A QUICK BUT INTENSE VISIT TO PORTO

A very speedy trip to Porto, just a one night stay and then on to Lisbon. It's a very accessible city, one can whiz around and see some wonderful treasures within a relatively small area, all easy to reach by walking the steep streets and across the Douro by the iconic Luís I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia where the cobbled streets are redolent with the scent of port wine from the many famous port houses where thousands of oak barrels are maturing the precious wine. A really enjoyable trip to this slightly scruffy but hugely atmospheric city.

On arrival first thing is a coffee at the art nouveau Café Majestic

Then a walk to the quite extraordinarily eccentric Livraria Lello and Irmão, a book shop established in 1906 and preserved beautifully, a glorious hotchpotch of art nouveau and gothic revival decoration with the uniquely curvaceous staircase writhing in the middle of it all. Nearly all new editions with only a very small collection of old and rare books. Rua. das Carmelitas 144

Nearby is another branch of the imaginative Vida Portuguesa shop, the original one is in Lisbon. An eclectic collection of merchandise made in Portugal and chosen for its nostalgic or vintage look, from sardine cans to lovely wooden toys, handmade boots and lovely woven rugs, many beautiful ceramic creations.
http://www.avidaportuguesa.com/pre.php?lng=en 

The next morning a walk to Mercado do Bolhão for breakfast, a huge market building from the 1850s now in sad need of some renovation, it really deserves it. 
The first floor galleries are being held up by scaffolding and the roofing is very dilapidated but there's a vibrant atmosphere and the produce is gorgeously fresh, all grown in the fertile countryside around Porto . 
In the streets around the market are precious little grocery stores crammed with wonderful things to eat and drink, advertising their wares with exuberant tile decoration.

Down several hills and then up again to the Cathedral which has great views over the city and down to the river with Vila Nova de Gaia on the opposit bank.
The cloisters are decorated with a staggering array of azelejos, the beautiful 18th century tiles glowing with blue and white fire.

My last visit in Porto before getting the train to Lisbon was of course inevitable and irresistible.... the port wine cellars just over the river in Vila Nova de Gaia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_wine

All those names...Taylor, Fladgate & Yeatman, Sandeman, Offley, Cockburns, Calem, Symington, Since the end of the 17th century these originally English families have been nurturing thousands of hectares of vineyards in the Douro valley and shipping the wine down the Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia for maturing in their wineries. Many of the buildings on the steep river bank are from this period. It's a charming area with all the romance and history of this unique wine soaked into its cobbled streets and 18th century industrial buildings. I chose Taylor's for a wine tour and tasting. It's nearly at the top of the hill, a steep climb but well  worth the effort. The tour was fascinating and the tasting delicious, all three types of port, dry white, tawny and ruby. 
There's a super restaurant and terrace for lunch with views over to the other bank, all the ramshackle beauty of ancient Porto sprawling over the hills. 
Just above the Taylor's wine cellars is The Yeatman, a very posh hotel named after one of the original partners. 
http://www.the-yeatman-hotel.com/en/hotel-porto/history/
The present day Taylor's is still privately owned by some of the family members.

A slow walk down the hill and along the riverbank, time to enjoy the sight of all the traditional Douro boats lined up in front of their own port company quay, still busy transporting the huge oak wine barrels full of wine from the vineyards some of it destined to be a great vintage not to be opened for many years but thankfully most of it at an accessible price to be enjoyed immediately.
http://www.taylor.pt/en/what-is-port-wine/introduction/

Montanchez grape harvest for the fabulous Pagos de Mirabel wine

On Sunday September 6th conditions were excellent for bringing in the grape harvest at a small vineyard on the slopes of the Sierra de Montanchez. 
The sun was shining, the grapes were hanging in huge succulent bunches from the gnarled vinestocks. These particular vines are estimated to be 150 years old, very precious as they are pre- phylloxera, the vine disease which devastated vineyards in Europe in the late 19th century. The root system below the ancient vines is incredibly extensive, able to suck up moisture and minerals from deep down, able to produce abundant grapes even in the most extreme drought conditions. 



The variety is Garnacha, one of the key ingredients in some of the world’s most famous wines, such as the Rhone blend, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, it is known for its berry flavors of bright strawberries and raspberries and notes of white pepper.
The wine made from this vineyard is Pagos de Mirabel, 100% Garnacha and completely ecological,both red and white from the Bodega de Mirabel.

Anders Vinding-Diers, a Danish wine maker,and his wife Andrea Sanchez-Walmsley established the bodega in 2006. It has gone from strength to strength and won many prizes. Their main objective is to produce high quality wines, small productions with their own peronality which express the terroir of the land, under the denomination "Vinos de la Tierra de Extremadura".

Anders comes from a wine making family,he has had an international career producing wine in France, Chile, Argentina, Italy and now Spain.

Since 2006 Bodega de Mirabel has gained 90 points in the Guia Peñin, the “Bible” of wines in Spain, and has appeared in specialized wine magazines both national and international. The first vintage of Pagos the Mirabel was in 2012 and was selected as one of the best new wines in Spain of 2014.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bodega-de-Mirabel/192869280790808 

Summer Fun at Finca al-manzil

Flamenco evening at the castle of Montanchez

A Flamenco performance at the castle of Montanchez. The almost full moon was rising as the music started at 10.30, perfect summer evening temperature and wonderful atmosphere. A little eerie as the Moorish cadences of Flamenco laments echoed around the looming walls of the ancient castle.

THE LÁCARA DOLMEN

Just a short journey from Finca al-manzil in the direction of Merida is the dolmen of Lácara, one of the most complete Neolithic dolmens in Europe.

It dates from 3000 -4000 years B.C. between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. There is a charming walk through the typical dehesa strewn with huge granite boulders, the landscape has changed very little over the millenniums. Agriculture was already well organized during the Neolithic period; the primal forest had been cut down leaving only the holm oaks scattered across vast areas of pasture for cattle and sheep, pigs fattened on the holm oak acorns. The land was used in a sustainable manner, prunings from the holm oaks used for making charcoal; trees, pasture and animals working in a cycle which is still in action today over vast areas of Extremadura.  The organization of efficient farming allowed a surplus with which to sustain a larger population, more energy, more manpower to construct the dolmens so typical of this period; territorial status symbols of power and wealth, places dedicated to sacred rites.

It took enormous effort and much time to construct a dolmen the size of Lácara. The natural granite boulders had to be split through their natural fissures with wooden wedges and stone maces, then dragged with ropes on huge sledges with wooden rollers to the place of construction, probably 50 -100 people needed to move each stone.  The larger stone slabs were placed upright to form the walls of the funeral chamber which is a rough octagonal of about 5 metres diameter. Other slabs used horizontally for the roof of chamber and 9 metre corridor. The whole construction covers an area of 28 metres x 35 metres including the outer ring of upright stones. When it was finished it was covered in layers of pebbles from the nearby stream and earth to create a huge artificial mound of 7 metres, hiding the inner construction, just the entrance to the vestibule left open.

It was a communal burial chamber used over successive generations for at least 1000 years. The dead were entombed in a foetal position surrounded by some personal possessions such as necklaces, axes, knives and amulets for protection on the journey to the next life.

This amazing dolmen has survived almost intact despite the ravages of time. It is exposed to the light of day now, we can see the bare bones of the construction, walking along the 9 metres of low, covered corridor gives just a little frisson, just an echo of what the dolmen was like when it was buried 7 metres under the ground, just flickering fire to light the way into the burial chamber, a cold dark place full of cadavers.