Morning at Mateus Palace

I woke up at first light to a bright blue sky, but something wasn't quite right. The river was running in the opposite direction to the way I thought we were heading. Only later did I learn that at the Caes de Regua ships are required to park facing upstream on the left bank and down stream on the right, confirmed later by our ship doing a 180 degree turn on its axis in a wide stretch of river.

After breakfast, a 25 minute coach trip to the Mateus Palace estate,  outside Vila Real, famous for its pink wine for as long as either of us can remember. A family manor house built in the 18th and 19th centuries with an elaborate Italianate rococco chapel alongside it, and extensive English and French style gardens., plus a new section of organic garden, celebrating biodiversity. 

The mansion is well known in the world at large as its image appears in Mateus branded wine labels. The traditional form of bottle, a beloved accessory in sixties UK as a lamp base or candlestick was modelled on an 18th century soldier's water canteen. An early triumph in brand marketing. Tours of the house were beautifully organised, given the limited space, and informative. The Mateus dynasty's noble founder was a professional military man, educated in Germany, inspired by Enlightenment ideas to be a social reformer and cultural entrepreneur, who spent a decade as governor of the colony Sao Paolo in Brazil, where he founded the opera house in the late 18th century. He was also a high ranking officer in the Peninsula wars, ousting Napoleon's army from Portugal.

We returned from Vila Real in time for lunch, and while we were eating the ship turned around in a wide stretch of river to take us on the last leg of the return journey to Porto. Our attention was drawn to the change in landscape as we travelled south west out of the higher mountainous region into a region that's more exposed to Atlantic winds and weather. It was noticeable in the differences in trees and vegetation. 

Wine is still the major crop but the patterns in which vines are planted looks different. In every case the angle of the hillside, its height and the type of grape used determine what is more productive. Villages are more frequent, and there are stretches of waterside with beaches and inlets with marinas, holiday homes and camp sites out in the countryside. At half past three we passed through the 35m Carrapatelo lock. I recorded the sound of water draining from the lock as the ship descended to the next level. At the Cais do Leverinho we moored for the night, within sight of Crestuma lock, the last of the five we have passed through in both directions.

We received a briefing about tomorrow's sightseeing options in Porto. It was confusing with too much information delivered at once, followed by another briefing on dis-embarcation proceedings. Two of the four flights require a very early start, our flight is in the evening. We'll be taken to an hotel near the port and given lunch, and set free to do what we like until it's time to take the coach to the airport. It's all very well thought out.

An apero was served before supper with an opportunity to toast the health of the staff teams and say thank you, We were then treated to another five course dinner with a beef main course (yet again!) and a different but well matched red wine to drink with it. All very well done, well intended, but far more than we needed at the end of such an eventful gastronomic week. I'm already looking forward to returning to simpler fare at home, guaranteed organic and dairy free. To be fair, tonight's menu was in effect dairy free, apart from an amuse bouche of camembert. We asked, but that's the only reason why we know.

After an idle afternoon I was mildly desperate for exercise after we'd eaten so I got off the ship and paced up and down the quay for twenty minutes, A Portuguese folk group was performing when I got back on board. I listened to a few songs, then joined Clare in our cabin, to write up the day and get an early night, overwhelmed and drained by so much stimulus. This is our third cruise, and all have been enjoyable in different ways, but truth be told, apart from the impressive organisation that makes things go as well as they do, I'm not really into package holidays at all. It's too exhausting.