Beautiful Porto

Arriving in Porto this morning was like a dream- I’m so happy to be back! We were blessed with mild weather and sunny skies- a perfect day to explore the city. Luke and I dropped our backpacks off at our hotel which was in the heart of the Ribeira district and decided since we were literally on the banks of the Douro that an early morning river cruise sounded fun. Today we’re allowing ourselves to be a little touristy! We boarded an old wooden boat and enjoyed cruising and admiring the views of Porto, the 6 bridges, and the quaint town of Vilanova de Gaia on the opposite side of the river. The ancient boats (called rabelos) that were used to transport the sweet wine famous here are moored along the river banks and make such a charming scene. There were lots of people out and about with us enjoying the day and the late summer weather. When we docked we walked over the Don Luis I bridge (along with many of the other tourists) and checked out some of the wine cellars- it was too early to drink but fun to see the old casks and wine making equipment! We made our way back to the Ribeira district with its narrow medieval streets and took a funiculaire ride to the upper city. From every part of the city you can see the towers of the Sé or Cathedral of Porto because it was built so high up on an ancient fortress. It’s such an impressive church full of art and beautiful tiles and our visit there was wonderful. We offered prayers asking for safety on our pilgrimage and purchased our pilgrim credential which we will have stamped along our journey. We made our way next to the lively Sǎo Bento train station ( built over an old convent!) to admire the over 20,000 blue and white tiles that document the history of Portugal- it was a busy busy place with lots of travelers making their way . This afternoon we strolled through outdoor markets, ate yummy street food, made a side trip to Decathalon to buy hiking poles and ended up back at the hotel tired but ready to get on the road in the morning. I’m falling asleep as I write tonight- I can hear laughter and conversations from the restaurants below us and traditional Fado music playing in the distance- it’s so good to be back in Portugal and I’m excited for our pilgrimage to begin!Baca lagi