Douro Valley

I wasn't able to take the bike tour with Dara outside of Lisbon because the fangs of the cold were in deep. But I have come round enough that I joined her on a 6-mile hike in the Douro Valley, where port wine is produced from a wide variety of Portugese reds.

This house is for rent at what is I'm sure a head spinning price.

Our guide said he's never seen it rented. Money laundering for Russians/Chinese/Saudi princes?

Behold the intrepid hikers. Who did not plan to dress like twins, it just turned out that way.

Behold a cork tree, stripped of its bark, which will grow back.

I found the contouring of the land mesmerising. It was like looking at a quilt made of contrasting embroidery stitches.

Many vineyards had olive trees interspersed, whose wide root base helps to retain water. The posts holding up most of the vines were slate. Amazing. These absorb heat during the day and, together with the steel wires, release it at night, when temperatures in the valley plunge.

Our guide said the most beautiful time in the valley is October, when all the different varieties of vines put on a multi-coloured show. The last vineyard we hiked through is a Croft vineyard, like many a British owned company.

We tried the local ports – rose, tawny and ruby.

Ruby was my favourite but I was put off buying it b/c they said you had to consume within a few days of opening. It is strong stuff and I would need to have quite a few guests to make that happen.

Dara on the terrace. What do we talk about? Politics (yesterday was super Tuesday). Work. Travel. Her two children. Our mothers. Our siblings – not an easy topic for either of us. Music. Ageing. Past loves.

Old friendships are as rich and carefully curated as the port we drank. Rui our guide is the same age as Dara's son. He was just a big puppy of a guy, full of enthusiasm and endlessly careful of us (do we need food, toilets, a rest? What music would we like for the drive back – Joni Mitchell). Rui and Dara below at the Pinhao train station in the Douro Valley.

Detail at the train station:

I heard that the Camino de Santiago trail through Portugal is beautiful. Rui said there are three trails through Portugal. This marks one of them.

Upon return to Porto, we visited the Mercado do Bolhão, with stalls selling salt cod, sardines, wine, flowers, fruit and lavender in a neoclassical structure built in 1914.

We got dinner at a cafe across the street recommended by Marek – an amazing pastry with mushrooms, peppers and something approximating cream cheese.

6 March