EUROPE BLOG April 24th, 2023 - DOURO VALLEY

4/24/23- We begin our day by taking an Uber to the airport rental car place of SIXT around 9am. I wait patiently for the lady in front that zooms ahead and when our turn comes up I find that we are at the wrong rental location. Apparently this is the off-airport site. So, this is how our day will begin… got it!

The airport shuttle to the other location is not far and it takes us there in mere minutes, give or take a few with all of the police presence directing traffic (still unsure what that’s about). I take a number, wait my turn and after a few clicks of a button from the person behind the counter we’re in our SUV and ready to go. I did mention about going to the wrong location before arriving and she says, “It happens all the time.” Well, if it happens all the time then perhaps you should change something around to avoid future confusion.

We’ve had a few times this trip where we cancelled our rental car due to bad weather, so this is the first I’ll be driving in awhile, and definitely a first for Portugal. The highway is very easy to navigate and everything looks smooth. Phone chargers… check! Full tank… check! Toll box… check! Tire pressure? *waits* Tire pressure? Yup, 30 minutes into the drive the front tire blows. Uncheck!

I pull over, see the tire flatter than a pancake and check the trunk for a spare. Whew! Spare is there with a jack. Unfortunately, the side of the road is not very safe with very little shoulder room and trucks whizzing by every so often. Sharece gets out and helps direct traffic around me as I go to work. There’s even another motorist that stops to make sure all is okay, which we thought was extremely nice.

My handyman skills are on full tilt as I get the spare on rather quickly, and soon we’re back on the road. We still have another 45 minutes to our destination so hoping everything holds together okay. Duct-tape… check!

The clouds are out and the rain soon falls, but only a bit here and there before going through a long tunnel. Once on the other side, the sky starts to open up once more as if we transported to another place. The hills are rolling and the valley is spectacular to see. It’s not long before we hit the town of Peso da Regua and the vineyards of Quinta Seara d’Ordens. The drive up the hillside is even more beautiful as we stop our rental car several times to take photos of the vast vineyards that slope down the valley. When we arrive at the winery, however, we’re immediately greeted by an employee asking if we have a reservation. When we explain we don’t her face goes sour with disappointment.

There isn’t any space in the tasting room; however, she does make accommodations for us to taste a few of their Port wines at the front desk. We’re very thankful and enjoy the 20 year old Tawny’s. We would’ve bought a bottle if they seated us, but at least they didn’t charge.

We drive to the next winery location that shows open on their website only to see no entry door anywhere. This same thing happens with the next two places as well, and I’m beginning to wonder if we have to make a reservation for all. Not discouraged, we continue our sight-seeing.

It takes us around 25 minutes to get to the viewport of Sao Leanardo de Galafura, and this was amazing. You can see the entire valley laid out with the Douro River cutting through. Satisfied with our photos, we try one more town (about 30 minutes away) called Pinhao. This is the stopping point of the train from Porto so you’d think they’d have to have something there. On the way, we did have to maneuver around a road blocked by sheep herded by dogs.

At first when we arrive, the town looks dreary with old buildings lining the water front and not much else. Parking is also an issue, but we find a space on the other side of the small town, which happens to be near a wine tasting spot called Quinta Do Bomfin. Eureka, this place is actually open and allows walk-in tastings. Score! As we’re escorted to the balcony, we pick a table with a perfect view of the vineyards and river (including cruise boats overloaded with tourist), order 2 glasses of Tawny Port, and relax while enjoying the subtle breeze. Unsure if we’ll find another place to go, as it’s already around 3pm, we order 4 more glasses of Port (trying their White and Ruby styles) and are feeling pretty good in no time.

They have two other vintage Ports and allow us to taste each one (with the highest being a 180 Euro bottle). We’re very fortunate to have found this place and all too happy to indulge, but time is getting away from us and we’re now a bit hungry.

On the way to our car, we see a wine bar open. We duck inside, order 2 more glasses of Port (I know, lush) and a meat and cheese platter with bread. Another great find in the middle of nowhere.

Around 5:30pm we say our goodbyes to the vineyards and head back to Porto (this time having the correct car rental address in our navigation). I’m really hoping we make it with the spare tire as it says only 80 kilometers max and we’ll be pushing about 250.

The car makes it without incident, and as we pull in we get stares from the person checking us in. I explain what happened and he proceeds to check the tire for puncture marks (not finding any). He then tells us that is appears the tire may have been going flat before we even drove off the lot. Well, that’s comforting. We did talk with the counter again to explain and ask for possible compensation but were only given an email to complain to, which we already know how much good that’ll probably due. Hey, it made it… the rest is their problem now.

We call an Uber to take us back into town, pick up a beautiful souvenir mug Sharece was eyeing previously, and lock ourselves in our AirBnb for the night. Despite the location mix-up, flat tire and several closed wineries, I wouldn’t change a thing. It was that good of a day.

*Side note – at midnight of April 25^th, be prepared for fireworks here that are loud and ever expanding.