Provesende - Coimbra

I didn't know anything about where the Quinta Manhãs D'Ouro was, except that it was 9 km up the hills from Pinhão. It turned out to overlook a medieval village called Provesende: Magellan was born just up the valley. The village was originally settled by the Moors, and legend has it that it takes its name from the dying words of the local Moorish leader when the place was taken by the Christians. For once I was very pleased to have to rush in the morning - I had to get back to Porto to return the car - as it meant that I was up to see the sunrise over the Douro and the village.

Although where I stayed was called a quinta, it wasn't really - the people who own it are in the grape growing industry, but this place was more of a small hotel, with just a handful of (very comfortable) rooms and a restaurant - I could imagine spending a week there.

Quinta Manhãs D´Ouro

Some parts of Provesende are in better condition than others - the north end tended to be in the poorer condition

The central village was at the south end - I was still very early, so there were very few people about, although I did encounter this rather aggressive little dog

and neither of the cafes I saw were open: one has been set up as a wee museum I would very much liked to have seen. I think the last photo in this group is of a bar, but a particularly small and old one

Cafe Central - Provesende

Cafe and Museum - Provesende

The plan had originally been to backtrack to Porto on the same small road, but there was no way I would be back in time to return the car, so had to forgoe the charming byways of Portugal for its motorway system.

These motorways are toll roads: although I had no prepaid toll card, I thought it would be a simple matter to pay at a toll booth. Not so: the first toll point I came across was unmanned and demanding that I put a card in a slot in order to be let through the barrier. Awkward. Luckily there was a lane for commercial operators with tagged vehicles with no barrier - I was able to back up and go through that lane, knowing that they have a system of photographing vehicles and paying after the event. So when I came across the next toll point, I just swept through but at the third one, just outside Porto, I came unstuck: it was manned, and to get through without a prepaid card cost 60 (SIXTY!) euro. I really had no option but to submit to the extortion.

After that, I was determined to get off these damn toll roads before I suffered any further damage to the pocket, but I had planned my route before I left and really didn't want to get lost by going off the plan. Nonethess, when I saw a sign indicating the general area in which the railway station is located, I took the off-ramp and in a huge strok of luck, after taking a couple of random streets, found myself back where I started. It was then a simple matter of having a quick beer and hopping on the train to Coimbra, the former medeival capital of Portugal and rather a delightful place.