Welcome to Porto

This morning we arrived at the Aeroporto Francisco Sá Carneiro and a beautiful bluebird day in Porto- the sun was shining and it looked like a perfect day for exploring the city. Joy! After a short metro ride to our hotel, we dropped our backpacks and headed out into the sunshine. We were struck immediately by an imposing church nearby and made a visit to the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa, the neighborhood church. Stunning! We walked towards the old town and happened upon another beautiful church (there would be many today! ) and made another visit. This one was the Igreja de Santissima Trinidade and again was so lovely- full of beautiful statues, art and a quiet reverence and elegance. There were many other pilgrims out today as well as many local residents since the weather was so lovely. Such fun to hear many different languages spoken all around us! The city of Porto is so pretty and the flowers around are beginning to bloom. We walked by colorful houses with tile façades, terra-cotta roofs and wrought iron balconies interspersed with shops and restaurants and small cafés. Every so often the cityscape would open to reveal miradouros (viewpoints) of Porto- so breathtaking! We had lunch of fresh grilled mackerel and potatoes and a little wine then strolled along the Cais de Ribeira, the riverfront promenade along the Douro River. As we walked we saw the colorful barcos rebelos (flat bottomed boats) and enjoyed people watching. After awhile we were able to visit the Church and Museum of Sâo Francisco (also known as The Gold Church) which is dripping in gold leaf and a National monument and UNESCO World Heritage site. It dates to 1383 and is so sumptuous- no pictures allowed but we were amazed by the lavish woodcarvings, the retables, side altars, chapels, sacristy and catatombs- what a treasure! We climbed the escadas do Codeçal (a monster set of 240 steep stairs) and made our way up to the Sé or Cathedral of Porto. It’s high on the hilltop and fortress like and austere but once inside the beauty of the architecture and especially the blue and white tiles really shines. Here we were able to purchase our credentials to document our travels as we walk this ancient pilgrimage- the girls purchased shells for their backpacks too. As night was approaching we made our way back down to the river, crossed the Dom Luis I bridge and enjoyed a flight of port wines followed by a sunset dinner near the river before heading back to a hot shower at the hotel. We walked over 15 miles today and tomorrow we’ll begin working towards our goal - hiking the Camino de Santiago!Read more