Day 17 - Another wonderful day in Porto

Today was our last day to explore Porto, as everything changes after today. To take advantage of being in a city famous for its port wine, we started the morning visiting one of the many port houses, Boeira, which was associated with the hotel where we stayed — and the tasting was complimentary as well! If you have never had port wine, it is like a little sip of heaven.

From there, we took a long walk along the Gaia side of the Douro River to visit another famous port house, Ramos Pinto, recommended by a member of the Sacramento Pilgrims group. Walking through Porto is an experience in itself — narrow cobbled sidewalks, noisy cobblestone streets, and rows of tightly packed buildings, many either in disrepair or under renovation. It is amazing how many historic structures in the city are still awaiting restoration.

Once we reached the riverside, the atmosphere shifted into a lively tourist district filled with shops, restaurants, and attractions. The gelato was especially delicious, but the real highlight of the day was the visit to Ramos Pinto.

The experience was part museum, part historical tour, telling the story of the Ramos Pinto brothers, Adriano and António. Having come from the famous Sandeman organization, they wanted their new port wine business to stand apart from the other producers already established in Gaia. While most companies focused on exporting to Europe, Ramos Pinto concentrated heavily on Brazil. They also changed the way port was marketed and exported by bottling the wine instead of shipping it in casks, allowing them to create colorful, eye-catching labels and distinctive branding.

António focused on the production side of the business, while Adriano handled marketing and accounting, thriving on numbers and promotion. Their creativity and innovation made the company unique for its time.

The tour felt like stepping back in history. We walked through preserved office spaces filled with original cabinetry, equipment, office stations, and beautifully preserved marketing posters. Even the executive washroom was incredibly ornate. Some of their advertising campaigns were considered provocative for the era, featuring religious imagery and partially clothed or nude women. One memorable poster showed Adam trying to choose between women or port wine, while another depicted the serpent offering Eve a glass of port instead of the forbidden apple.

The building itself dates back to 1708 and was renovated around 1890. The separate stained-glass office spaces of Adriano and António Ramos Pinto still contain the original wallpaper and furniture dating back to about 1910.

From the museum area, we descended into the cellars where approximately 600 casks of port are stored, including white, tawny, ruby, and multiple reserve varieties dating back decades. The cellar holds nearly three million liters of port and is one of only two cellars operated by the company.

An interesting detail we learned was that once the casks are no longer used for port, they are sent to friends in Scotland to be reused for whisky production, giving the barrels an incredibly long life. The warehouses are located in Gaia because this side of the river averages about four degrees cooler than Porto itself, and historically the taxes were also lower here.

After returning to our hotel to collect our luggage and backpacks — and enjoying a quick pizza lunch — we moved to our departure hotel on the north side of the river, an area with a much more modern, city-like feel, yet still offering beautiful views of the skyline.

Calling it an early night after a quick drink, we finished the day preparing for the beginning of our Camino adventure, which starts tomorrow with an approximately 26-kilometer walk to Póvoa de Varzim.

Buen Camino!Read more