Portugal: Viana do Castelo up the Ria de Lima

Well the day did start sedately. After a nice run in the park we all headed to the nearest cafe with some WiFi. The coffee is great in both Spain and Portugal but the batteries in the computers never seem to last long enough to get half the stuff we would like done. We did add a few more pictures and video. More to come.

We did try and fix up the broken antenna, and all seems to be working now, but we could not get the cafe we visited in the morning from the boat. We do really miss unlimited access to the internet. This quick SSB transition stuff is ok to keep you guys informed, but we never get much info back. We are off to a Marina in the heart of Porto tomorrow, and hopefully the Marina will have some WiFi that can allow us to get caught up with everyone from the comfort of our electrical plug!

Today the humans dragged me sight seeing. They really should have left me behind as they had set their sights on reaching the Baslique de Sainte Lucie on the very top of a hill over looking the city. There is a tram that runs up the ‘incredibly’ steep hill, but guess what, no dogs allowed. So I felt it was my responsibility to cheer them on as they climbed ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of stairs straight up the mountain in the afternoon heat. Thank you for the shade of the eucalyptus trees at times, or I think they would have perished.

The climb was worth it.

The view over the whole area was unending. There was even an elevator, just inside the side of the church, you could take to walk on the roof. One euro. How cool is that? Unfortunately an eerie sea mist had crept up the river obscuring some of the view. It added to the ambience.

The humans decided they deserved a treat for climbing so high into the clouds on a hot and steamy day. G and T’s were in order. They dragged me to one of the hill top cafes and ordered one vodka tonic, one gin and tonic. They were introduced to Portuguese measures. Large brandy sifters arrived with drinks so strong they were a struggle to finish. The two of them were so drunk when they finished I had to lead them slowly down the mountain.

 They are resting now on the boat, recuperating.

It is either an early or late start tomorrow as the Marina is shallow. We have ‘heard’ there is a new marina right in the city centre of Porto. This would be great for me to join them site seeing, but I may have to stay on the boat when they tour the Port Houses.

Here are a few more shots of town.