendly. Alex, our tour leader, knew his stuff. He was entertaining and peppered his descriptions with the usual bad jokes of a seasoned guide. It was a fun experience. I tried to look serious as I followed instructions on how to aerate and sample the port.
Each of the three wineries had a different feel. The first was huge and very commercial. The second was a little more quirky and modern. The third had a long history, but felt a little trendy. On the walk between the last two wineries we saw some street art. That is always a welcome sight.
Alex, our tour guide, cautioned that anyone participating on an empty stomach might have a larger impact from the alcohol content in the port. Luckily, those extra natas Stacy brought along were distributed to some of our fellow tour members and they were very much appreciated.
After the tour concluded around 7:00 p.m., all that was left was to get back across the river, grab a quick dinner, and get back to our respective rooms. I had to prep my stuff for the next day's hiking and Stacy had to make some sort of plan for how she would leave Portugal and get to France.
Despite the rain showers, it was really a great day in a fun city. The people we met were delightful and engaging.
As I finish this entry, I'm getting my head wrapped around walking in the rain tomorrow. It’s promised that I won't spend nearly as much time on roads. No matter how it turns out, it will be another chapter in my Camino adventure. I'm very interested to see who I might be meeting on the way.