Got up, as usual, around 8.00am and went out onto the balcony, where we could see that the Borealis was just manoeuvring into her berth in the port of Leixões, Portugal. The only previous time we’d visited this port was on the Black Prince in 2008, so it was good to be back.
Leixões, which lies four kilometres north of the Douro River in the municipality of Matosinhos, is the gateway to the more famous town of Porto, but Leixões itself was still a charming and picturesque seaside town, with a lovely beach nearby. The Port of Leixões is the largest port infrastructure in the northern region of Portugal and one of the most important in the country.
We were booked onto a city tour and port wine tasting excursion at 10.15am, so in the meantime we had a good breakfast in The View and went out onto the aft deck for a look around. The weather was clear and warm, with a few cumulus clouds in a blue sky.
At 10’clock we went along to the Neptune lounge to check in for our tour, and were called to disembark straight away. In fact, this was the only tour that we had originally pre-booked before leaving home; obviously our tours in the Azores had been cancelled and we hadn’t known about Cobh and Vigo!
Taking our seats in the coach, we set off through the bright streets with their close-together buildings, the old mixing effortlessly with the more modern. Many of the buildings were either painted white or cream, and their russet-coloured roofs created a muted, warm palette.
The coach continued along past the beach for a while, and there were several groups of people setting up large umbrellas and laying out towels on the sand, ready for a relaxing day of sunbathing. Among the more active we could see swimmers and joggers. The beach looked tempting and I wished I had remembered to pack my swimsuit!
We left Leixões behind us and soon came to the outskirts of Porto. Porto, of course, is most famous for its production of the fortified wine known as port, named after the city where it is produced. The coach pulled up near the banks of the river Douro and our guide said we had 20 minutes to stretch our legs and take some photos.
From our vantage point we could see the wide Douro river and the famous double-decker Dom Luis Bridge, which crosses the river from Porto to neighbouring Vila Nova de Gaia. Walking onto the bridge for a short distance enabled me to get some excellent photos.
We could also see several port lodges, some of the well-known ones included Sandeman’s Port as well as Graham’s Port. Lots of little boats sailed to and fro across the wide expanse of the river, and many people were bustling about on this Sunday morning, enjoying the November sunshine.
Back on the bus we continued through the city, and eventually the driver parked up and our guide waited as we all alighted from the vehicle and waited on the pavement to continue our tour on foot. This time, we were heading for the Cálem port lodge. It was not a brand I was familiar with, but looking them up I read that Cálem is, actually, a very good port, and has been in production since 1859.
Arriving at the entrance to the port lodge, we all trooped inside to a roped-off waiting area, ready for the lodge guide to meet us in a few minutes’ time. We could smell a sort of musty, oaky smell in the air. Soon our guide appeared and led us inside to the dimly-lot cellars.
Wow! There were large barrels everywhere the eye could see and some of them were MASSIVE! You could easily have fitted a family car into some of them. The guide explained that the barrels were all oak, and were used until they were around 150 years old! Each barrel had a LED display attached to the front of it, showing when the barrel was due to expire, as well as how many litres of port were within and how long it had been maturing there.
As we walked around, our guide pointed out the different types of port. As well as the familiar ruby and tawny, there were also several different white ports; one was called “dry and white”, another was a “fine white” and yet another was called “lágrima” which is Portuguese for “tears” and is a slightly sweeter wine than the other whites. While most of the ports were matured in oak barrels, some of the whites were stored in stainless steel barrels so as to maintain the white colour.
In addition, there was also a gorgeous pink-coloured rosé port, which is served chilled. We had never come across a rosé before, and we hoped we would have a chance to taste it later on. As we walked around we saw lots of barrels containing various vintages; the word colheita (which means harvest) followed by the year it was laid down.
Soon came the part we’d all been waiting for – the tasting. We all went into a room which contained long tables and benches; places were already set with two port glasses, around a third full. We all took our places and the guide talked us through the tasting notes, first of all for a fine white. I really liked this one; it was fruity, but dry, and very palatable indeed.
We then tried a tawny, which had that rich aroma that you associate with fortified wines as well as a rounded, full fruity flavour; I held it in my mouth for a few seconds before slowly swallowing. It was not a drink to be quaffed.
We were disappointed not to be able to try the rosé, but the guide assured us there was a bar downstairs and we could purchase a glass.
Our guide told us we had to be back at the coach in 20 minutes’ time, so we hurried downstairs to find the bar. Walking through a large shop, we asked someone where the bar was and she told us it was upstairs! We’d just come from upstairs and certainly didn’t have the time now to go back. We asked the woman if there was any chance we could taste the rosé port with a view to buying a bottle, and she said “just a moment” and went away, coming back a few minutes later with some rosé in a glass. Another lady wanted to taste it too, but the one glass was between the three of us, literally just a mouthful each. Just as well Covid has largely gone away, with three of us sharing the one glass!
