After two slow, relaxing and recharging days in Porto that allowed us both to catch up on some work and clean our dirty clothes, we rode the ferry/river boat up the Douro into the port growing region. The ride on the boat was 7 hours and Lorie made quick friends with some French folks and she was signing drinking songs by the time the ride finished in Pesa da Regua. More on that later. A short ride from the dock to use to a Portuguese vineyard, Quinta de Marroccos sitting above the river. We are staying in the farmhouse, which dates from the 17th century and which is stunningly beautiful set among 30 hectares of vines that are hundreds of years old.
The stay included a walk through the vineyards and winery production area (harvest began today) with the owner, Cesar Augusto Correia de Saqueira, an absolutely charming man who is a character beyond compare and who alone deserves an entire blog post. There are others here who joined us at the Qunita: a German couple who are kayaking the river; an Irish couple who are touring the wine country and a couple from Quebec who are backpacking through the area. An international group that had a lot of fun and laughs, and a lot of port, too.
I'll post more later, but for now here is a photo of the owner, Cesar, at a port tasting session where he taught us a little bit about his craft that he has practiced for a long time.
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| Cesar Augusta |
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| Hitting the road after a great breakfast |
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| Doug with the owner of the casa -- she is a great sport and I offered to go for a ride around the block but a photo was enough! |
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