A Coruña 1

The Santiago de Compostela's hotel's lift had buttons that looked like a calculator.

I walked from the old city to the train station. It was the first time in almost a couple of weeks that I had to move my own suitcase. During my Camino, it was transported between towns by couriers arranged by the travel agency. Fortunately the station was downhill.

A couple of hours later by train I was at A Coruña on the north coast of Galicia It's the second largest city in Galicia after Vigo. I had failed to visit it 14 years ago, and was making up for it.

My room wasn't ready yet, but that was no problem, I just went for lunch. I had a siesta when I got back.

I discovered that my hotel was in a good part of town, but it was actually some distance to the old centre. No worries, after all I had been doing a lot of walking recently.

To get firm bearings, I headed towards the harbour and came across this wide avenue, Rua Avogarcia I think.

This would be the Fábrica de Tabacos, near the port. Maps notes that it's a city courthouse now.

The port.

The Delegación do Goberno, or State Government Offices.

According to the GPS location this is Plaza Lugo with lots of department stores around.

Nearing sunset from the low angle of the light.

Street entertainers supporting Ukraine.

Now in the Xardíns de Méndez Núñez.

With a family friendly plaza. Small kids were practising on bikes.

Further down, at the Teatro Colón. Good to see that the performing arts were flourishing in this Galician city.

As you would expect, lines at the gelato shop.

Sunset was a great time to view the harbour.

Reflections on water are pretty.

Even better in panorama.

Such long shadows.

Somewhat further north. I think Virxe do Carme means Virgin of Carme. Reviews noted that there is good fishing nearby. 😊

Moving inland now, this is the Praza de María Pita.

A frontal view.

Just off the Praza, locals enjoying the paseo by having drinks, or eating gelati while strolling. It was a Saturday evening after all.

A particularly busy corner.

The blend of evening light and lamplight is particularly attractive to me. This is one of the things I like about Mediterranean countries.

I found a late dinner at a Chinese takeaway operating from a kiosk on an island of small businesses in a city triangle. The cuisine was pretty good.

And that was the end of my evening out in A Coruña. I walked back to the hotel in the cool night air. I had to consult Maps a few times as the streets are convoluted and often interrupted by flyovers.

A diversion

From Porto I travelled to Viana do Castelo to take my Portuguese Coastal Camino. Please follow the link to read about that walk. This blog will continue after that walk.

A tour on the Douro

On my way to the travel agency to join the day tour, I passed Cats. Looking it up, it's a hostel with no mention of actual felines. Might have been better value than my Airbnb accommodation for less privacy.

It was raining by the time we set off but we hoped that it would not be where were were headed, east of the coastal range.

Our first destination was the picturesque village of Amarante, on the banks of the Tâmega River which is a tributary of the Douro River.

The old Ponte de São Gonçalo.

And the Igreja de São Gonçalo, well, one wall of it.

Part of the town near the bridge.

The view upstream towards the new bridge.

And downstream.

On the south bank, the main part of the town.

With winding cobblestone streets.

And the Airplane Restaurant.

There was time to take a litle walk along the path on the south bank.

One thing that I noted was a cinema. A town with one deserves respect.

The town has the Municipal Museum Amadeo de Souza Cardoso.

Just in case you're unsure of the town's name. I wondered if in future I could spend a few days in this charming town. A search on an accommodation site shows quite a few properties so I'm not the only one the idea has occured to.

A hour and a bit of driving later, we arrived at one of the main destinations, the winery of Quinta de São Luiz. The view over the Douro was amazing.

Vines cover the slopes.

We could take a walk among them.

The main building.

If you look at a map, the area is full of estates (quintaes).

The assistant is explaining the vintages of port.

There are some really old vintages. If you are a connoisseur and collector they can take care of shipping to you. Of course you need deep pockets.

The wine tasting, with 3 varieties, increasing in flavour.

Another hour later found us boarding the cruise boat at the town of Pinhão.

The bridge was built by Eiffel.

We went under the bridge and upstream.

The Douro is the boundary between the Vila Real and Viseu Districts.

A panorama of the view.

Another of the many wineries on the Douro.

After about an hour of cruising, we returned to Pinhão.

After another 45 minutes we arrived at our final stop in São Martinho De Anta for a late lunch. It was both a winery and a restaurant.

The accompaniments to the meal.

The chef explaining how the roasts we would be getting are made.

What we had. The cuts were quite yummy. The blob is the enhanced potato mash.

A toast for everybody.

After that we boarded the bus and were taken back to our starting point. And that was the end of a lovely day out around the Douro.