Cork oak

Lunch was taken at a winery, followed by a bakery and a visit to a museum. The bakery was an OCD’s nightmare. Tourists wandered around a grubby little shop, handling the bread, which was also appreciated by the flies. No samples crossed Diva’s lips. More interesting was the cooperative winery, where everything was stainless steel and shining clean. The guide, who was one of the plant managers, wore a t-shirt with a slogan on the back – “Follow me, I know where the wine is”. During these visits, many glasses of wine were tasted.

The roads in this area are steep, narrow, winding and with great drops to the side – sometimes without a wall, hedge or post between the road and the edge. The drivers really are very good and the vehicles are all brand new and owned by Viking.

By the side of the road were many cork oaks, some with red trunks, where the cork had been removed, and the guide explained that they were harvested every 8 or 9 years. Someone asked whether it killed the trees when the bark was removed!

The disembarkation briefing conveyed the usual information about coloured luggage tags, times of disembarkation and the dreaded gratuities (a crazy way of paying anybody for anything). One of the passengers, who had a flight booked from Lisbon, did not appear to appreciate that he was disembarking in Porto, did not have any arrangements to get to Lisbon and expected Viking to organise his transfer.