Chanceleiros

The rain returned, so we decided that today was the day to take the chug chug train up the Douro to the end of the line, Pocinho. It goes through a part of the river where the train is the only access, and it is quite beautiful. We had a late breakfast and made our way to the train station for an 11:30 train. We were not the only tourists who were doing this, and it involved an hour ride, a half hour wait, and an hour return. Every inch of it along the river. Turns out we had very little rain and lots of nice views, even in the late fall. Some of the grape leaves are still green, others are red, others are yello, others are brown, and still others have fallen off. It makes for a pretty palate.

Getting back into Pinhao around 2 pm meant we had a late lunch. We ate just a few little empanadas of chicken and tuna, knowing that we were in for another big meal tonight back at the hotel.

By the time we were done with lunch, the rain had stopped totally and the sky was dotted with big clouds, little clouds, grey clouds, dark clouds, white clouds. We decided to take about an hour drive up into the vineyards and had some pretty amazing views along with a few walks through open vineyards (we figured the owners wouldn’t mind if we walked through the vineyards instead of along the very narrow highway).

So that was the sum total of our day — no Roman anything, no medieval cities, no megalithic necropolis! Relaxing and plenty of fresh air with beautiful views. The Douro Valley is really one of my favorite places.Read more