I had a dreadful night! It was so windy, I was really quite worried. Richard tried to reassure me that we wouldn’t blow over but Kiwi was rocking around so much, I wasn’t too sure he was right! I played on my iPad until about 3am when I finally fell asleep with exhaustion. When I woke up all was calm.
Rio went for a quick walk on the beach before we set off.
Costa Nova is known for it’s coloured houses so we had a quick stop to take some photos, they really are lovely.
It was then a quick supermarket stop then we were off. We only had a short hop today to Porto. We couldn’t check in our site until 2pm so stopped by a lake (actually it was an overgrown pond) for lunch.
We realised that Rio wasn’t well. He seemed to be very lethargic, rather floppy and with a hot dry nose. He had been eating something on the beach in the morning and I was worried he might have been poisoned. I googled ‘vet near me’ which happened to be a 24 hour vet hospital. I took him in and there was a vet at reception who whisked him away. I was called in and told that he had been eating faeces! There was still some in his mouth 🤢 The vet then did an xray and bloods. The bloods were fine but the xray showed that his stomach was full of sand which was making him feel unwell. He was given some medicine to take and we allowed to leave. The vet and receptionist spoke very good English so we were very lucky. They were such lovely people.
We carried on our journey into Porto and found our site. It’s a very strange place, basically its built in someone’s garden in a very built up area. It’s really lovely with 10 individual pitches. There is a heated salt water pool, a kitchen to share and a very nice barbecue area. Even the washing machine and tumble drier are free.
After check in we were given a glass of wine as a welcome and invited to a wine tasting at 5pm, which, of course, we duly attended.
After a dry and quite pleasant day, the rain started around 6pm and is set in for a couple of days - just the time we were in Porto.
69 miles
Istas Garden - Search4sites
Istas Garden, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto - Friday March 21st
Oh boy did it rain in the night. We were parked under a palm tree and the rain was weighing down the fronds which were tapping on the roof right above our heads!! Chinese water torture!
Rio was back to normal today. It seemed that his medication had done its job. I had been really worried that whatever he had been eating on the beach the day before might have been toxic.
We went into Porto to meet my third cousin - we share the same great, great, grandfather. Kathy and her husband, Michal, moved to Porto from Vancouver three years ago. We discovered each other through Ancestry and have communicated for about four or five years now. We went to Vancouver in 2022 but she was in Portugal. She went to London last year but we were in New Zealand, but we finally made it today.
The weather couldn’t really have been much worse! We met in the pouring rain and walked to a cable car which took us down to the waterfront where the Port warehouses are. It looked very attractive but the rain really spoilt it. We stopped for a coffee then wandered up to the Don Luis I bridge. The bridge is a double deck metal arch bridge that spans the river Douro. When it was opened in October 1886, its 172 metres (564 feet) span was the longest of its type in the world.
Moored up along the river wall were quite a few strange looking boats. These are Rabelo boats which used to transport port wine from the Douro Valley to the cellars of Porto. Native to the Douro region, they don’t exist in any other place in the world.
We walked over the lower deck of the bridge and then took the Funicular dos Guindais to the upper part of Porto. The funicular was first opened in 1881 but in 1883 there was a serious accident which occurred when a loose car crashed into the lower platform of the Dom Luís I Bridge. Despite the dramatic nature of the incident, there were no fatalities. Though the company intended to reopen the funicular after the accident, the adverse conditions following the financial crisis of 1891 prevented this. The present funicular was opened in 2004 which I was very grateful for as the trek to the upper town looked steep!
We walked back to Kathy and Michal’s flat and spent a really lovely afternoon chatting, drinking wine (and beer) and eating some local cheeses and other foods. We should have been sightseeing but the rain had put paid to that!
We got another Uber back to the site and hunkered down.
Will the weather be any better tomorrow for a “second” day of sightseeing?
Istas Garden, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto - Saturday March 22nd
Er, guess what? It rained again! I know - it’s getting boring, isn’t it? But, as the phrase of the moment says, it is what it is.
We said goodbye to Kathy, Michal had left us after breakfast, and headed back to Kiwi where we spent a quiet evening.
We really enjoyed our time in Porto, it was just such a shame about the weather. I’ve now met a second cousin (in Boston) and a third cousin (in Porto) and have really enjoyed their company. We look forward to another visit to Porto in the coming years.
Rio went for a quick walk on the beach before we set off.
Costa Nova is known for it’s coloured houses so we had a quick stop to take some photos, they really are lovely.
It was then a quick supermarket stop then we were off. We only had a short hop today to Porto. We couldn’t check in our site until 2pm so stopped by a lake (actually it was an overgrown pond) for lunch.
We realised that Rio wasn’t well. He seemed to be very lethargic, rather floppy and with a hot dry nose. He had been eating something on the beach in the morning and I was worried he might have been poisoned. I googled ‘vet near me’ which happened to be a 24 hour vet hospital. I took him in and there was a vet at reception who whisked him away. I was called in and told that he had been eating faeces! There was still some in his mouth 🤢 The vet then did an xray and bloods. The bloods were fine but the xray showed that his stomach was full of sand which was making him feel unwell. He was given some medicine to take and we allowed to leave. The vet and receptionist spoke very good English so we were very lucky. They were such lovely people.
