Full day in Porto

June 7, 2024

Today was our last full day the Emerald cruise on the Duoro. We are docked in Porto so we started the day with a city tour. I opted for the walking tour but H&C took the bus tour that went farther afield, on the other hand I walked streets that a bus could not traverse. Porto is very hilly basically straight up from the river. It has many twisty and very narrow streets. It is being taken over by Air B&Bs forcing out many locals who cannot afford the properties. There are over 9,000 Air B&B properties and growing. I took in the main cathedral to St Francis which is near the ship, it is one of 47 churches in Porto. While there I bumped into Tim and Kevin. They also came by the ship for a quick drink in the afternoon. Given that I have 10 days to go I wasted 1.5hrs in a local laundry. This evening we had our last sailing adventure sailing past the city out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly tomorrow I bid farewell to H&C who are heading home but I start the final pretty of my trip with my 8 day cycle tour back to almost Lisbon.

A map of old Porto, don’t let the flat lines fool you it is very hilly.

Here are one of the very narrow streets. It is decorated for the festival of St John of Porto that takes place on 23 June. Apparently it is quite the party.

A view of the old city down to the river from up on the hillside.

What the locals use to do laundry all by hand and then hang it out the window.

A pillory that was used to hand out punishment to criminals. Imagine hanging from the arms that stick out.

One of the beautiful tiles in the train station. There are over 20,000 tiles all painted by hand by one man. Once fired they are place together like a jigsaw.

A statue to the navigator who is pointing directly toward our ship.

The only remains tram line that goes from town to the coast in about 20 minutes.

St Roque 1284-1319. This is located in the crypt of St Francis. One literally walks on peoples graves in here.

A poster showing the inside of the cathedral since you are not supposed to take photos.

However, I snuck one of Franciscan monks being beheaded by the Moors.

A mural of an old woman in the old town. She represents who used to live in the community but now it is taken over by Air B&Bs.

Our evening river cruise started up river before turning around.

Some of the port warehouses on the other side of the river.

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Gail JohnsonLooks like a great day. Love that you walked it all.
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6 months ago