May 2019                                            itinerary link                            continue from Day 3

There are so many little(or not so little) historic towns one can visit easily(reachable by 1-2 hour train ride) from Porto, and I considered Braga(population: 136,800) and Viana do Castelo(population: 88,000) but picked Guimaraes(population: 47,500) mainly because Guimaraes  is known as the birth place of Portugal. This is so because it is believed that Portugal’s first King, Afonso Henriques, was born there in 1106(or a little after), and also due to the fact that major political and military events that would lead to the independence(from Spain) and the birth of a new nation of Portugal took place in Guimarães area in 1128.

The train ride(7 euros R/T) from Sao Bento station in Porto to Guimaraes took a little over an hour or so. We were there on a Monday, and the city seemed very quiet when we got off the train and walked into town. It was an easy 10-15 minute walk to the first sign of this UNESCO Heritage Site, Santos Passos Church.(#5 on the map & the train station is south from there) This beautiful church(full name: Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Consolacao e Santos Passos) was almost empty when we visited around 10 AM, but we noticed some tour buses were starting to arrive.

From here to the old town area is straight up the hill but not too stiff. Finding Largo da Oliveira plaza was not hard, and we started exploring the center of town from here just by walking around sticking our head in here and there.

After a half an hour or so, we decided to find the Castle, but it was not as obvious which direction we had to go while we were in the middle of meandering little streets. We noticed a table full of gentlemen sitting in front of a cafe having their morning coffee, and we asked them. A distinguished looking gentleman from that group gestured us to follow him, and we did. After a few minutes, we came to a point where some streets came together. He pointed to one street and gestured us to take that street. We tried to do so, but it was still confusing to figure out exactly where we had to go. He was watching us from behind, then, once again, he took charge and led us. He seemed to know everyone in town. (We joked that he might have been the mayor of this town at some point in his life.) After 5 minutes or so of him leading us slowly up the hill, we could tell the Castle was straight up from there. We thanked him profusely and marched on.

First came Dukes of Braganza Palace(Paço dos Duques de Bragança) which was built around 1420 and is now a part of national museum. We bought the 6 euros combined ticket for this Palace and the Castle next door. Not extravagant but lots of intricate details.

Guimaraes Castle have been constructed in the 10th century to defend the city from the Muslims. The first king, Afonso Henriques, lived in this Castle, and started conquering Portugal from the Muslims from this place. Thus, this castle is considered the greatest historic symbol of Portugal.

Sufficiently hungry, we slowly descended the hill and turned a bit west of the center area to get to our lunch spot, Cantinho dos Sabores. We got confused about the lunch menu mainly because it was so cheap. Soup, salad, entree, dessert, drinks(juice, soda, beer or wine): you could have all of that for, like, 6 euros? It got cheaper each time you skipped a course. There was a constant stream of people going in and out or waiting for a seat, but the servers kindly accommodated us(with smile) asking lots of questions. Unfortunately, they had run out of more popular items, but everything we had was good.

We didn’t feel like staying indoors since the weather was so pleasant. So we skipped the museums and walked around a bit. Some of us got ambitious and said we should do the cable car that we saw earlier over our heads as we walked up the hill from Santos Pasoss church, our first stop.

Well, it was not as easy to find it, though. By now, we were all used to approaching a local person and asking a question by gesturing. Soon we figured out the magic word, “teleferico” — cable car in Portuguese. After about 4-5 times of shouting “teleferico” to a smiling stranger, we came to what looked like a big apartment and shopping complex. Before heading in, we asked a truck driver, “teleferico?” He motioned us to hop on his truck so he could drive us there! We politely declined and walked on, smiling.

The cable car ride was worth 6-7 euros we paid for the round trip. There was a cute church up on top of Penha Mountain that the cable car took us to, and the unobstructed view of the surrounding area of Guimaraes was breathtaking.

On the way home from Sao Bento station, we remembered wonderful smell that came out of this chicken restaurant we passed by the other day that had a line out the door. We picked up some roasted chicken, potatoes, and salad from that restaurant and ate at home.

After dinner, we went over to Ponte Luis I bridge to witness the evening view of Porto and Douro. No matter how many times you’ve seen it in person or photos, you still can’t help but be awestruck by the sheer beauty of the scene. We had to toast the night, thus, we went to the roof top bar, Auru, overlooking Ave. dos Alidados. They served delicious olives which went perfectly with our cocktails.

Day 1: Porto

Day 2: Douro Valley

Day 3: Aveiro

Day 4: Guimaraes

Day 5: Porto

May 2019                                       itinerary link                                             continue from Day 2

While I was researching for possible places to visit from Porto, I was drawn to the pictures of colorful boats bobbing in the canals. And it was to be just an hour away on a commuter train(5 euros R/T). Why not. So that’s where we went on the 3rd day of our stay in Porto: Aveiro(population: 78,400)

Sao Bento was the starting point for this train route, thus, we had no problem finding seats even for a group of 8 people. Once arrived at Aveiro Station, we walked out and quickly found the main road, Ave. Dr. Lourenco Peixinho. Turning left onto this road, we just continued walking for about 15 minutes to reach the old town area. The city was slowly waking up on a Sunday morning, and many stores were closed. But the touristy area was already getting filled with people.

