Sept 24-25
Wednesday
I walked across the Dom Louis bridge and into Porto shortly after 2 PM yesterday. I had a little bit over a kilometer to go and a 3 o’clock appointment with my apartment host Florebela. I decided to get as close as possible and then just wait outside until she arrived to let me in.
Turning a corner onto a wide street with sidewalk cafés I saw Dan, Marcia and Eda enjoying a beer in the shade. They invited me to join them and before I could even reply, Dan had requested two cervejas from the server.
After a quick beer and learning that those in town, we’re going to get together that evening for dinner, I headed up the hill to check into my apartment.
Florebela was an effervescent lady. Maybe 4 foot 10, wearing bright colored clothes and speaking very loudly. We walked up four flights of stairs to my apartment and showed me around. I have a lovely view of the city, but mostly of the five story parking garage adjacent to the apartment. It will be nice having a private bath, a kitchen, a living room with a TV and a soft comfy bed for the next two nights.
I took a shower and then washed every piece of clothes I’ve worn so far on the trail. This meant I was only left with running leggings and a long sleeve wool shirt to wear while my clothes dried on the balcony. Fortunately, the sun was bright and with the light breeze, my clothes were dry within a couple of hours.
I decided to venture down the street and check out the neighborhood. I’m in a very vibrant district of many shops. I found a mini market and bought a can of shaving cream and made a failed attempt at shaving off the beard that’s grown over the last two weeks . I think more blood was shed than hairs were cut.
I got a text from Barney that the group was meeting by river for dinner. I arrived to find Aldo, Dan, Marcia, Eda, Jennifer, Barney, and Mijla already there.
To this point, I haven’t tried any of the seafood that Portugal is famous for, so I decided to have calamari for dinner. It was quite good.
As we were completing our meal, we were joined by young guy named Elliott from Connecticut that Jen and Barney had met earlier in the day. He’s been hiking around Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa for several months. He had been camping in the forest on the other side of the river.
Thursday
I woke up and was extremely slow getting out of bed. Eventually, I remembered the bakery around the corner and decided it was a must for breakfast. I bought a chocolate croissant for breakfast and a beautiful roll to go with the ham and cheese I purchased last night at the mini market 2 doors down from my apartment .
After enjoying my breakfast, I did a little research and plotted my next few days of walking and made reservations.
I walked down the hill with a rough idea of where the Porto Cathedral was, found it without issue and got my pilgrim stamp for the day.
I then continued down dozens of more steps to the river level and crossed over the Dom Louis Bridge to where all of the port warehouses are located. This area just screams tourist trap to me and I am making do with the purchase of a Pepsi while I decide whether or not to take one of the river cruises along the Douro river.
Decision made, I spent €18 for a one hour cruise crossing under the six bridges of Porto. The cruise gave a nice perspective of the city from water level. I met a nice couple from Montreal who were sitting near me.
River cruise photos:
After the cruise, I decided to get some lunch and walked up the row of restaurants until I saw a picture of bolinhos de bacalhau (codfish fritters) – a local specialty and something I had been meaning to try. I also ordered a tasting flight of Ports. Both the fritters and wine were delicious.
After five decent sized tastings I needed to go slow. A few paces down the way, a three piece musical group from Brazil was playing an REM cover. I stopped to listen and ended up staying for their full concert.
Time to head home for a shower, nap and phone recharge.
