Europe 2021: Duoro Valley

Europe 2021:

Duoro Valley

The Duoro Valley in Northern Portugal is a long and picturesque region that follows the river for which it's named. It's a working wine region, much more spectacular than Napa, that doesn't feel touristy while being very open to tourists. We stayed here for a few days before continuing our journey by heading south.

There are a number of places to stay in the area, but we chose the centrally located town of Pinhao as our base camp. We rented an apartment right in town and right on the water. A lot of people come here by rail or by boat. If you're feeling brave like we were, you can drive. Be prepared though, as the roads are harrowing and not at all for the faint of heart. It's basically one lane wide with blind curve after blind curve and no guardrails with one side of every road being a wall of grapevines and the other being a sheer drop off.....into grapevines. If you go over the edge, you won't stop for a long time. The good news is that if you survive you won't starve while waiting to be rescued from whatever grapevine or olive tree you end up in.

Our hosts left some welcome snacks for our arrival, including wine!

They left the fridge stocked as well.

We loved our apartment. It was huge by European standards, with two bedrooms and a very large living room. There was also a small balcony to enjoy the passing water traffic. It was in great condition, but had a retro feel which we actually enjoyed in this case. The owner left us fresh bread and provisions at our door every morning as well. 

You see these special vineyard trucks everywhere. They're narrow, which is really by necessity around here.

It is fascinating how every meter of land seems to have grapes (or olives occasionally) growing on it. 

I think she was just hugging the Caddy, but what she might as well have been doing was demonstrating how wide our little VW felt in the valley. The roads here are shockingly narrow!

The town is completely walkable and felt very safe. It's not a big place.

We dined at restaurants around town for the most part, and they were all good. Wine is the theme, as you can imagine, and there is an endless supply of locally produced options.

If you want to pay twice as much for food and local wine, there is also an endless supply of vineyards you can visit. We stopped by a few for lunch and refreshments. 

Pretending to be a wine snob (I mean connoisseur) with my Coke at one of the tasting rooms.

If we had stayed in the region much longer I fear Nel's arm would have gotten stuck that way.

Two-fisting it!

Of course, we had to buy wine and then lug it across four countries for the privilege of flying home with it.  

Branelle watching the rain roll in over the valley.

We took a boat ride one day, which is a pretty common thing to do here. 

This was a great stop and we really enjoyed it - Branelle more then me I suppose. During these longer trips, it's nice to stay in one place for a while every now and then.