After securing a map from the tourist information office, we crossed the street(bridge) and entered the older town area. Streets were narrow and zigzagging. There were enough cute shops and cafes. This is a kind of town where you just take time and walk slowly. You will get lost, but it won’t be hard to find your way back.

We, somehow, reached the Cathedral. There was a service going on inside, thus, we quietly stuck our heads in to take a quick look. Maybe we can come back later and look around. We never did. Did I say the alley ways were zigzagging?

Lunch time. We did not expect to have a Mexican meal in Portugal since we Californians think we have one of the best Mexican food outside of Mexico. But we saw this little place with intriguing signage and decoration, and we walked in. It turned out to be a pretty hip place with more interesting and artsy decorations inside. The food was pretty good: may not be terribly authentic, but tasted good.

Locals seemed to take Sundays off, and why not us. Let’s just take it easy and forget about learning something. No museums. Enjoy the sun. Maybe we should stop for coffee and desserts. We were back where we started, and bang! Where did all these people come from? Now the main street was filled with mostly young people standing around and talking. laughing, just having a good time. Aveira University is a major university in Portugal. Maybe these are students?

I usually do not do tourist boats. I did not try a gondola in Venice, Italy. But the “moliceiro” boats were irresistible. An hour tour on it was only 5 euros. So we all hopped on it. Moliceiros used to be seaweed gathering boats, we were told by our guide. Aveiro is known for salt production and seaweed(used as fertilizer) harvest, and were shown mounds of salt by the sea. Ceramics is another industry Aveiro in known for.

As a seaport, Aveiro prospered in salt production and commercial shipping till the Moors invaded the city and controlled it until the 11th century. Then the Portuguese royals took interest and developed the city. There are architectures from this period that are in the old town area. Then there are Art Novo and Art Deco buildings built during the time Aveiro experienced an economic boom in the 19th and 20th Centuries. Our guide was eager to point out samples of these different architectures. After all, we learned something even on a restful Sunday.

Getting off the boat, we needed ice cream. Our guide pointed to a line formed at this yellow ice cream shop nearby and said that’s where we should go. It was worth the wait. We got to taste some local pastries as well. How did it taste? Well, let’s just say that is was interesting. One description I read about Ovos Moles pastry says it is made by “mixing eggs and sugar indulgently.” I believed the “indulgent” part wholeheartedly. Yes, it was very sweet.

We slowly walked back to the train station, got back to Porto, and stayed in. Too tired and jet lagged to go out.

Day 1: Porto

Day 2: Douro Valley

Day 3: Aveiro

Day 4: Guimaraes

Day 5: Porto

April 2019

St. Kitts(population: 34,900) is bigger of the two main islands in the country of Saint Kitts & Nevis(population: 52,800). Our cruise ship docked at the cruise terminal in Basseterre(population: 10,440), the capital. The cruise terminal here was typical of most others in Caribbean: step down the gangway of the ship, and you are met by local bands or singers/dancers. Then comes a shopping area that is dominated by jewelry shops(mostly international chain stores). You will be approached by local tour operators selling $25 per person tours.

 

One enterprising and quick acting tour operator put a wrist band around our wrists before we even noticed what was going on. Don’t worry. You are not obligated of anything. But, if you want to join my tour, please meet me in 15 minutes in front of…  Right. No thanks.

 

That’s what we thought. We walked out of the shopping center to enter another shopping mall, then the center of town was ahead of us at the other end. Why not. Let’s do the tour. It will be easier. Pat surprised me by saying this.  So we became part of the 2.5 tour around the island tour group. It was quite impressive to note how successful he was at collecting people using his tactic. Some people were interested in the railway tour, but he poo pooed this idea because it’s too expensive and it doesn’t really go any where, he said. We did agree about the price — we’d seen over $100 per person — even though we did not know much about where it went.

I promise you the best and the most comprehensive tour! He, whose name I can’t remember, did his best to keep that promise. After driving through the colonial core of the city that included their own version of “Piccadilly Circus,” we got on the road that encircled the island. From 1600’s on, British and French fought hard for the control of the island that produced sugar cane. Parts of the islands were heavily fortified during this time of frequent wars, and the natives suffered. Brits finally took charge firmly of the place in 1783, and St. Kitts remained under UK rule until 1983 when she earned her independence.

 

We stopped at an old sugar plantation site and a national park around it. No longer deemed a viable income source, sugar plantations were closed by the government in 2005. Now the major industry is, like most other places in Caribbean, tourism. Brimstone Hill Fortress, the largest fortress even built in Western Caribbean, was voted down by the group & we did not drive up the hill to get there. Mt. Liamuiga, a volcanic mountain dormant since 1620, was dominating the interior scenery of the northern part of island.

A black sand beach that resulted from the last eruption of Mt. Liamuiga was stunning. Our guide wanted to tell us about every single town on the ring road, but, frankly, there was not a whole lot of story in most of them. After all, it’s just a little island with 50,000 people!

The highlight of the whole tour, to me, was the scenery you get from the top of Frigate Bay where one can see the Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean on the other. There was a resort hotel near by where beach goers chilled out. We chose not to linger and returned to the ship.