The rosé was delicious, so Trevor and I went off to buy a bottle. We ended up with a bottle of the rosé for 11 Euros, a bottle of the Fine White for nine Euros, and a selection of six small bottles for 13 Euros the set. Looking up the prices on the internet, it seemed we got a bargain, the Fine White online is nearer to 20 quid. 😊
As we made our way back to the coach, we saw many of our fellow passengers carrying loaded carrier bags and we hoped that they wouldn’t be confiscated when we arrived back at the Borealis. Some cruise lines don’t allow you to bring any booze on board, but I would have thought it would be obvious that everyone had bought the port to take home, not to drink on board.
As it turned out, we needn’t have worried, because they didn’t confiscate our bottles; there were only another two days left of the cruise anyway.
Back on board we returned to 6227 to dump our bags and put the port away. Then we hotfooted up it to The View for a late lunch. I enjoyed some hot bangers and mash with onion gravy washed down with a cold glass of fizz.
At 3.45pm we went along to the Morning Light to take part in the trivia quiz. There was no sign of any of our other team mates and the place was pretty full, so we just took a couple of seats at the bar, enjoying some more of the “free drinks that you’ve paid for” as Simon, the cruise director, calls them.
We swapped our paper with the team next to us at the bar for it to be marked, and scored 17/20, the same as the team we’d marked. There were no less than five teams sharing the highest score of 17, so it went to the tiebreaker, which asked “in which year did America take over the building of the Panama Canal?” We thought it was in the early twenties and put 1922, but we were miles out, as the actual answer is 1904! So we lost out once again!
Afterwards it was time to start getting ready for the Remembrance Day service which was being held in the Neptune theatre at five o’clock. We returned to 6227 to change into something a little smarter for this solemn event. As we walked along the corridors on our way to the theatre, we spotted Colin and Angie perched on bar stools in the Ocean Bar – they obviously had no intention of paying their respects to those who had lost their lives in times of war.
The service was led by Simon, the cruise director, and there were also readings from passengers who had served in the Armed Forces. In the audience, several passengers were dressed in jackets and berets, their medals pinned to their chests. We thought we might have seen Richard and June, from table #222, both of whom had served in the RAF, but we didn’t spot them anywhere.
It was a dignified and moving service. We sang hymns such as “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” which always brings a lump to my throat. The service lasted about 30 minutes and there was a collection afterwards in aid of the British Legion.
Approaching our cabin afterwards, we spotted the guy with the canapés and he asked us if we wanted to take ours now, to save him having to knock on our cabin door. We accepted the proffered small tray of goodies and enjoyed them back in our cabin. One of them was a vol-au-vent containing Coronation Chicken – it was delicious!
Just after six o’clock we heard the Borealis give a loud blast of her foghorn as she slowly moved away from the dockside. The next time we would reach land would be back in Liverpool, in three days’ time. ☹
We enjoyed a good dinner on table #222 as usual, but June was missing once again. We asked Richard if they had made it to the Remembrance Service, and he said that because June was still not feeling well and had completely lost her voice, they’d decided to stay in their cabin and watch the service live-streamed to the TV. As Trevor had a spare copy of the order of service with him, we offered it to Richard and he was happy to take it.
The show tonight in the Neptune theatre was called “Magical Mystery Tour” and featured the music of the Beatles. We realised we had seen it several times before, either on this ship or the Bolette. Nevertheless, it was an all-singing, all-dancing lively colourful performance and we enjoyed it a lot.
Then it was along to the Morning Light pub for tonight’s quiz once again. Nope, we didn’t win it – in fact, we weren’t even in the tie-breaker this time.
We sat and talked and finished our drinks then, at 11 o’clock, Trevor and I went up to the Observatory where they were holding karaoke once again. I put my name down to do Back to Black by Amy Winehouse and, when it was my turn to sing, I had to go and brace my back against a pillar as the movement of the Borealis was very discernible tonight.
Quite a few singers got up, and I decided to try a different song, one that I’d never done before. It was Flowers by Miley Cyrus; I did OK on the whole but I think it probably needs a little more practice! 😊
The karaoke finished at midnight and then the disco music came on. It was about 12.30am when we returned to cabin 6227. Going out onto the balcony for the last time before bed, we saw that the Borealis was going along at a fair pace, the white wake in the darkness swirling and surging below us. We left the door propped open a little before settling down.
We had a couple of sea days ahead of us, and we looked forward to another day on the good ship Borealis.