Return to Porto

When I woke up at first light and peeped out of the window, there was mist over the river and the quay. A coach sightseeing trip of Porto had been arranged, leaving at eight thirty. Clare had no intention of going, but I thought I would, but by the time we arrived in time for breakfast together, the  coach countdown had started. It was a question of going on the trip or missing breakfast. Breakfast won. I stayed on the ship and enjoyed the final three hours sailing the Douro instead. By the time we entered the Crestuma lock, the sky was cloudless blue and the temperature a pleasant 20C with a light breeze.

It was good to see more riverside beach resorts on our way, and denser populated settlements in Porto's outer suburban sprawl. Buildings on both banks of the river reflect 19th - 20th century industrial growth, and the expansion of warehouse storage for the country's Port wine companies, some of the buildings over 200 years old. The ship passed right through the heart of the city and went down river for a mile or so to turn around at the point where the river widens to meet the sea. 

Thus we passed beneath all six of the city's bridges, one of them, the iconic cast iron Ponte San Luiz was designed  by a student of Gustav Eiffel in the mid 19th century, most of the rest are late 20th or 21st century. At the highest level runs a railway track and a pedestrian path. The city's metro runs frequent services on it today, linking Porto on the north bank with Vila Nova de Gaia on the south, Riviera ships are berthed at Cais de Gaia. 

After arrival, our ship was sandwiched between two others, which meant we no longer had a view from our cabin, which was sad. I left the ship for an exploratory walk along a quay very busy with tourists taking photos of the view, shopping at the dozens of craft and souvenir stalls along the water's edge. Many of the Port companies have a retail front end to their warehouses geared as much to tourists as to buyers in the wine trade. I walked past them all as far as the Pont San Luiz and crossed over the 300 metre span at ground level, busy with road traffic and tourists on narrow pavements both sides taking photos, disrupting the flow of walkers. Across the narrow road from the north end of the bridge there's a funicular railway, rising 150 metres to city centre level, costing six euros. 

On the Gaia side a cable car runs from the quay to the town on the south side. Dozens of boats take tourists up and down river, most have a characteristic design which reflects the shape of the craft which used to transport barrels of Port from wineries up river, used up until the fifties. Things changed when the five hydro-electric barrages were constructed 1960s-70s, removing the need for sailors to steer through dangerous rapids using just huge oars to control their descent. Last night we were shown clips from a 1950s documentary film of the historic wine transporters at work. Nowadays there's an extensive motorway network and wine casks are moved by lorry from wineries to maturing in storage. Along one stretch of the Cais de Gaia two dozen masts host wine company banners. Moored nearby are some well restored examples of historic boats in company livery. Mature confident marketing of premium products is nothing new here. The iconic Sandeman Port branding originated with the company founded in 1790. 

I returned to the ship for lunch, then took Clare out for a walk along the quay before tea. Then it was time to pack our cases ready for an early dis-embarcation in the morning at 09.30am. I had a panic when I couldn't find our little first aid kit, as it wasn;t where I thought I'd left it. I scoured the cabin without it turning up, and wondered if one of the morning shift of cleaners had mistakenly taken as part of her kit, so I reported it to the cruise manager, and returned to the cabin for a third look around. This time I found it, in an obscure place where I'd looked twice before without detecting it. Just as I did so, the head of the cleaning team was at the door with the cruise manager, much to my embarrassment! They were so kind and gracious about it, bless them, for being so good at their jobs and relating to clients. The world needs more people like this, treating each other decently.

Hold baggage must be left outside the cabin door at eight. Four separate colour coded channels of luggage for separate collection. Two flight departures are desperately early. The other two are afternoon and evening, ours the final one at 21.45. We'll be taken from the ship to the Vincci hotel on the Porto side of the river and given lunch before departure for the airport at 17.15. This gives us in effect, five hours freedom to explore Porto on foot or public transport if we with. What a superb piece of logistic organisation. 

We were treated to a final five course dinner this evening and sat with a widowed lady from Swansea, a frequent cruiser, used to travelling alone. For me, a main course of roast duck, which went well with an aromatic red wine and an extra glass of equally fragrant Port to finish. Then back to the cabin to finish packing and make sure the red transit label was securely fixed, ready for the dreaded 08.00 bag drop.