We carried on our journey into Porto and found our site. It’s a very strange place, basically its built in someone’s garden in a very built up area. It’s really lovely with 10 individual pitches. There is a heated salt water pool, a kitchen to share and a very nice barbecue area. Even the washing machine and tumble drier are free.
After check in we were given a glass of wine as a welcome and invited to a wine tasting at 5pm, which, of course, we duly attended.
After a dry and quite pleasant day, the rain started around 6pm and is set in for a couple of days - just the time we were in Porto.
69 miles
Istas Garden - Search4sites
Istas Garden, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto - Friday March 21st
Oh boy did it rain in the night. We were parked under a palm tree and the rain was weighing down the fronds which were tapping on the roof right above our heads!! Chinese water torture!
Rio was back to normal today. It seemed that his medication had done its job. I had been really worried that whatever he had been eating on the beach the day before might have been toxic.
We went into Porto to meet my third cousin - we share the same great, great, grandfather. Kathy and her husband, Michal, moved to Porto from Vancouver three years ago. We discovered each other through Ancestry and have communicated for about four or five years now. We went to Vancouver in 2022 but she was in Portugal. She went to London last year but we were in New Zealand, but we finally made it today.
The weather couldn’t really have been much worse! We met in the pouring rain and walked to a cable car which took us down to the waterfront where the Port warehouses are. It looked very attractive but the rain really spoilt it. We stopped for a coffee then wandered up to the Don Luis I bridge. The bridge is a double deck metal arch bridge that spans the river Douro. When it was opened in October 1886, its 172 metres (564 feet) span was the longest of its type in the world.
Moored up along the river wall were quite a few strange looking boats. These are Rabelo boats which used to transport port wine from the Douro Valley to the cellars of Porto. Native to the Douro region, they don’t exist in any other place in the world.
We walked over the lower deck of the bridge and then took the Funicular dos Guindais to the upper part of Porto. The funicular was first opened in 1881 but in 1883 there was a serious accident which occurred when a loose car crashed into the lower platform of the Dom Luís I Bridge. Despite the dramatic nature of the incident, there were no fatalities. Though the company intended to reopen the funicular after the accident, the adverse conditions following the financial crisis of 1891 prevented this. The present funicular was opened in 2004 which I was very grateful for as the trek to the upper town looked steep!
We walked back to Kathy and Michal’s flat and spent a really lovely afternoon chatting, drinking wine (and beer) and eating some local cheeses and other foods. We should have been sightseeing but the rain had put paid to that!
We got another Uber back to the site and hunkered down.
Will the weather be any better tomorrow for a “second” day of sightseeing?
Istas Garden, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto - Saturday March 22nd
Er, guess what? It rained again! I know - it’s getting boring, isn’t it? But, as the phrase of the moment says, it is what it is.
We had a very chatty Uber driver to take us into Porto. He obviously wanted to practice his English, but he was pretty much fluent. He also spoke French and Spanish.
We met Kathy and Michal for breakfast then jumped on a hop on hop off bus. We went up top but only because it had windows and a roll back roof - which was firmly shut! There was a commentary but Kathy’s was much better and it also meant that we didn’t have to listen to the awful music!
On public transport in many European countries dogs have to be in a pet carrier to be allowed on buses, trains or trams. Fortunately Rio is small enough and light enough to go in one.
Back on the bus to where we started then to a little supermarket. As we were walking there we could hear drums banging so were intrigued to see what it was all about. Well I still don’t know what it was all about but Kathy said it was something to do with the Socialist Party. Yes, there were drums but then there were two rather weird looking dummies dancing around - very random!
We met Kathy and Michal for breakfast then jumped on a hop on hop off bus. We went up top but only because it had windows and a roll back roof - which was firmly shut! There was a commentary but Kathy’s was much better and it also meant that we didn’t have to listen to the awful music!
On public transport in many European countries dogs have to be in a pet carrier to be allowed on buses, trains or trams. Fortunately Rio is small enough and light enough to go in one.
Can you see Rio in his pet carrier?
We got off at the Farolim de Felgueiras (lighthouse) and watched the waves crash over the breakwater. It was very impressive. The first photo is Kathy’s, who is a photographer and the other is mine!
Back on the bus to where we started then to a little supermarket. As we were walking there we could hear drums banging so were intrigued to see what it was all about. Well I still don’t know what it was all about but Kathy said it was something to do with the Socialist Party. Yes, there were drums but then there were two rather weird looking dummies dancing around - very random!
We said goodbye to Kathy, Michal had left us after breakfast, and headed back to Kiwi where we spent a quiet evening.
We really enjoyed our time in Porto, it was just such a shame about the weather. I’ve now met a second cousin (in Boston) and a third cousin (in Porto) and have really enjoyed their company. We look forward to another visit to Porto in the coming years.
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