From Lisbon to the Vineyards: A Douro River Experience- Day 10

Sunday, August 3rd, 2025

It was another gorgeous but very warm day sailing the Douro River. We departed Pinhão early and went through the Bagaúste Dam lock by 7:00 AM. The difference in the water level was 84 feet.

By 8:15 AM we were docking at the Lamego Pier and headed out for our excursion. We did the Holy Staircase Hike (686 steps) and then Bôlas de Lamego tasting!

Lamego, an ancient city, was located near the south bank of the Douro River. It was a small town in the heart of wine country and known as a pilgrimage town.

Our first stop was the O Escadório, the Holy Staircase and at the top of the staircase was the Santuário Nossa Senhora dos Remédies or the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies. The construction of the staircase was started in 1777 but it wasn’t completed until the 20th century. We reached the church by climbing the 686 awe-inspiring double staircase with 9 terraces. The terraces were a great place to stop for pictures and for us to catch our breath!

The Holy Staircase and the beginning was blocked by the trees!

Looking back at Lamego after crossing a terrace.

The terraces were embellished with azulejos (tiles), panels, chapels, fountains, obelisks and statues. It was amazing. We were so glad we did this hike. Please make sure you go through the slideshow of the terrace pictures. They all were unique.

The last terrace was considered to be the grandest and was called “Patio dos Reis” or the Courtyard of the Kings. It had a fountain of the Giants a little over 72 feet tall. It consisted of a cup with 4 Atlanteans on dolphins supporting an obelisk over 49 feet tall! It was decorated with Marian symbols and finished with a star.

When we reached the top of the staircase was the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Remedies built in 1761 over the site of a ruined 14th-century pilgrim’s chapel. For those who weren’t able to do the stairs, the church could be reached by a road that wound its way up the forested hillside.

In early September pilgrims arrive by the thousands for Lamego’s Romaria de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Remedies). Many of these pilgrims climb the steps on their knees! Can you imagine doing that for 686 steps?

Once we were back down the hill we visited Casa do Presunto for a snack of ham, cheese and Lamego sparkling wine.

After our wine tasting we had time to explore some more of Lamego.

Some photos of our walk around the town of Lamego.

Outside of Lamego we had lunch at Quinta dos Viscondes Várzea (Viscounts of Várzea Manor. Our hostess was Countess Maria Manuel Cyrne.

When we arrived we were served some of her wine as well as Bôlas de Lamego. Dave was able to try it because it was a culinary tradition from Portugal’s Douro region and was flaky, golden pastry with a savory filling like ham, chicken, seafood, etc… This was not gluten free for Kay.

The Countess grew up on this estate but her family had to sell with the fall of Salazar’s dictatorship. Being a countess was not a job in a socialist state. She became a teacher for 20 years and her husband also was a teacher. Maria was also making her own clothes and scarves and long story short her clothing business took off and she made enough to purchase back her family estate. Also, at the age of 50, she became pregnant through a clinic in Spain and had twin boys! Her husband and sons also help run the estate. She runs the estate as a country home, hotel, restaurant, event space, and cooking school.

The Countess gave us a tour of her country manor. These were just a few pictures from her home.

The Quinta was surrounded by the gardens, vineyards, and outdoor living spaces.

We had a delicious local lunch with state wines that was served by the staff.

We arrived back at the Ama Douro in the late afternoon and then started down the Douro River and we went through the Carrapatelo Dam and lock. This was our last lock and it was 115 feet difference!

Our Captain Pedro, the Hotel Manager Ruben, and Cruise Manager André had a Gala Cocktail in the lounge and we met the entire crew of Ama Douro. We also experienced a Gala Dinner in the Dining room.

After dinner we were treated to a Tuna Show. A tuna was a group of students in traditional dress who played traditional instruments and sang serenades. This tradition was started in Spain and Portugal in the 13th century as a means for the students to earn money or food.

The Tuna that performed was Portuguese University students that sang, played instruments and danced for us. These young men were studying nursing or physical therapy.

We’ve included two short samples of their performance.

It was a great way to end our day!

From Lisbon to the Vineyards: A Douro River Experience- Day 9

Saturday, August 2nd, 2025

This morning we sailed back down the Douro River along the High Douro Wine Region.

We arrived at the Pocinho Dam was just after we started sailing. In this lock we went down 72 feet!

The Ama Douro continued toward the second lock, the Valeira Dam. At this lock we went down 110 feet. Below is a short video of the lock opening once the water level went down!

