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Published: October 26th 2022
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I spent less than two days in Porto so I got no more than the barest flavour of the city. After almost two weeks cycling on quiet roads and tracks through open country, sleepy villages and laid back towns, Porto was a full on people experience everywhere from the moment I exited São Bento station. The city is full of tourists.
I pushed the bike through the crowds and arrived in a street with a lot of cafes. As I passed Mercantor a couple vacated their table just inside the open front of the cafe. I claimed it and there was just room by a brightly coloured, larger than life figure of superman (belonging to the shop nextdoor) for the bike.
Over a coffee I hooked into the WiFi and looked at accommodation options. It discovered there was a hostel just round the corner so decided to start there. Turned out it had room for me and the bike.
I explored town a little on the first night. The Best Guest hostel was in a brilliant location.
I saw a free walking tour of Porto advertised in the hostel so I joined it for the afternoon tour.
It's not really free, you decide what you want to pay by tip at the end. Sixteen of us set of for a two hour walk around the town.
I really enjoyed it. Nice gentle walking pace. You can't do anything else on the hills of Porto. We consider Derry a hilly city. Porto takes it to a whole new level.
Our guide grew up in Porto so was easily able to talk about his home city and was clearly proud of it.
The tour concentrated on social aspects of Porto, so we learnt a little about the architecture, the history, love of sport, slightly maudlling nature of Portuguese people, the dictatorship years, the bridges. He also explained why do many buildings lay empty and why the Portuguese love those black and white tiles on the street.
I'll try to share some of it all now, feels a bit like an exam!
He started by saying this was not a Harry Potter tour, but he clearly enjoyed telling us how JK Rowling lived and taught here for a while. He believes that many of the school customs shown in the books originate from the school
she taught in, such as the capes, the use of schoolboy Latin, cod Latin he called it.
There was even an old shop that used to dellbrooms and of course there is the book shop where fans queue to enter, see the famous staircase and explore. For a long time the shop struggled despite having thousands of visitors as no one bought anything. Now they charge an entrance fee and are doing just fine. Apparently people believe, incorrectly, that some of the film scenes were shot here.
He explained how the system of fixing tents for tenants has contributed to the neglectd sndyrun den buildings that little Porto. Tents set in the 1959s persisted through decades so landlords simply could not afford to do anything. It's improved now but the legacy remains
Historically Portugal looked seaward as with Spain at its back couldn't go inland. So it is a country that reaped the benefits of colonialism and contributed to the evils.
The country suffered a very turbulent 20th century, being at various stages a Republic and a dictatorship. Now the country is suffering from population decline. Our guide informed us that if Portugal feels like a
safe country, it's because the people are too old to get up to mischief.
I loved the way he summed up Portugal. Fado, football and Fatima. (Fado is a form of traditional singing that is particularly melancholy)
I did try to go to a fado gig that evening, but the tickets were quite expensive. Maybe I'll get to a gig in Lisbon.
Porto is a city of bridges, make that a city of huge bridges. They span the deep valley gouged by the Rio Douro. Along the embankment in Porto cruise companies compete with each other to attract tourists for the best six bridges cruise. On my wanderings I saw four of them anyway.
I saw a fifth, the guide yesterday called it the white bridge. It is the closest to the ocean and was built in the fifties. Locals were convinced it would collapse into the river when the scaffolding was removed.
Fortunately it didn't and is still going strong. I hope to be in Lisbon in a few days.
I'll add some photos when I get a better connection.
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