11/22 – Goodbye to Journey, Hello to Pinhao

On our way early, our driver is right on time to pick us up at the port (not getting stuck in the self-parking lot this time either!) and has us at the airport in no time. We are happily ensconced in our rental car and on our way north to Pinhao by 9:30a, driving out of the airport, past the cool murals and into the countryside with the fog and cloud enshrouded mountains before us.

It is a relatively easy 4 1/2 hour drive to Pinhao, with a stop in Lamego on the way to explore an old castle ruins there. About 2 hours in, we are ready for lunch, but end up on a stretch of highway that has very little in the way of population or exits. Luckily we find a rest area where we figure we can stop for gas and maybe some snacks from their convenience store – but oh no – we have stumbled on a full service restaurant – A Lampreia – where we feast on our first Bifana of the trip. And what a Bifana it was too – fresh roast beef, amazing sauce, and a huge portion. Of course we finished our meal off with Pasteis de Nata – how could we not!

Then we are back on the road, heading up into the mountains to the town of Lamego, driving through the narrow cobblestone streets with picturesque old buildings, past the Cathedral and through a park with long views up to the Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, finally parking in a lot below the castle grounds.

From there we climbed up the steep hills to reach Castle Lamego, a fortress built in the 10th Century by the Moors, then conquered by the Christians, improved and added onto in the 11th Century and again by the King of Portugal in the 12th Century with stunning views across the countryside – a perfect place for a reinforced defensive position.

Inside the castle walls, we wander around the courtyard then climb the castle Keep, which contains a couple of floors of historical information as well as this totally cool video projected on wall that shows the evolution of the castle. Very fun.

Continuing our climb, we reach the very top of the Keep with excellent views down into Lamego and out across the countryside. You can see why everyone chose this location to set up their fortress.

Back down on the courtyard level, we meander about, snapping pictures here and there, then talking to the docent for a long while – about the castle, the A/V – which we told him was marvelous – and also getting his scoop on what to do here. It’s like having a private tour guide! He tells us to go to the museum down the hill – which opens in about an hour – so before then, he advises to go to the coffee shop on the corner by the museum – best coffee and snacks btw- and then after the museum, go to the Cistern – which he says is really well worth the visit. Ok! We have our whole tour planned out (didn’t even know there was a cistern or a museum, so thank you helpful docent!).

Following our tour guide’s instructions to the letter – we hit the coffee shop – yes, excellent coffee and snacks! – then the museum – which is totally great! While it has tons more informative and interesting info about the history of the city and the area, the best part is that it is basically an archeological dig! The floors are glass so you can see the foundations of the ancient city – as well as a skeleton excavated from a centuries old grave! Totally cool!

Continuing on with our free unguided tour, we walk through the pretty narrow streets of Lamego to the Cistern – another really cool piece of history, built during the Arab rule in the 13th Century and now used for exhibits and performances – with lots more historical information and some great old photos highlighting the Santuário.

Finishing our visits, it is time to make our way to Pinhao, traversing down through the old town – with fantastic views out over the city, the cemetery and the Santuario.

The drive out of Lamego is lovely – and before you know it we are out into the vineyards of the Douro Valley, crossing the one-lane bridge into Pinhao and lucking into an excellent parking space nearby Casa Rocha – our apartment home for the next couple of days.

All settled in, we hit the grocery store for supplies, then later in the evening walk over to Cais de Foz for our Anniversary Dinner reservations. We are early – gee – surprise! – but the lovely hostess lets us in and seats us in the totally empty dining room. We had the place to ourselves for a good long while – a lovely and peaceful Anniversary meal! And what a meal. It was a feast of way too much food. Starting with a shared starter of traditional roasted chorizo served in slices, we continued on the gluttony with and absolutely HUGE octopus for Ed and an an even bigger roasted Pork leg for me. Even sharing we could barely finish it all. Everything was delicious, but still….so much food!