Fourth Day - 2 Excursions

 Big Day today - two excursions, lots of walking and steps and hills to walk up etc. One thing this place has is lots of cobblestone roads in the towns which actually gets a bit sore under your feet. The guides are constantly saying "Watch your step" as it is quite normal for trip ups, fall overs, stubbed toes etc. Admittedly the cliental of the boat is not all that old - 70's maybe - but mostly sprightly types. There are a few with walking sticks and walking frames trying to get up and down the bus, steps etc and do hold up the works but at least they try. the guides are very patient with them. One thing I must say is that you have to use your own phone to connect to the the guide and use earplugs to hear them. This has caused a lot of anxiety amongst the older people and they are contantly getting the guides to sort out their phones. Not a sensible way of doing things with the age of the people who frequent river cruises! Dave was the main man here and kept us informed and on track.

First Excursion - tour to town of Ucanha and then onto the Monastery of St John of  Taruca

So we are now in the Varosa Valley of the Douro which is very much into their wine production, with lots of little and big wineries on the way to these places.

We were driving through the 'mountains' and our guide said 20% Portugal's powere produced by wind power. The windmills are everywhere/

Our first visit to a small town that is situated on a small tributary of the Douro. Narrow streets but the main attraction was the first toll bridge built by the Romans (they were everywhere it seems!). 

Looking down towards the top of the bridge.

Very large cobbletones which reminded me of the streets of Pompeii - very hard to walk on.

A garden outside a cafe. I am amazed at the different flowers that grow in this climate which can go from very cold in winter to very hoot (40+C) in summer.

Dave loved this Portuguese version of a balcony guard rail. Planks of wood attached to steel pipes!

In this neck of the woods Elderberry is grown a lot for berries and wine. Flowering at the moment - late Spring.

Then onto the Monastery of St John of  Taruca. I thought it was going to be another old building but it actually was old ruins! Apparantly this large Monastery was founded by some Benedictine Monks in 11th Century with vows of silence, prayer, contemplation etc and thought this was a good place (in the wop-wops) with no distractions. It was built of granite stone (common in the area), starting with 13 monks to 300 in the 15th Century. It grew so big it had to add another part to it. All was good, however in the 1800's the Portuguese government decided to pull down and destroy all monastries and convents to curb the influence of the catholic church. So this place was destroyed and into ruins. Then in the 1980's the govt decided to help make it into a place that was recognised for it's importance in the history of Portugal, so helped fund it into a tourist attraction.

This was the 13th Century church that was left standing as it was not officially part of the monastry.

Just an aside, this is our bus. Today I only noticed that it had Scenic emblazoned on the side and realised that Scenic have their own buses that follow the boat around. Duh!

The fortified outer walls

We were given a map and went around the ruins with our guide who talked about what happened in each room. Fascinating as there were 'real'monks who had access to the inner parts and more common monks who were on the outer until they proved themselves.

Monk toilets that were built over a little stream so all yucky stuff fell into stream, No one drank the water!

We went for a look into the church which looked austere on the outside in keeping with the simple life of the monks. However inside was quite different.

This was an amazing organ with pipes that went up, but can you see the pipes that come outwards?

Once again tile mosaics - this one showing the monks in discussion about the bible (in one monks hand).

Vigin Mary with baby Jesus.

This sums up Portuguese style to me - painted figures on roof, wooden arches and mosaic walls.

AFTERNOON EXCURSION - TO THE MATUSE HOUSE

Ok people - who remembers their teenage years where you drank the cheap and nasty Matuse wine in the round bottle and perhaps used it in you flat as a candle holder because the bottle looked cool? Well did you know it was Portuguese wine (I didn't) and the picture of the house on the label was based on an actual house. So it was we went to find the house and garden and hopefully wine tasting to bring back the memories!

Views of the countryside on the way.

Recognise the house below???? it was very impressive. This was my Princess Diana moment sitting by myself and while I was sitting all these people came and took my photo! that was why I was laughing so hard!

Apparently the round turrets gave the Matuse winemaker the idea for the iconic bottle shape.

Dave took photos of the roses as I didn't believe roses could grow here (too hot in summer).

We went up these stairs for a tour of the house which houses 'old stuff' that were the origional from the house. It belongs to a Count of something and is still owned by the rather old countess many generations later.

Once again, look at the wooden detail in these photos. Mind blowing.

Apparently it was a Portuguese thing in the old days to have these sets of ornate drawers which could be locked individually by keys. Documents, deeds, money, jewellry etc were kept in them to keep them safe.

This was so awful. It was a doll scence of Jesus being crucified with all these little dolls with horrible faces, and agonised screaming expressions. Apparently it was used to help teach the bible to the children of the house! Good god - it was nightmare material.

So - out of a dark house (lots of shuttered windows) and into the glorious sunshine and beautiful gardens.

This was an unexpected cool part - called the dark forest. Can you spot a certain NZ gentleman? He said it would be a perfect setting for a Harry Potter or Game of Thrones scene!

Spot the arms and legs?

The biggest disappointment was no wine tasting or even seeing a bottle of Matuse. So our group ran over the road and into a store selling the stuff. Still cheap, new bottle shape and new label. Not quite what I remember!