After we got out of the lock it was time for a Cooking Demo. The Pastry Chef Humrani gave us the recipe and demonstrated how to make Pastéis de Nata! It will be fun to try this with gluten free pastry!

vineyards along the High Douro Wine Region

As we were sitting in the restaurant we watch seaplane after seaplane dip into the river for water and then flying off to the wildfires!

We docked at Pinhão and had several hours to explore the small town. It was a major stop for cruise boats and was a gateway to port country.

One of Portugal’s rail routes passed through Pinhão on its way from Porto. Their train station was decorated with 21 azulejo (tiles) panels. They were blue and white scenes that depicted local life that included the grape harvest.

Pinhão Train Station and the Azulejo panels.

After our free time we had a visit to Quinta da Roêda that included a Port wine tasting. The winery was established in 1588 and was the oldest port company in operation. In 1736, the first Croft family member became a partner in the Port firm. In 1889, the Crofts acquired the famous estate of Quinta da Roêda. This estate remained the same source of wine for the firm’s vintage Ports to this day.

The Visitor’s Center was in the former stables of the estate. We had a guided tour. In about a month it would be harvest time for the port grapes. You could experience treading the grapes in the estate’s granite treading tanks in which the wine is made. Treading was also known as grape stomping! It was a traditional winemaking method where the grapes were crushed underfoot in large vats to release their juice and this began the fermentation process. It would have been a great experience if we had timed it during the harvesting! Even today the grapes were picked by hand.

A lot of grapes almost ready for harvesting!

On our tour we saw the various Port wine making stages.

Then it was time to taste the Croft Port wines. We tasted the Croft Pink Port and the Croft Reserve Port. If you like Port wine these were delicious.

This evening we left the ship and experienced an authentic, homemade Portuguese dinner in Favaios. With 160 years of existence, Quinta da Avessada was situated on the vineyard plateau of Favaios. It was a historic village that was located in the Douro Valley. It was the primary producer of Muscatel wine. Muscatel wine was a fruity fortified wine made from Muscat grapes. It offered stunning views of the terraced vineyards and the Douro Valley.

As we climbed higher in altitude we could see the smoke from some of the wildfires.

The Quinta da Avessada was located at 1968 feet above sea level. The estate had 1000 hectares or a little over 2,471 acres of planted area. When we arrived we were given a glass of the Muscatel Wine.

Amazing views from the Quinta’s terrace.

On our way back to the Ama Douro, the sky was eerie due to the wildfires.

Other than the wildfires, it was a fantastic day in the High Douro Wine region!

From Lisbon to the Vineyards: A Douro River Experience- Day 7

Thursday, July 31st, 2025

This morning we set sail along the UNESCO-listed High Douro Wine Region. Not long after sailing we came to the Bagaúste Dam. The difference in the water level was 84 feet.

The Bagaúste Dam lock is on the far right.

The weather was perfect for sitting on deck to view the beautiful High Douro Wine region. Many of the vineyards had signs with their name.

A couple of hours later we approached the Valeira Dam with a 109 feet change of water level. We had to wait for another riverboat to pass through before out turn. The river was narrow.

These really illustrated how narrow the Douro can get.

It really was beautiful sailing along the High Douro Wine region. It was endless vineyards and quintas (wine estates). In the early 16th century, Manuel I ordered the widening of fishing channels along the Douro river because there was a growing demand for port! The sailors requested barrel after barrel of the fortified wine to get them through the long sea voyages.

Before lunch our three guides “taught” a Portuguese language lesson! They covered basic words and phrases. It was a fun hour. Of course, ask us what we remembered.

This afternoon the Ama Douro stopped at the Pocinho dock to let us disembark for our afternoon tour. A town we passed on our way to the Castelo Rodrigo.

We went to the Castelo Rodrigo which sat on a hilltop. It was a small fortified medieval settlement with great views.

The town had medieval charm with its winding cobblestone streets, old walls, and traditional houses.

We saw the 16th century pillory in the main square where town gatherings and announcements took place. It stood on a five-step pedestal and topped with an octagonal enclosure with eight twisted colonnettes.

We walked around the town on the cobblestone streets. You had to be careful when walking up and down with the uneven stones.

Below was the Parish Church that was founded in the 13th century. It was restored in the 13th century. It had a wooden ceiling painted with scenes of Saints, 18th century blue and white tiles in the chancel and Hispanic-Arab tiles at the high altar.