Amarante & Douro Valley, Portugal : Wine Country

Amarante

This little city is about an hour outside of Porto and is full of charm and much more laidback than the bigger cities. If I was looking for a place to get away from the bustle and relax, this would be a good place to stay longer, but I had a quick visit here on the way to Douro Valley for some wine tasting.

Looking at old town. The bridge is where Napoleon’s army was stopped. Bullet and cannon holes in the bridge and Cathedral are preserved.

The reflection of the Cathedral on the ground outside to reflect to heaven.

Inside the Cathedral. It took 80 years to complete, and rather than doing the whole thing in the same style, the entrance is minimalistic and plain while the altar is not. I wonder if it was changing tastes of lack of funds.

After leaving Amarante the bus headed up the mountain in the rain and fog until a tunnel was reached that would take the bus throught the mountain to the otherside where the sun was shining and the temperature increased dramatically.

Douro Valley

Douro Valley is famous in Portugal for being the perfect setting for vineyards, and the landscape is covered with grape, olive, fruit, almond, and other trees.

The highest point overlooking the valley.

I don’t know who this guy is but he is up on a hill overlooking the town where I stopped for lunch. Zorro?

5 dams along the river have significantly raised the water levels in the valley

Wine tasting! @ Kopke. This is the oldest port winery still in exsistence today. It was started in 1638 by a German, Nicolau Kopkë.

Kopke vines- some are hundreds of years old.

As I headed towards the tunnel to bring me back to Porto, I could see the mountains struggling to hold back the clouds from the other side. Apparently, it was still rainy and foggy on the other side of the mountain.

This was a great day trip away from Porto.

Chasing Summer –