We followed the Duoro river inland, this massive water course is surrounded by steeply, terraced hills full of vines. It was once the main route for the boats carrying barrels of wine from the fertile valleys of the Duoro down to Porto where they would age and eventually become port.

 

We stopped by Cinfaes, right on the waters edge surrounded by sweet smelling wisteria and under a weeping willow. We had sundowners at the local hotel overlooking the river and on our way home stopped at the local ‘shop’. This turned out to be a little old lady’s front room where she sells some bits and bobs. Our wine container was a water bottle filled with the local vintage. Our perfect day was topped off with the sighting of an otter at sundown, clambering in and out of the jetties a few metres away from the van.

 

The river has some great walking opportunities and the next day we followed a path along it for a few hours. This was a revelation as we experienced some extraordinary acoustics along its course. At one house a radio was playing, this was amplified and distorted for miles down the river until you could hardly make out the songs being played. The route also provided us with refreshments from the many orange trees and freshwater springs, nature providing at its best!