Yesterday I did my day trip up the Duoro river. On the advice of a helpful person, I did not do the typical tourist circuit for this, which is a 6 hour boat trip upriver to Regua, close to zero “walk around” time, then a train back to Porto. Seriously, it’s practically a tourist trap and barely worth doing.
I ended up winging it and doing my own thing. I took the train all the way to Pinhao and used the time to write the last blog post and finally write postcards to my niece and nephews. It has become a little tradition to send postcards from Aunt Karen when I travel. It’s the kind of thing I would have gotten a kick out of as a kid, so hopefully they like it too. I also bring them back something from wherever I went. I keep seeing things I want to get for them…but I still have some serious hiking to do with my pack…and I just can’t carry that much on my back. I figure I’ll have to get stuff in Lisbon the day before I fly out and I have to get my sister some sour cherry liquor that’s a specialty in Lisbon. I’ll probably pick up a bottle for myself too while I’m at it 😁. Might have to buy a check bag to take home so that I can fill it with stuff 😉.
Anyway….back to the day trip upriver. The train ride was beautiful once you get past Regua. It passes literally along the bank of the river Duoro through the terraced hillsides of the Duoro valley. The terraces and vineyards of the Duoro have even been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
In Pinhao, I walked around a bit up the road to a Quinta (farm/vineyard) where I enjoyed a tasting of their wine and port before I had lunch in their restaurant overlooking the river. When I walked back to Pinhao, I caught a traditional Portuguese boat upriver for a “2 hour tour” 😀(for those of you old enough to get the reference). Alas, all went well and I did not get stranded on an uncharted desert isle. I did enjoy a beautiful cruise through terraced vineyards and olive groves (and yet another glass of port because it was included with the cruise).
It was an absolutely wonderful day. I swear there is a special feeling when you go out on a limb and manage to wear your “big girl pants” and successfully do something a little daring. Just finding the train station on time made me feel accomplished, then the whole day went off without a single hitch and I had had a spring in my step all day.
There’s something about solo travel with it’s difficult moments, and unnerving aspects, and times where it is outright scary…it makes you feel so competent and brave for such tiny little achievements. Find the hotel? YAY! Navigate a new city without getting lost? HOORAH! Get to the train station, figure out where you are going, how to buy a ticket and find the right train all before it leaves? HOT DAMN!
I mean it people, if you want to feel like a total bad-ass, just take a trip by yourself and figure shit out as you go.