A Train, A Boat and Dancing

Post 25 – A Train and A Boat

I love trains!  Both cargo and passenger trains.  They seem to be the key to easily sustainable transportation.  Done well, as they are in Portugal and in most places around the world except the USA, they are fast, on-time, efficient, and pass on tracks that sought the most direct path between points.  With our tremendous span of land, the number of large US cities, and our people’s great desire to move from place to place, our country should be a world leader in fast train service.  But in favor of cars, we have let trains fall to the wayside and now they are not feasible I’m told.

In my wild imagination, I see a train/car system fashioned after the Amazon warehouse sorting, directing, and delivering system.  Picture this:  A person wants to go from Chicago to Little Rock, Arkansas.  A ticket is purchased online and a sticker with a bar code or QR code specifying the start point and end point is affixed to the vehicle.  At the specific starting point in Chicago, the vehicle glides onto an automated track (like a rail car).  Once on the track, the driver no longer has control of the car, as in an automatic carwash.   The driver can relax, watch a movie, snooze, or do whatever he wants. The vehicle in transit moves forward, and switches tracks, right and left according to the destination on its barcode.  Like the tracks in Amazon warehouses, the transportation track is in perpetual motion; it never stops.  For passengers, there is no stopping for gas or pee breaks as all facilities are on the high-speed track segments.  When the vehicle approaches Little Rock, the final destination, an alarm alerts the driver and passengers. Minutes later, the vehicle exits via an exit track and the driver resumes road/street driving as usual.

Call me crazy, yes, but it’s fun to dream.

We took the train from the Porto Station to Braga, a smaller town to the west.  We pictured seeing lovely rural scenery. We did see a bit, but mostly we saw the industrial areas of about 20 small towns.  Now choosing Braga was lucky for us.  It’s a college town so most of the time the energy is very high.  School is out now, and most students are home but the town was still vibrant.  First things first, we grabbed the bus to the Bom Jesus do Monte, Good Jesus of the Mount.  We had heard that it was a must-do.  It did not disappoint.  It’s a good 5K out of Braga and from the bus stop, there are 500 steps one can take to the church and its grounds at the top of the mount or there is a funicular that runs straight up the hill every 20 minutes.  We took the funicular up and walked the 500 steps down later.

The funicular is a single cable car on tracks.  The car on one track goes up while the other car goes down.  They power each other with water-filled tanks.  When the car with the full tank goes downhill, its heavy weight helps to pull the other car up its track.  At lower level, the tank is emptied and the car now at the top is filled with water to start the downhill ride pulling the other car up as it goes down..

Constructed between 1784 and 1857 on a 14^th-century Christian pilgrimage hilltop 1500 meters above the city, this is indeed a holy place.  Bom Jesus do Monte is the biggest pilgrimage center in Portugal.  This serenely beautiful neoclassical church’s focal point is the tremendously sad and moving depiction of the Crucifixion at the church’s altar.   Elements of holiness are incorporated into the overall careful design of this religious place . . . its quiet, serene beauty, the series of steps representing the rise to heaven and frequent fountains and pools of water, the symbol of purity and baptism.  Small chapels on each level depict in a lifelike way various stages in the passion of Christ . . . his final year and final days.  The grounds are lovely, manicured in fact, and the view from the plaza surrounding the church is wide and the panoramic view of the city down below is the best in the area.  There is very little evidence of commercialism here.  There is no admission fee; it is simply a beautiful place for peace, prayer, and meditation.

We weren’t quite expecting all that.  It was a moving experience.

Back in the city of Braga, we had lunch and walked through the 14^th century Arco da Porta Nova, the New Gate Arch.  My, things are very old here!  The spot where the arch stands today was once a gate to the wall around the city.  The arch/gate itself has been built and rebuilt several times over time with its last reconstruction in the 18^th century.  Today the arch stands triumphantly among multi-story buildings and a plethora of shops and restaurants. 

The Braga Cathedral is nearby and is a popular attraction.  After having seen the stunning and moving Bom do Jesus, we opted out on a tour of the interior of yet another church.

The Douro River Cruise began the next morning at 8 am on the Cais de Gaia.  It was just a short walk there and a little chilly at that time of the morning.  We boarded the BarcaDouro river boat with maybe 200 other people.  Weren’t expecting that either!  We were immediately seated at our assigned table for the day and soon we were on our way.  A continental breakfast of hot coffee, orange juice, and breads was served. 

We were free to move about the boat at will.  Some guests spent most of the day at their table gazing through the huge windows while others claimed a space on the top deck with a clear vision of the landscapes on either side of the Douro.  We did a little of both as we passed small villages nestled in the valleys between tall hills.  Lots of holiday houses for city folk and vacation homes for the wealthy are on the river – some are fantastic with pools and boat docks.  At about 1 pm, a surprisingly good lunch with wine was served.  Afterward, everyone seemed drowsy.  The river is long.  It was well into the afternoon when we reached the beginning of the famous wine region of the Douro Valley.  We slowly processed through locks at two dams along the way and then the views of the land changed.  Like an intricately sewn quilt, the hills held rows of rocky terraces topped with green leafy vines.  Gray olive trees planted fields or individually here and there or in long graceful lines accented the green and brown terrain.

Just before arriving at Pinhao, the heart of the Port wine region, we had one more dam to process via the largest lock on the river.  At Pinhao, a bus took us to one of the many wineries in the region.  The Quinta da Avessada Enoteca winery sits in the middle of 25 hectares of vineyards in the wine-growing village Favaios. Like many others, this winery is a cooperative made up of 600 family growers who share in the work and the proceeds.  We were met in the garden with accordion music and glasses of white wine on white-clothed tables under the trees.  After a taste of white wine, we toured the winery and tasted their Moscatel and Port.  Although other wines are produced in the Douro Valley, the area is primarily known as the exclusive source of Port wine.  It is interesting that in the heart of Port country, nearly all the grapes grown at this vineyard are the golden Moscatel variety, and ninety percent of the wine produced here is Moscatel de Favaios, a designated national aperitif.  Fine Ports are crafted at Avessada as well but in far smaller quantities.  Some dusty casks we touched held 100-year-old Ports that continue to slowly age still yet.

The day was long, but the bus delivered us safely home around 9 pm.  Completely sated from too much sun, too much food, and too much wine, that little apartment in Gaia was a happy place to see.

There’ll be no dancing to watch tomorrow evening as originally planned but I’m excited to say there surely will be on Saturday, and I’m betting it will surely be fun.