When we finally arrived, we began our trip to Portugal with a Road Scholar led cruise on the Douro River.  The cruise was truly magnificent, as was the Road Scholar guide, Lucia Gomez. We got lucky with the weather which was extravagantly good, and the scenery which was stunningly beautiful along the riverbank.

In our travels, we also got a chance to visit Fatima and Tomar , which are in the vicinity of the Douro Valley. Fatima is where the Blessed Virgin appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. It is visited by millions of pilgrims every year and is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations of Catholicism. 

Tomar (below) famous as the site of the Convent of Christ with its strong connection to the Knights Templar. In Portuguese Convent refers to a dwelling that can accommodate either men or women–but not both.

Along the way we passed more towns than I can mention, all of which seemed to have a medieval touch, modern bridges and architecture  and tourists.

And there was construction going on everywhere. I should mention that although we began the first part of our journey in Porto, we actually got on the ship in Vila Nova de Gaia, a town with spectacular views of Porto. 

All in all a fine start to the trip to Portugal.

JFB